Dutch colonization of the Americas In 1624, the first colonists, mostly Walloons and their slaves-bound servants, arrived to New Netherland by the shipload, landing at Governors Island and initially dispensed to Fort Orange, Fort Wilhelmus and Kievets Hoek. In 1626, Director of the WIC Peter Minuit purchased the island of Manhattan from the Lenape natives and started construction of Fort Amsterdam, which grew to become the main port and capital, New Amsterdam. The colony expanded to outlying areas at Pavonia, Brooklyn, Bronx, and Long Island. On the Connecticut River, Fort Huys de Goede Hoop was completed in 1633 at present day Hartford. By 1636, the
Coney Island the north east side is, for the most part, enclosed in bulkheads. The original Native American inhabitants of the region, the Lenape, called this area "Narrioch". This name has been attributed the meaning of ""land without shadows"" or ""always in light"" describing how its south facing beaches always remained in sunlight. A second meaning attributed to "Narrioch" is ""point"" or ""corner of land"". The first documented European name for the island is the Dutch name "Conyne Eylandt" or "Conynge Eylandt." This would roughly be equivalent to "Konijn Eiland" using modern Dutch spelling, meaning "Rabbit Island". The name was anglicized to