Settlement in New York began in 1609 when Henry Hudson and his crew sailed the half moon through in to a bay, which is commonly known today as Hudson River on behalf of Dutch East India company. Hudson was looking for a new route into Asia but landed in Manhattan. Hudson found a way to create business out of this new land which sparked Dutch trading in this new world.
Hudsons exploration was important and had great impact on the world as we know it today. Hudson helped shape New York as we know it today. He settled here because of the geographical features. This is a common reason to settle throughout all early age explorers. This helped them flourish and continue to help civilizations flourish through this day.