3 New Netherland: this is often incorrectly printed New Netherlands.
[60. The New York "Sons of Liberty" in the Revolution; what Henry Hudson would say of the city now.]—More than a hundred years after this the young men of New York, the "Sons of Liberty," as they called themselves, made ready with the "Sons of Liberty" in other states to do their full part, under the lead of General Washington, in the great war of the Revolution,—that war by which we gained our freedom from the rule of the king of England, and became the United States of America.
The silent harbor where Henry Hudson saw a few Indian canoes is now one of the busiest seaports in the world. The great statue of Liberty stands at its entrance.[4] To it a fleet of ships and steamers is constantly coming from all parts of the globe; from it another fleet is constantly going. If Captain Hudson could see the river which bears his name, and Manhattan Island now covered with miles of buildings which make the largest and wealthiest city in America, he would say: There is no need of my looking any further for the riches of China and the Indies, for I have found them here.
4 In her right hand Liberty holds a torch to guide vessels at night.
[61. Summary.]—In 1609 Henry Hudson, an English sea-captain, then in the employ of the Dutch, discovered the river now called by his name. The Dutch took possession of the country on the river, named it New Netherland, and built a small settlement on Manhattan Island. Many years later the English seized the country and named it New York. The settlement on Manhattan Island then became New York City; it is now the largest and wealthiest city in the United States.
Who was Henry Hudson? What did he try to find? What did the Dutch hire him to do? Where did he go? What did he call the river he discovered? What is said about that river? Tell what you can of Hudson's voyage up the river. What is said about the Indians? Why did Hudson turn back? What did he do then? What is the river he discovered called now? What happened to Captain Hudson the next year? What did the Dutch do? What did they name the country? Why? What did they build there on Manhattan Island? Who seized New Netherland? What name did they give it? What is said of the "Sons of Liberty"? What would Hudson say if he could see New York City now?
[CAPTAIN MYLES[1] STANDISH]
(1584-1656).
[62. The English Pilgrims in Holland; why they left England.]—When the news of Henry Hudson's discovery of the Hudson River reached Holland, many Englishmen were living in the Dutch city of Leyden.[2] These people were mostly farmers who had fled from Scrooby[3] and neighboring villages in the northeast of England. They called themselves Pilgrims, because they were wanderers from their old homes.