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Hudson River Fur Trade Waterway

Type Object Region North America Time c. 1610–1664

17th-century New Netherland beaver fur collection and transport network centered on the Hudson River, linking the Great Lakes basin to the Atlantic.

Timeline

  1. 1614–1630New Amsterdam (Manhattan) · New York StateDutch merchants set up trading posts along the Hudson River, exchanging beaver pelts and other furs for European manufactured goods; New Amsterdam at the river mouth gradually developed into a distribution and export hub.
  2. 1631–1640Hudson River basin · New York StateIn the 1630s the Dutch West India Company standardized fur purchasing, shipping, and storage; canoes and sailing vessels pushed inland along tributaries, establishing trade alliances with the Iroquois and other peoples; the river transport network matured markedly over the decade.
  3. 1664–1700New York Harbor · New York StateAfter the English occupation of New Netherland, the Hudson River fur trade was incorporated into the English colonial system; the export port formerly called New Amsterdam was renamed New York, but the river's function as the main inland–ocean transfer axis of eastern North America continued.

Sources