Debunking the Myth of the Manhattan Purchase

If you are a native New Yorker or even if you’re not, you have probably read or heard the story of how the island of Manhattan was bought by a shrewd Dutch man back in 1626 from the unassuming Lenape (original people) for a mere $24.
Debunking the Myth of the Manhattan Purchase
Rev. Robert Chase (L), founding director of Intersections International, and Hadrien Coumans, co-founder and director of Lenape Center, at the Marble Collegiate Church, 1 W 29th Street, Manhattan, New York, on Nov. 5, 2014. Chase and Coumans were instrumental in bringing the Native American opera, “Purchase of Manhattan” to the Marble Collegiate Church, to be presented on Nov. 20, 2014. Petr Svab/Epoch Times
Arleen Richards
Updated:

NEW YORK—If you are a native New Yorker or even if you’re not, you have probably read or heard the story of how the island of Manhattan was bought by a shrewd Dutch man back in 1626 from the unassuming Lenape (original people) for a mere $24.

No one can change the course of history, and once it’s written, we tend to be kind of stuck with it. This story has stood the test of time—so much so, that the man who is credited for securing this sweet land deal, Peter Minuit, now has a plaza named after him in Battery Park, New York.

Many people believe that since that sale happened more than 400 years ago, the Lenape or “the Indians” as they were mistakenly called by European explorers, should be over it by now. After all, time heals all wounds, as the saying goes. 

But, even President John F. Kennedy’s mother, Rose Kennedy, didn’t agree.

Commenting on the old adage, Rose Kennedy once said, “The wounds remain. In time, the mind, protecting its sanity, covers them with scar tissue and the pain lessens. But it is never gone.”

Descendants of the Lenape who were ultimately harmed by this purchase don’t agree that a transaction actually occurred in 1626, as there was no concept of land sale that the Lenape understood. 

The 'Purchase of Manhattan Island' by Alfred Frederick. (Public domain)
The 'Purchase of Manhattan Island' by Alfred Frederick. Public domain
Arleen Richards
Arleen Richards
NTD News Legal Correspondent
Arleen Richards is NTD's legal correspondent based at the network's global headquarters in New York City, where she covers all major legal stories. Arleen holds a Doctor of Law (J.D.).
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