PETER MINUET.
 

CHAPTER  IV.
 

PURCHASE   OF   THB   SITE   OP  NEW  YORK.

Peter Minuet. —The First Buildixgs. — The HoEsE-iliLL. —The Fikst Girl born
IN New Netherland.—Diplomatic Correspondence.—The Embassy to Plym¬
outh.— New Netherland not a Pecuniary StccEss. —The Charter of Free¬
dom AND Exemptions. — The Manorial Lords. — Kiliaen Van Rensselaer. — The
V.vs Eensselaer Manor-House. — The Great Ship. — Governor Minuet and
Eecall. —"Wrangling among the Directors of the Company.

THE rocky point of Manhattan Island, near what is now known as
the Battery, was, on the 6th of May, 1626, the scene of one of the
most interesting business transactions which has ever occurred iggg,
in the world's history. It was the purchase of the site of the May e.
city of New York. The West India Company had instructed Peter
Minuet to treat with the Indians for their hunting-grounds, before he
took any steps towards the erection of buildings. He accordingly made
a somewhat superflcial survey of the island, which had been designated
as the field for pioneer operations, and estimated its area at about twenty-
two thousand acres.^ He then caUed together some of the principal
Indian chiefs, and offered beads, buttons, and other trinkets in exchange
for then- real estate. They accepted the terms with unfeigned delight,
and the bargain was closed at once. The value of the baubles which
secured the title to the whole of Manhattan Island was about sixty
guUders, equal in our currency to twenty-four dollars. On the part of
the Dutch, it was merely a poUtic measure to estabUsh future amicable
relations with the natives of the countiy, although it was subsequently
made the basis of the company's claim to the territory. It was, in
itself, a commonplace event; but, in its relation to what has since taken
place, it assumes peculiar signiflcance,. and stands out in immortal char-

^ In Dutch phraseology "it was eleven thousand morgens in size." The Ehineland rod
was the Dutch measure for land. It contained twelve English feet four and three fourths
inches. There are five rods to a Dutch chain, and six hundred sq^uare Dutch rods constitute
a morgen.    Peter Fauoojinicr's Survey Book, 1715 -1734.