Editing History of the United States (section)

====Dutch mid-Atlantic====
{{Main|Dutch colonization of the Americas}}

The [[Dutch East India Company]] sent explorer [[Henry Hudson]] to search for a [[Northwest Passage]] to Asia in 1609. [[New Netherland]] was established in 1621 by the company to capitalize on the [[North American fur trade]]. Growth was slow at first due to mismanagement by the [[Dutch colonization of the Americas|Dutch]] and Native American conflicts. After the Dutch purchased the island of [[Manhattan]] from the Native Americans, the land was named [[New Amsterdam]] and became the capital of New Netherland. The town rapidly expanded and in the mid-1600s it became an important trading center. Despite being [[Calvinists]] and building the [[Reformed Church in America]], the Dutch were tolerant of other religions and cultures and traded with the [[Iroquois]] to the north.{{Sfn|Jacobs}}

The colony served as a barrier to British expansion from [[New England Confederation|New England]], and as a result a [[Anglo-Dutch Wars|series of wars]] were fought. The colony was taken over by Britain as [[Province of New York|New York]] in 1664 and its capital was renamed New York City.