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Created page with "== Early History and Colonial Era (Pre-1600s to 1776) == New York City's history begins with its original inhabitants, the Lenape, who occupied the region for thousands of years before European contact. The first European to explore the area was Giovanni da Verrazzano, an Italian explorer sailing for France, in 1524. However, it was not until 1609 that Henry Hudson, an Englishman employed by the Dutch East India Company, sailed up the river tha..."
