Manhattan Island was purchased by Dutch colonial governor Peter Minuit from the Lenape people in 1626 for trade goods valued at 60 guilders—roughly $1,000-$1,150 in today's money, not the commonly cited $24.
The Manhattan Purchase Wasn't $24 Worth of Beads
If you learned in school that Manhattan Island was bought for $24 worth of beads and trinkets, you learned one of history's most persistent myths. The real story is far more complicated—and far more interesting.
What Actually Happened in 1626
On May 4, 1626, Dutch West India Company official Peter Minuit completed a deal with members of the Lenape people for the island of Manhattan. The only primary source we have is a letter written seven months later by Dutch merchant Pieter Schagen, stating the island was purchased "for the value of 60 guilders."
No beads. No trinkets. Just 60 guilders worth of trade goods.
The $24 Myth
So where did the famous "$24" figure come from? In 1846, New York historian John Romeyn Brodhead converted 60 guilders to its equivalent in mid-19th century U.S. dollars: $24. That conversion—frozen in time for nearly 200 years—has nothing to do with what those goods were actually worth in 1626 or what they're worth today.
Modern historians estimate 60 guilders in 1626 had purchasing power equivalent to roughly $1,000 to $1,150 in today's money. Still a bargain for one of the world's most valuable pieces of real estate, but not quite the pittance of legend.
What Did They Actually Trade?
The letter doesn't specify exactly what was traded, but we have clues from similar transactions. When the Dutch purchased Staten Island a few decades later, the payment included:
- Duffel cloth and shirts
- Gunpowder and muskets
- Kettles and cooking pots
- Metal tools: axes, adzes, knives, and awls
These weren't worthless baubles. To the Lenape, European metal tools and cloth were valuable, practical goods that enhanced their daily lives. Native Americans were shrewd traders who understood value—the notion that they were duped by shiny trinkets is both historically inaccurate and culturally dismissive.
They Might Have Sold Land They Didn't Own
Here's where it gets really interesting: Peter Minuit may have bought Manhattan from the wrong tribe. Evidence suggests he negotiated with the Canarsees, a Lenape band from what's now Brooklyn. But the Weckquaesgeeks actually lived on most of Manhattan.
If true, Minuit essentially bought property from someone who didn't own it. Imagine buying a house from your neighbor's cousin.
A Clash of Worldviews
Perhaps the biggest misunderstanding wasn't about price—it was about the very concept of land ownership. The Lenape had no tradition of permanent land sales. To them, the arrangement likely represented shared use rights and an alliance, not a permanent transfer of ownership.
The Dutch thought they were buying land forever. The Lenape thought they were agreeing to share it temporarily. That fundamental disconnect would fuel centuries of conflict across North America.
So no, Manhattan wasn't sold for $24 worth of beads. It was exchanged for about $1,000 worth of useful goods, possibly by people who didn't own it, to buyers who misunderstood what they were buying. Somehow, that's an even better story.