The Halve Maen (Half Moon) was the name of a Dutch East India Company yacht which sailed in what is now New York harbor on September 11, 1609. It was commissioned by the Dutch Republic to find (covertly) a western passage to China.

The ship was captained by Henry Hudson who was in the service of the Dutch Republic and who named the discovery of the river, which now bears his name, the Mauritius River after Holland's Lord-Lieutenant Maurits. The Halve Maen's arrival had profound implications on American history and culture as it laid the foundation for the only colony among the Original Thirteen with a legal-cultural tradition of toleration as the underpinning of cultural diversity. . No portrait of Hudson is known to be in existence. ...

Namely, the Half Moon was the predecessor event of the arrival, in June 1624, of the ship New Netherland which transformed the territory of New Netherland, so named on a map by the first explorer Adriaen Block in 1614, to a North American province from a place for private commercial interests through patents issued by the States General since 1614. see the Half Moon disambiguation page for other meanings A half moon is the phase of the moon midway between a full moon and a new moon. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

Therefore, the significance of the Half Moon’s appearance in 1609 lies in the fact that it gave rise to the most tolerant, most diverse city in the world and the nation’s largest municipality (a legal concept of New Amsterdam in 1653). It meant the onset of the most pluralistic, most powerful nation of this world based on the implicit precept of personal freedom that can only be defined by the notions of tolerance and liberty as equal partners. That dual notion is the true underlying meaning and distinct theme of the Half Moon’s 1609 entrance as it foretold the emergence of American freedom.

Originally, in 1614, New Netherland stretched from the Delaware Bay till Nova Francia. Later, New England interposed itself above Cape Cod reducing New Netherland to below the 42nd parallel and roughly comprising the New York Tri-State region. The 1624 transformation to a North American province took place on Noten Eylant or in pidgin language Nutten Island. The island was renamed Governors Island in 1784. Governors Island is a 172 acre (696,000 m²) island in Upper New York Bay, approximately one half mile from the southern tip of Manhattan, of which it is legally a part, in New York City. ...

The Halve Maen sailed (overtly) from Amsterdam to the Barents Sea, turning westward to traverse the Atlantic Ocean sailing from Newfoundland to south in search of the Northwest Passage. In his 1625 book “New World”, in which are invaluable extracts from Hudson’s lost journal, Johannes de Laet, a director of the West India Company, writes that they “bent their course to the south until, running south-southwest and southwest by south, they again made land in latitude 41° 43’, which they supposed to be an island, and gave it the name of New Holland, but afterwards discovered that it was Cape Cod”. Amsterdam Location Flag Country Netherlands Province North Holland Population 742,951(1 January 2005) Coordinates 52°22′N 4°54′E Website www. ... Map showing the location of the Barents Sea. ... Popular Northwest Passage routes through the Canadian archipelago This article describes the route through the Canadian Arctic. ...

From there they sailed south to the Chesapeake and then went north along the coast navigating first the Delaware Bay and, subsequently, the bay of the river which Hudson named the Mauritius River. The Halve Maen sailed up Hudson’s river as far as Albany, New York, where the crew determined the water was too shallow for farther progress. Realizing that the river was also not a passage to the east, Hudson exited the river, naming the natives that dwelled on either side of the Mauritus estuary the Manahata. Leaving the estuary, he sailed north-eastward, never realizing that what are now the islands of Manhattan and Long Island were islands, and crossed the Atlantic to England where he sailed into Dartmouth harbor with the Dutch East India Company yacht and crew. A map of 1610 depicts the Manahatas west and east of Hudson’s river and from which the name Manhattan originates. Chesapeake is the name of various places in the United States of America: Chesapeake, Ohio Chesapeake, Virginia There are also: Chesapeake Academy, an independent PK-Gr 5 school located in Arnold, Maryland near Annapolis. ... Delaware Bay Delaware Bay is a large esturarial inlet of the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Delaware River along the coast of the United States. ... Motto: Nickname: Map Political Statistics Founded 1614 Incorporated 1686 Albany County Mayor Gerald D. Jennings Geographic Statistics Area  - Total  - Land  - Water 56. ... Manhattan Borough,highlighted in yellow, lies between the East River and the Hudson River. ... The four counties of Long Island. ... Royal motto (French): Dieu et mon droit (Translated: God and my right) Englands location within the British Isles Official language English de facto Capital London de facto Largest city London Area – Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population – Total (mid-2004) – Total (2001 Census) – Density Ranked 1st UK... Manhattan Borough,highlighted in yellow, lies between the East River and the Hudson River. ...

The Halve Maen in the Hudson River

A replica of the Halve Maen, (officially Anglicized to "Half Moon"), was built in Albany in 1989 and is docked in Albany, New York. Download high resolution version (1006x640, 582 KB)Henry Hudsons Half Moon sailing ship. ... Download high resolution version (1006x640, 582 KB)Henry Hudsons Half Moon sailing ship. ... 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Motto: Nickname: Map Political Statistics Founded 1614 Incorporated 1686 Albany County Mayor Gerald D. Jennings Geographic Statistics Area  - Total  - Land  - Water 56. ...

The Town of Halfmoon in New York is named after the ship. Halfmoon is a town located in Saratoga County, New York. ... Official language(s) None, English de facto Capital Albany Largest city New York City Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 27th 141,205 km² 455 km 530 km 13. ...

See also

Ship replica (including a list of ship replicas) A Ship replica is a reconstruction of a no longer existing ship. ...

External links

• Site about the Half Moon replica
• Official Half Moon Website