Halve Maen facts for kids
19th-century illustration of the Halve Maen
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| History | |
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 Dutch Republic |
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| Name | Halve Maen |
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| Completed | 1608 |
The Halve Maen (which means Half Moon in Dutch) was a special type of ship called a vlieboot. It was like a larger sailing ship known as a carrack. This ship became famous for sailing into what is now New York Harbor in September 1609.
The Halve Maen was built for the Dutch East India Company. This was a powerful trading company in the Dutch Republic. Their secret mission was to find a western sea route to China. The ship's captain was Henry Hudson, an English explorer working for the Dutch.
Many years later, in 1909, the Kingdom of the Netherlands gave the United States a copy of the Halve Maen. This was to celebrate 300 years since Hudson's voyage. Sadly, that replica was destroyed in a fire in 1934. Fifty years later, a second replica was built by the New Netherland Museum.
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The Halve Maen's Journey
The Halve Maen started its journey from Amsterdam. It first sailed towards the Arctic (the North Pole region). Then, it turned southwest and crossed the Atlantic Ocean to North America.
From there, it sailed south from Newfoundland. Captain Hudson was still looking for the Northwest Passage. This was a legendary sea route through North America to Asia.
In a book from 1625, called New World, there are notes from Hudson's own lost journal. Johannes de Laet, a director of the Dutch West India Company, wrote that they sailed south. They reached a place they thought was an island. They named it New Holland, but later found out it was Cape Cod.
From Cape Cod, they continued south to the Chesapeake Bay. Then, they turned north along the coast. They explored the Delaware Bay first. After that, they entered a large river bay. Hudson named this river the Mauritius River. He named it after Maurice, Prince of Orange, a leader in Holland.
The Halve Maen sailed up the Mauritius River. It went as far as where Albany, New York is today. The crew found the water was too narrow and shallow to go further. They realized this river was not the western passage they sought.
Hudson then left the river. He called the native people living near the river's mouth the Manahata. After leaving the river, he sailed northeast. He didn't know that Manhattan and Long Island were actually islands. Finally, he crossed the Atlantic Ocean back to England. He sailed into Dartmouth harbor with the Dutch East India Company ship and crew.
A few years later, around 1618, the original Halve Maen was destroyed. This happened during an English attack on Jakarta in the Dutch East Indies.
Replicas of the Halve Maen
People have built copies of the Halve Maen to remember its important voyages.
The 1909 Replica
In 1909, the Kingdom of the Netherlands gave a replica of the Halve Maen to the United States. This was for the 300th anniversary of Hudson's journey. The ship was built in Amsterdam. Its construction started in October 1908 and it was launched in April 1909.
The replica was then shipped to the U.S. on a freight liner called Soestdijk. It arrived in July to join the 1909 Hudson–Fulton Celebration in New York. It was part of a parade with another American replica ship, the Clermont. This celebrated both Henry Hudson and Robert Fulton. This replica was later moved to Cohoes, New York. Sadly, it was destroyed in a fire on July 22, 1934.
The 1989 Replica
Another copy of the Halve Maen was built in Albany, New York in 1989. This project was done by the New Netherland Museum. Nicholas S. Benton was hired to design and build this replica. He was an expert in building and rigging old ships. To prepare, he visited museums in the Netherlands and the United States.
The project cost about $1 million. After Benton passed away, the New Netherland Museum finished building the Half Moon.
The year 2009 marked NY400. This was the 400th anniversary of the Halve Maen's voyage. For this special event, the crown prince of the Netherlands and his wife visited the replica. Students from a Dutch school were also on board. September 2009 saw many festivals, music, and sailing ships parading around New York Harbor.
Today, the Half Moon is run by a non-profit group. Its crew is made up of volunteers of all ages, from teenagers to people in their eighties.
In April 2015, the ship was loaned to the Westfries Museum in Hoorn, Netherlands. In 2019, the Hoorn Council decided not to keep the ship. Now, the Halve Maen is in the Port of Volendam. It is open to the public at a permanent spot. The replica also took part in SAIL Amsterdam 2015, a big sailing event.
Giant Weathervane
There is a large model of the Halve Maen on top of the SUNY Plaza building in Albany, New York. It is 10 feet (about 3 meters) tall and 10 feet long. People say it is the biggest working weathervane in North America!
In Popular Culture
The Halve Maen is mentioned in the famous story of Rip Van Winkle. This story was written by Washington Irving in 1819. In the tale, Rip Van Winkle goes into the Catskill Mountains. There, he discovers Henry Hudson and the ship's crew!
