IMPORTANT!READ THIS FIRST!Before you press ‘Start’, please read this Introduction to the audio tour first. You can also listen to it. Scroll down the text: at the bottom you can touch the audio icon. The Introduction will give you a short history of Albany and its Dutch roots, and it will provide you with a brief explanation as to how to use this audio tour. IntroductionWelcome to the audio tour “How Dutch is New York? – The Albany Tour”.The first Dutchmen who settled on the upper side of the Hudson River were private traders, mostly merchants form Amsterdam. In 1614 they built a small fort on Castle Island in the Hudson River they named Fort Nassau. The fort got flooded every year, so the Dutch West India Company later built a new fort – Fort Orange –on the west bank of the river, which at that time was called Noord Rivier (meaning North River) by the Dutch. The native people in the area called it Mah-i-can-tuc which means ‘river that flows both ways’ – a tidal river.Fort Orange was a trading post within the colony of New Netherland, founded by the Dutch West India Company. Fort Orange became the most important center for the lucrative trade in the skins of beavers and other furry animals and were furnished by Mohawks and Mahikans. It was mainly the Mohawks who brought thousands of skins to Fort Orange every year.A few years later, the ‘patroonship’ of Rensselaerswijck was established on the east bank of the river, just opposite Fort Orange. A ‘patroonship’ was a kind of private colony within the colony of New Netherland and Rensselaerswijck stretched out as far as Fort Orange on the west bank. When the owners of Rensselaerswijck decided to build houses close to the fort, Director General Peter Stuyvesant vehemently opposed this idea. He confiscated the land surrounding the fort and in 1652 established a new village, called Beverwijck (meaning Beaver Town).Twelve years later, in 1664, the English took over the colony New Netherland and changed the name Beverwijck into Albany. Most of the Dutch settlers stayed here and some of their descendants even became part of the Albany elite and some of the luxury mansions they had built in 17th and 18th century Albany can still be seen there. And there is still something left today of the old street plan. On old maps State Street is called ‘Jonckerstraet’ (meaning Esquire Street) or ‘het gemeene boschpadt’ (meaning ‘the public woods road’). In Pearl Street we still recognize the original Dutch name of Paerelstraet. Maiden Lane used to be called Rontstraet (Round Street) and Broadway was usually referred to as ‘de straet’ (the street), and was also called Handelaersstraet (Merchants Street), Coestraet (Cow Street) or Brouwersstraet (Brewers Street).This tour will take you to the historical houses and other marked sites that still remind us of the Dutch presence here. It will also take you to structures from more recent times where the Dutch past also still resonates.Close to each site in the tour you will get information automatically, because you will walk into a GPS-zone. If the audio doesn’t start, you can either read the information or tap on the number you are at on the screen. This will set off the audio.This audio tour starts at the Albany Heritage Area Visitor Center at 25 Quackenbush Square. Press ‘Start’ now, and enjoy your tour!