Return to Manhattan: 400th anniversary of Henry Hudson's voyage

The Rijksmuseum, our National Museum for Art and History in Amsterdam, opened an exhibition earlier this week to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Henry Hudson's voyage:

"Starting on 1 April, Rijksmuseum in collaboration with the Dutch archives service Nationaal Archief will exhibit various documents related to the establishment of the Dutch colony New Netherland and the trading post New Amsterdam – which later became New York City – at the beginning of the 17th century. One of the highlights of the exhibition Return to Manhattan (Weerzien met Manhattan) is undoubtedly Nationaal Archief’s Schaghenbrief letter from 1626. One of the earliest documents to mention the purchase of Manhattan, the island on which New Netherland was established, the Schaghenbrief letter is not only evidence of the agreement concluded between the local population and the Dutch in 1626, but also of the first children born to the pioneers in the Dutch colony. Henry Hudson’s discovery of Manhattan Island 400 years ago, as an explorer working for the Dutch East India Company (VOC), will be celebrated this year."

The exhibition will be in the Rijksmuseum until 1 June. In September, the exhibition will move to the South Street Seaport Museum in New York, under the title The Island at the Center of the World.

Image: View on New Amsterdam, Johannes Vingboons, ca.1665, Dutch National Archive