Although the outlines in certain respects, particularly in the case of Manhattan Island, are extremely crude, they are surprisingly faithful in the parts representing It will be observed that the general his individual resp< visibility.

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trend of the Westchester coast on the Sound is traced almost exactly. Returning to Holland in the fall of 1614, with the " Fortune," having left the kt Restless " with Christiansen, Block at once became a beneficiary of an attractive commercial offer which had been proclaimed some months previously by the States-General, or central government, of the Netherlands. He and his companion Christiansen were by no means the only seekers of fortune in the splendid realms made known by the captain of the " Half-Moon." Other trading expeditions had gone there, and interest in the resources of this quarter was becoming quite active. To further promote such interest, and to arouse fresh endeavor, the States-General, in March, 1614, issued a decree offering to grant to any person or number of persons who should discover new lands a charter of exclusive privileges of trade therewith. Upon Block's return there was pending before the StatesGeneral an application for the coveted charter by a strong organization of merchants, which was based upon Hudson's discovery and the representation that the hopeful organization was prepared to make to the region in question the number of voyages conditionally required in the decree. On October 11, 1614, Block submitted to the StatesGeneral, at The Hague, explicit information of his discoveries, and a charter bearing that date was accordingly granted to him and a number of individuals associated with him (of whom Christiansen was one), comprising a business society styled the New Netherland Company. This company had for its formally defined aim the commercial exploitation of the possessions of Holland in the New World, to which collectively the name of New Netherland was now applied.