In 1609 the ship “De Halve Maen” left under command of Henry Hudson from Amsterdam in search of a new route to Asia. In September 1609 Hudson sailed the river that was later named after him and discovered the fertile area around Manhattan.

Around 1625 Nieuw-Amsterdam was founded, nowadays New York, as the main city of the Colony Nieuw Amsterdam.

An exclusive preview of original documents which are the basis of the establishment of the city of New York are shown in the Rijksmuseum.

These documents will be the focal point of the exhibition 'The Island at the Center of the World' at the South Street Seaport Museum in New York, September-December 2009 .