In 1607 and 1608 Henry Hudson made two expeditions funded by England in search of the Northwest Passage, but was forced to return both times because he encountered ice north of the Arctic Circle.&nbsp;On the 3rd trip, aboard the "Halve Maen", this time funded by the Dutch East India Company, in 1609, he again encountered ice, but instead of returning home, as his orders told him to do, he instead decided to sail inland on a great river, originally found by Giovanni da Verrazzano, in search of a rumored river across North America. After 150 miles of travel inland, he stopped near present day Albany and turned around.

400th anniversary of Henry Hudson's Arrival was celebrated with a week of ceremonies hosted by the Dutch Royal Family. New York City hosted NY400 Week, which Dutch royals Prince Willem-Alexander and Princess Máxima attended, welcomed aboard the USS Intrepid by Secretary Hillary Clinton and Mayor Bloomberg with a 21-gun salute and maritime parade. The week featured cultural exchanges, performances, and Harbor Day, with the Netherlands contributing $10 million and gifting a Battery Park pavilion.

The Island at the Center of the World - They were in the outer reaches of New York Harbor, riding along the coast of Staten Island. Fish streamed thickly around them: salmon, mullet, wraith-like rays. They anchored and went ashore, marveling at primordial oaks and ‘an abundance of blue plums.’ Then, just like that, people appeared.<a href="https://culturenow.org/people/a52f63a6-9f96-47c6-8768-8ac4665891fe?name=National_Parks_of_New_York_Harbor_Conservancy">[3]</a><a href="https://culturenow.org/people/d6301520-9d2f-4427-88a6-52ca390c9d28?name=The_Island_at_the_Center_of_the_World">[2]</a><a href="https://culturenow.org/people/17fe63c4-8a6f-4076-bbff-88850798243d?name=Russell_Shorto">[1]</a>

Credit...Hiroko Masuike for The New York Times

Netherland Memorial Flagpole

Henry Hudson arrives in New York

Historian and lawyer James Kaplan asks listeners to use their imaginations as he describes the site of Shearith Israel Synagogue that once stood near 22 William Street. The first synagogue in North America, it was built in 1730. As the surrounding neighborhood - which would become the Financial District - became more industrial, congregants left the site to build synagogues in Greenwich Village and Upper West Side.

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 At Bowling Green, Kaplan talks about Evacuation Day, the departure of the British from New York City, and Charging Bull, a popular statue representing the spirit of Wall Street and American capitalism. 

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 At the statue of Nathan Hale in City Hall Park, Kaplan discusses Hale's life and significance, and the history of City Hall. 

 Architectural historian Gail Cornell talks about the history of Foley Square and the African Burial Ground. 

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Henry Hudson arrives in New York

HISTORIC MAPS