In The Beginning
New York was originally inhabited by Indigenous people, the Lenape, until 1624. The Dutch West India Company settled the area we know today as Manhattan and 
Manhattan Island in the 1500snamed it New Amsterdam. The Dutch were involved in the fur trade. Under Peter Stuyvesant, New Amsterdam was known for its
Peter Stuyvesant religious tolerance, diversity, and growth. In 1626, the Dutch, under Peter Minuit, took control of Manhattan from the indigenous peoples for what some history books claim was $24. At the time, the indigenous people did not have a concept of commerce, so they were not aware that they were “giving” their land to the Dutch. They thought that the Dutch were thanking them for the use of the land. Unfortunately, the Lenape never set foot on their summer hunting grounds again. By 1664, New Amsterdam became New York, renamed for James, Duke of York, when the English acquired the land.
Dutch surrender
