New Amsterdam Plein: Three

Peter Minuit arrived at a colony in turmoil after several Dutch soldiers were killed by Mohawk Indians some 150 miles upriver from the harbor and frightened settlers, who in 1626 found their leader, Verhulst, guilty of mismanagement, removed him from power, and chose Minuit as their new commander. His first decision reshaped the colony's future: instead of using Noten Island, later Governor’s Island, as a capital, he recognized that it was too small and that Manhattan, a name drawn from the Indian word for “The Island,” was large enough to support a population. Set in a world-class harbor at the mouth of a great river leading into the interior, Manhattan stood as a fulcrum between the development of Europe and the raw landscape of North America.

New York, New York · United States