Peter Minuit Peter Minuit Peter Minuit, Pieter Minuit, Pierre Minuit, or Peter Minnewit (between 1580 and 1585 – August 5, 1638) was a Walloon from Wesel, in present-day North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, then part of the Duchy of Cleves. His surname means "midnight" in French. He was the 4th Director of the Dutch North American colony of New Netherland from 1626 until 1631, and 3rd Governor of New Netherland. He founded the Swedish colony of New Sweden on the Delaware Peninsula in 1638. Minuit is generally credited with orchestrating the purchase of Manhattan Island for the Dutch from the Lenape Native Americans. Manhattan
Woody Island (Alaska) Woody Island (Alaska) Woody Island is located in Chiniak Bay, east of Kodiak, Alaska. It was originally settled by the native Alutiiq people who called themselves Tangirnarmiut, "the people of Tangirnaq." They inhabited and used Woody Island for thousands of years. The Russians established an agricultural colony on Woody Island in 1792. It was officially designated Wood Island in 1894 by the US Post Office and was the primary coastal settlement for commerce and trade for many years. The first road in Alaska was built on Woody Island. Aside from the Aleut presence, the island has gone through four periods