Binder Page Name Per Exploring New York Date This map shows the modern state of New York, and other surrounding states. 1. Put a dot on the map where Buffalo is located. Label it Buffalo. 2. Label the traditional homelands of the five tribes in the Iroquois Confederacy. These lands are where they would have been when the European explorers first arrived. The Spanish were the first Europeans to arrive in North America, but their land claims were far south of what is now New York State. The Spanish controlled the water route around the southern tip of South America and they could continue on to Asia from there. Other countries began looking for their own route, hoping to find an all-water route to Asia by travelling north and west. This route was called the Northwest Passage. It didn t exist, but explorers at the time didn t know that and continued to look for it. While doing so, they explored much of what is now the United States and Canada. 3. What was the Northwest Passage? Why is the idea of a Northwest Passage important if it didn t actually exist?
4. What country sent all of the explorers shown on this map? 5. Of the four explorers shown on this map, which one reached New York Bay, where New York City now is? What year did he reach there?
6. What river did Cartier, Champlain, and La Salle all follow to get to New York? What two cities are on that river? 7. Samuel de Champlain made it to a lake in New York that is now named for him. Find Lake Champlain. What year did Champlain find that lake? 8. According to this map, what animal does Champlain seem to have been looking for? 9. Put a dot on this map where Buffalo is now located. Which of these explorers passed the current location of Buffalo? 10. Which of these explorers made it to the Mississippi River? What year did he get to the Mississippi River? Giovanni Verrazano Jacques Cartier The Griffon, built by La Salle on Lake Erie. It was built at Cayuga Creek. It became the first sailing ship on the Great Lakes, but it mysteriously disappeared in the same year it was built, 1679 Samuel de Champlain Sieur de La Salle
11. What nation sent these explorers? 12. What year is the earliest voyage shown here? How many years is that after Columbus s first voyage? (Hint: Columbus isn t on this map, but you should know In, Columbus sailed the ocean blue. ) 13. According to this map, who sailed closest to what is now New York? In what year did he make that voyage? 14. On his last voyage, Henry Hudson was left behind by his crew while they returned to go home. In what body of water does his journey end? What year was that voyage?
The Dutch in North America Adapted from New York and the Nation Of all the Europeans who explored the Americas, the Dutch played the most important role in the early history of New York State. The Dutch gained a foothold in the area around New York Bay and then spread north through the Hudson River Valley. They called their colony New Netherland. The Dutch claims were made by the English navigator Henry Hudson, sailing under the flag of the Netherlands. (As noted earlier, Hudson s later voyage for the English ended when he was abandoned by his crew to die in Hudson Bay.) On April 6, 1609, Hudson left the Dutch port of Amsterdam in search of the Northwest Passage. He sailed north, towards the Arctic, and then sailed down North America s eastern coast to the Carolinas. There, he turned back to navigate Chesapeake Bay, Delaware Bay, and points north. On September 3, the Half Moon entered New York Bay. Hudson then sailed up the river named for him, as far as present day Albany. The following is adapted from Hudson s journals as well as recollections of crew members: Before us lay a great lake of water into which flowed a giant stream. This must be the channel of which Verrazano spoke. The shoreline is full of great tall oaks, and the lands [are] pleasant with grass and flowers and goodly trees and very sweet smells come from them. The Indians, who are very civil, came aboard and gave us gifts [of] tobacco, maize, bread, dried currants, and furs. In return, we gave them beads, knives, hoes, and stockings. This is sure to please the Dutch merchants who have backed us We continued to sail up the river for another 150 miles and returned, as the river narrowed. These were the first trading contacts between the Dutch and Native Americans. Soon the Dutch began to set up trading posts and farms along the Hudson River Valley, on Staten Island, in Manhattan, and in Brooklyn and other places on Long Island. 15. What country are Dutch people from? 16. Is the passage in italics a primary source? Explain your answer. 17. Hudson is trying to use information from previous explorers. What previous explorer does he mention here? 18. Show Hudson s route on the map of New York on the front page. Draw a line from the south to the big black dot at New York City s location. Continue the line up the Hudson River for about 150 miles. Label it Hudson (1609).