Do you Have $24.00 to Invest?
April 15, 2012 Leave a comment
“One of the historical icons of American colonial history is the $24.00 purchase of Manhattan Island. The basis for this figure came directly from the Schaghen letter when the 60 guilders was translated using the monetary conversion rate of late 1800s. In no way does it accurately reflect the value of the goods received by the Indians for an island which they only used for hunting purposes. They also were unaware that the transaction was for permanent possession of the land–a concept totally foreign to them. Land could be used but never owned. “