The original name of the area that is now New York state was New Netherland.
The original name of the area that is now New York state was New Netherland. The idea here is to provide the correct answer and also explain how to arrive at that answer. To find out the original name of New York state, you can start by eliminating the options that are clearly incorrect. In this case, options 1 and 2, New France and Fort Orange, can be eliminated because they do not represent the original name of the area. This leaves us with options 3 and 4, New Netherland and Manhattan. While Manhattan is the name of the borough within New York City, it is not the original name of the entire area that is now New York state. Therefore, the correct answer is option 3, New Netherland.