Hudson River Navigation

Timeline

1. 1609–1610Hudson River mouth · New YorkExpedition and trading fleets funded by the Dutch West India Company sailed up the Hudson River, assessing the value of furs and waterways and providing a basis for selecting subsequent post locations.
2. 1611–1620Fort Nassau (Castleton Island) · Hudson ValleyDutch merchants established trading stations at the river mouth and upstream, transporting beaver pelts, grain, and supplies by sailing vessels and small boats along the river, and building exchange networks with local Indigenous peoples.
3. c. 1620–1700New Amsterdam · New YorkAfter the 1620s English power grew, but the Hudson River remained the main inland waterway of the colony, carrying population migration and the distribution of goods, laying the foundation for the later rise of New York Harbor.