Lived: 1589-1638 Peter Minuit was simply following custom. But by trading roughly 60 guilders worth of goods, about $500 today, to the Native Americans living on the island of Manhattan in exchange for colonization rights, Minuit was to make one of the most famous purchases in history. The purchase was made as the beginning of Minuit's tenure as governor-general of New Amsterdam. When Minuit was dismissed from his position - for what we do not know - he would lead a colony for the Swedish government. Minuit would meet his end transporting a shipment of tobacco directly into a hurricane.