The Cost of Manhattan

Have you heard about Manhattan and the Dutch colonists? Here’s how that story goes: When the Dutch Colonists arrived in Manhattan in 1624, they set up a trading post on the southern part of the island. And in 1626, they offered the Native Americans $24 in exchange for ownership of Manhattan.

But in reality, the island was exchanged for goods worth 60 guilders, roughly $1000 in today’s climate. And while this does not disprove the fact that the Dutch colonists paid a meager sum, the punchline is that the native Americans believed the payment was for rent, not outright ownership.