1909 Drawing of the Manhattan Purchase
In 1626, a band of Canarsie Indians had traveled to Manhattan and stumbled upon Peter Minuit, who made a deal with the Indians and purchased, infamously, the entire island for the equivalent of twenty-four dollars – a large part of which was distributed as wampum. Ironically, the land did not belong to the Canarsies. The earliest surviving written record of the Manhattan purchase is from 1626 by Peter Schaghen, who noted that the men aboard the Arms of Amsterdam ship traded 60 guilders for the island as well as receiving offerings of fur pelts from the Native Americans.[i]
[i] Peter Schagen Letter, November 7, 1626, http://www.newnetherlandinstitute.org/history-and-heritage/more-historical-fun/dutch-treats/peter-schagen-letter/..
