The cotton gin changed the textile industry by making cotton far easier to sort, greatly increasing the output of available cotton and therefore causing the price to drop. The cotton gin works by separating the cotton fluff that will be made into fabric from seeds and dirt. Previously, picking these seeds out of cotton took a great deal of time and energy, but the invention of the cotton gin in 1794 sped up the process, allowing farms to produce far more cotton and increasing the amount of cotton available for making clothing.
Henry Hudson<span> made his first voyage west from England in 1607, when he was hired to find a shorter route to Asia from Europe through the Arctic Ocean. After twice being turned back by ice, </span>Hudsone mbarked on a third voyage–this time on behalf of the Dutch<span> East India Company–in 1609.</span>