Question: who explored the east coast of north america for the netherlands

title: Henry Hudson
text: In 1609 Hudson was chosen by merchants of the Dutch East India Company in the Netherlands to find an easterly passage to Asia . While awaiting orders and supplies in Amsterdam , he heard rumors of a northwest route to the Pacific through North America . Hudson had been told to sail through the Arctic Ocean north of Russia , into the Pacific and so to the Far East . Hudson departed Amsterdam on 4 April in command of the Dutch ship Halve Maen . He could not complete the specified ( eastward ) route because ice blocked the passage , as with all previous such voyages , and he turned the ship around in mid-May while somewhere east of Norway 's North Cape . At that point , acting outside his instructions , Hudson pointed the ship west and decided to try to seek a westerly passage through North America . 

Answer: answer: In 1609 Hudson was chosen by merchants of the Dutch East India Company in the Netherlands to find an easterly passage to Asia. He could not complete the specified (eastward) route because ice blocked the passage. At that point, acting outside his instructions, Hudson pointed the ship west and decided to try to seek a westerly passage through North America.