Peter Stuyvesant

Three years after the Pilgrims founded the Massachusetts Colony in 1620, the Dutch founded their own North American colony on the island that would eventually become New York City. When leading members of the Dutch colony, called New Amsterdam, needed a new governor, the company began looking for a replacement. They wanted someone who was honest, brave, loyal to the company, and experienced in colonial affairs. Peter Stuyvesant had all these qualities and more Stuyvesant remained New Amsterdam's governor from 1647 until 1664, when the city was captured by an English army under the command of the Duke of York. Along the way, Stuyvesant's often narrow-minded beliefs made him a few enemies.