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In 1626, Peter Minuit, governor of the Dutch settlements in North America known as New Amsterdam, negotiated with Canarsee Indian chiefs for the purchase of Manhattan Island for merchandise valued at sixty guilders or about $24.12. He purchased the island for the Dutch West India Company.

The next year, Fort Amsterdam was built by the company at the extreme southern tip of the island. Because attempts to encourage Dutch immigration were not immediately successful, offers, generous by the standards of the era, were extended throughout Europe. Consequently, the settlement became the most heterogeneous of the North American colonies. By 1637, the fort had expanded into the village of New Amsterdam, and other small communities had grown up around it, including New Haarlem and Stuyvesant’s Bouwery, and New Amsterdam began to prosper, developing characteristics of religious and linguistic tolerance unusual for the times. By 1643, it was reported that eighteen different languages were heard in New Amsterdam alone.Among the multilingual settlers was a large group of English colonists from Connecticut and Massachusetts who supported the English King’s claim to all of New Netherlands set out in a charter that gave the territory to his brother James, the Duke of York. In 1664, when the English sent a formidable fleet of warships into the New Amsterdam harbor, Dutch governor Peter Stuyvesant surrendered without resistance.

When the English acquired the island, the village of New Amsterdam was renamed New York in honor of the Duke. By the onset of the Revolution, New York City was already a bustling commercial center. After the war, it was selected as the first capital of the United States. Although the government was eventually moved, first to Philadelphia and then to Washington, D.C., New York City has remained the unofficial commercial capital.

During the 1690s, New York became a haven for pirates who conspired with leading mer- chants to exchange supplies for their ships in return for a share in the plunder. As a colony, New York exchanged many agricultural products for English manufactured goods. In addition, trade with the West Indies prospered. Three centuries after his initial trade with the Indians, Minuit’s tiny investment was worth more than seven billion dollars.

 

[question text="Which of the following would be the best title for this passage? " answers="*A History of New York City#An Account of the Dutch Colonies#A Biography of Peter Minuit#The First Capital of the United States "] 

 

[question text="What did the Indians receive in exchange for their island? " answers="Sixty Dutch guilders#$24.12 U.S.#*Goods and supplies#Land in New Amsterdam "] 

 

[question text="Where was New Amsterdam located? " answers="In Holland#*In North America#On the island of Manhattan#In India "] 

 

[question text="The word 'heterogeneous' in line 6 could best be replaced by " answers=" liberal#renowned#*diverse#prosperous "] 

 

[question text="Why were so many languages spoken in New Amsterdam? " answers="The Dutch West India Company was owned by England#The Dutch West India Company allowed freedom of speech#*The Dutch West India Company recruited settlers from many different countries in Europe#The Indians who lived there before the Dutch West India Company purchase spoke many languages "] 

 

[question text="The word “formidable” in line 11 is closest in meaning to " answers="*powerful#modern#expensive#unexpected "] 

 

[question text="The name of  New Amsterdam was changed " answers="to avoid a war with England#*to honour the Duke of York#to attract more English colonists#to encourage trade during the 1660s "] 

 

[question text="The word “it” in line 14 refers to " answers="revolution#*New York City#the island#the first capital "] 

 

[question text="Which city was the first capital of the new United States? " answers="New Amsterdam#*New York#Philadelphia#Washington "] 

 

[question text="On what date was Manhattan valued at $7 billion? " answers="1626#1726#1656#*1926 "] 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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