Henry Hudson... If you live in the New York area, you hear his name a lot. We drive his parkway. We pay to cross his bridge. We marvel at his majestic river. But what do we know about HIM? This episode introduces Henry Hudson and his ship, the Half Moon, as he explores Manhattan and the river leading north.

As Henry Hudson explores the New York area with the Half Moon, he meets the local indigenous Algonquins. His mixed crew of English and Dutch sailors includes his son, twelve-year old John Hudson, and the junior officer and translator, John Colman. In the course of their encounters with the locals, Colman's life comes to a bloody end.

"Why did we ever come to North America?," Hudson's crew ask themselves as the search for the northern route to Asia continues. Henry Hudson remains convinced he has got it right and decides to sail up the river. His reluctant crew begins to wonder whether he knows what he is doing. What is the point of fighting with the locals?

What is driving Henry Hudson? What does he think he is doing? The further north he goes, the more he becomes obsessed to find the elusive Northern passage. But at some point the arctic cold and scarce provisions will take their toll. Is Hudson pushing his exhausted crew just a bit too far?

Having failed to discover a Northern passage, Henry Hudson does not return to Amsterdam, but lands in England instead. His news of a good fur trade stirs up Amsterdam merchants. Inspired, they prepare to send another ship to North America to try out the trade. Meanwhile, Hudson is hired by the English for another attempt at the Northern passage.

After two voyages of discovery in the service of the English, Henry Hudson is hired in 1609 by the Dutch East India Company to discover the northeastern passage. In this review episode, Chance and Jaap go over the highlights of the previous episodes and answer questions. Do you have a question for our next review episode?

Amsterdam merchants send out the experienced Adriaen Block to explore the new continent and trade with its inhabitants, thus kickstarting the colonization of New Amsterdam and, ultimately, New York. Henry Hudson remains obsessed with discovering the Northern passage. On his second voyage to North America, his embattled crew resorts to mutiny. Hudson and his son come to a chilling end.

Adriaen Block reconnoiters the northern seaboard and sets up trading relations with the local Algonquins. This requires him to master the complex concept of trading with wampum. The Europeans think these shell beads are money, but for the Native Americans they have a spiritual meaning. To strengthen the mutual understanding, two native young men travel to the Netherlands as emissaries.