MINUIT, MINUITS, or MINNEWIT. PETER, 1580-1641; b. Germany; a deacon in the Protestant or church in Wesel, who removed to Holland early in the 17th c., and after a residence there of some years received from the Dutch West India com pany the appointment of governor and of New Netherland. Ile reached the seat of his government, :Manhattan island, May 4, 1626, and proceeded to establish in permanency his tenure and that of the company by purchasing the island from the Indians, obtaining it for the sum of sixty guilders, about 24 dollars. He built fort Amsterdam, and defended the claim of the Dutch to rightful possession of the island with great courage and determination, while lie administered the affairs of his office judiciously and to the general satisfaction of the colony, which advanced in power and prosperity. The fact that the patroons were successful in estIblishing titles to enormous tracts of land became objectionable to the Dutch W3st India company, who recognized the introduction of abuses in this course and placed the responsibility on the shoulders of goy. Mina In 1631 he was accordingly recalled by the company, and sailed for Holland in the following spring, but was driven into Plymouth, Eng., by a gale. Here it charge was set up against him of having prosecuted illegal trading within English dominions, and his vessel was attached on complaint made by the New 'England council. It required a protest from the ambassador of Holland in London to obtain the release of the vessel, and the discharge of the complaint; and this was not effected until the latter part of May. Minuit now made every effort to re-establish himself in the favor of the
Dutch West India co.npany, but without success, and at length offered his services to the government of Sweden for colonizing purposes. llis proposition was favorably consid ered by the celebrated Oxenstiern, who was then chancellor, and through his influence a Swedish West India company was organized, and Minuit was commissioned by the queen to establish a Swedish colony in America. He accordingly gathered together sufficient Swedes and Finns for this purpose, and sailed for the port of Gothenburg, Sweden; in 1687, bound for the w. coast of Delaware bay, which point had been selected for the site of the new colony, Ile arrived in Chesapeake bay in the spring of 1638, and built fort Christiana, near where the city of Wilmington, Del. now stands. The Swedish colonization scheme was bitterly opposed by time Dutch, who threw every pos sible obstacle in the way of its success, and eventually captured the colony and annexed it to their possessions in 1655. But while it was under the direction of Minuit, during which time it was called New Sweden, the Dutch were unable to accomplish its absorp tion. Minna died at fort Christiana.