Essays by eleven prominent scholars provide the latest insights into the seventeenth-century history of the Hudson Valley and its environs. This book provides an in-depth introduction to the issues involved in the expansion of European interests to the Hudson River Valley, the cultural interaction that took place there, and the colonization of the region. Written in accessible language by leading scholars, these essays incorporate the latest historical insights as they explore the new world in which American Indians and Europeans interacted, the settlement of the Dutch colony that ensued from the exploration of the Hudson River, and the development of imperial and other networks which came to incorporate the Hudson Valley. “This well-conceived volume illuminates the various contexts of life in the seventeenth-century Hudson Valley. Both laymen and specialists will gain new insights from the twelve essays, which reveal everything from the European background of tolerance and inter-imperial strife to the significance of wampum and the role of a Native model of inter-group relations that shaped Iroquois ties with the Dutch.” — Willem Klooster, author of Revolutions in the Atlantic World: A Comparative History “A perfect tribute to the Hudson Valley’s unique history and how it changed forever in the decades following Henry Hudson’s 1609 voyage! The essays in this rich collection capture the complex, interconnected world experienced by those who lived in the Hudson River Valley in the seventeenth century, a place at the crossroads of four continents, an area contested by three emerging empires, a valley where Munsee, Mahican, and Mohawk interacted with European cultures. Both professional historians and those new to the field will be intrigued by the wide variety of topics. This collection by an esteemed group of historians makes an outstanding contribution to both New Netherland and Atlantic history.” — Dennis J. Maika, New Netherland Institute