New Netherland and New Sweden 新荷兰和新瑞典

　　57. The Dutch. 57．荷兰人

　　At this time the Dutch were the greatest traders and shipowners in the world. 这个时候，荷兰人是世界上最大的商人，他们拥有最大的船，

　　They were especially interested in the commerce of the East Indies. 对东印度地区的商贸特别感兴趣，

　　Indeed, the Dutch India Company was the most successful trading company in existence. 荷兰东印度公司是他们促成的最为成功的商业公司。

　　The way to the East Indies lay through seas carefully guarded by the Portuguese, 通往东印度地区的海路由葡萄牙人严密守护，

　　so the Dutch India Company hired Henry Hudson, an English sailor, to search for a new route to India. 因此，荷兰东印度公司雇佣英国水手亨利·哈得孙寻找通往印度的新航线。

　　58. Hudson's Voyage, 1609. 58．哈得孙的航海（1609年）

　　He set forth in 1609 in the Half-Moon, a stanch little ship. 哈得孙1609年乘“半月”号这艘坚固的小型舰艇出发，

　　At first he sailed northward, but ice soon blocked his way. 他首先向北行进，但是，不久冰阻止了他的前行，

　　He then sailed southwestward to find a strait, which was said to lead through America, north of Chesapeake Bay. 随之，哈得孙向南进发寻找一个据说是通往切萨皮克海湾北部美洲的海峡，

　　On August 3, 1609, he reached the entrance of what is now New York harbor. 在1609年8月3号，哈得孙到达现在的纽约港的入口处，

　　Soon the Half-Moon entered the mouth of the river that still bears her captain's name. 很快“半月”号进入这条以她的船长的名字命名的河的河口，

　　Up, up the river she sailed, until finally she came to anchor near the present site of Albany. 她一路前行，前行，最终在今天的奥尔巴尼附近抛锚，

　　The ship's boats sailed even farther north. Everywhere the country was delightful. 而舰艇上放下来的小船继续北上。这个国家处处都令人高兴，

　　The Iroquois came off to the ship in their canoes. 易洛魁族人乘着小舟从远处来到“半月”号，

　　Hudson received them most kindly — quite unlike the way Champlain treated other Iroquois Indians at about the same time, on the shore of Lake Champlain. 哈得孙以最和善的方式接受了他们，他对待他们的方式与同一时期尚普兰在尚普兰湖畔对待他们的方式截然不同。

　　Then Hudson sailed down the river again and back to Europe. 随后，哈得孙沿河回到欧洲。

　　He made one later voyage to America, this time under the English flag. 哈得孙后来再次航海去美洲，但这次是打着英国的旗帜，

　　He was turned adrift by his men in Hudson's Bay, and perished in the cold and ice. 他被随从丢在哈得孙湾漂泊，死于严寒。

　　59. The Dutch Fur-Traders. 59．荷兰皮毛商人

　　Hudson's failure to find a new way to India made the Dutch India Company lose interest in American exploration. 哈得孙没有找到通往印度的新航线，这使得东印度公司失去了到美洲探险的兴趣。

　　But many Dutch merchants were greatly interested in Hudson's account of the "Great River of the Mountain." 但是，许多荷兰皮毛商人为哈得孙描述的“高山大河”所深深打动，

　　They thought that they could make money from trading for furs with the Indians. 他们以为可以通过与印第安人的皮毛生意赚钱，

　　They sent many expeditions to Hudson's River, and made a great deal of money. 这些人派出许多探险队去哈得孙河，并赚了很多钱。

　　Some of their captains explored the coast northward and southward as far as Boston harbor and Delaware Bay. 其中部分船长沿着河岸向北、向南分别直达波士顿港和特拉华海湾，

　　Their principal trading-posts were on Manhattan Island, and near the site of Albany. 他们的主要贸易支柱点在靠近奥尔巴尼的曼哈顿岛。

　　In 1614 some of the leading traders obtained from the Dutch government the sole right to trade between New France and Virginia. 1614年，一些最有影响的商人从荷兰政府那里获得在新法国和弗吉尼亚之间进行商业活动的独占权，

　　They called this region New Netherland. 他们把这个地区叫做新荷兰。