A first book in American history with European beginnings . rland and came to the Manhattan settlement. Hewas one of the best and wisest governors that the DutchWest India Company ever sent to look after their interestsin America. Up to this time the Dutch had lived on the island ofManhattan without questioning whether it was right orwrong for them to do so. When Peter Minuit came, hesaid that the island belonged to the Indians, and thatthey must be paid for it before the Dutch could call ittheir own. So he sent to the Indians inhabiting Manhat-tan and asked them to sell the island to him. The
A first book in American history with European beginnings . rland and came to the Manhattan settlement. Hewas one of the best and wisest governors that the DutchWest India Company ever sent to look after their interestsin America. Up to this time the Dutch had lived on the island ofManhattan without questioning whether it was right orwrong for them to do so. When Peter Minuit came, hesaid that the island belonged to the Indians, and thatthey must be paid for it before the Dutch could call ittheir own. So he sent to the Indians inhabiting Manhat-tan and asked them to sell the island to him. The Indian chiefs were willing to part with the land127 A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY and sold the whole island to the Dutch for twenty-fourdollars worth of beads, ribbons, knives, and blankets. After Manhattan became Dutch property, Peter Min-uit built a blockhouse surrounded by strong palisades forthe protection of the little town which was named NewAmsterdam. During the summer more settlers came,and soon there were thirty houses in the village. Besides. From a painting by Alfred Fredericks. Purchase of Manhattan by Peter Mintjit. these houses there was a large windmill, a flagstaff fromwhich the Dutch colors floated in the breeze, and later achurch. And the industrious Dutchmen soon felt muchat home. Still the Dutch West India Company saw that somenew inducement must be made if their colony was to growfast enough to suit them. So they offered a tract of landto any member of their company who would agree to havefifty colonists settled on his property within four years. 128 HENRY HUDSON AND THE DUTCH Anyone accepting the offer could choose his own landalong any river in the companys domain. If his estatelay on only one bank of the river, he could claim sixteenmiles of shore line. Or, he could have eight miles oneach bank. In either case his estate should run backfrom the river as far as he wished it to. The owners ofthese estates were to be called patroons. In a very short tim
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