While shopping at Rabba for some groceries yesterday, a particular magazine immediately drew my attention. It was the September issue of National Geographic, a longtime favourite of mine originally introduced to me by Aunt and Uncle in 1964. On its cover the headline boldly declared, Before New York: Rediscovering The Wilderness of 1609. Being a huge fan of New York City, I picked up a copy. This afternoon I sat down to read the article.
September 2009 marks the 400th anniversary of New York City. It was on the afternoon of September 12, 1609, that Henry Hudson and his crew sailed aboard the Half Moon into what was to become New York Harbour. The article explores a time when this amazing megalopolis was simply vast wilderness. To help one visualise what a particular section of New York City looked like way back then, a special web site called the Mannahatta Project was created. Mannahatta, meaning "the place of many hills" in the language of the Lenape, a people who had settled in that region millenia before, would later become the English word, Manhattan.
On a related note, there is an excellent PBS series, simply called New York: A Documentary Film, which explores the history of New York City from 1609 to the present day.
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