The Netherlands was the last to begin exploration in the New World. For years the Dutch struggled to win their independence from Spain. During this struggle, Spain in 1580 annexed Portugal and gained control of the Oriental trade.

The Dutch realized that Spain might be weakened by striking at its trade. They formed the Dutch East India Company and dispatched Henry Hudson, an English sea captain, to find a shortcut to the Orient. Hudson entered the Hudson River in
1609 and ascended it to the site of Albany.