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The History of Manhattan

The Dutch were the first Europeans to settle Manhattan. To protect themselves from attacs, they built a sturdy wooden wall. Although it`s now long gone, this wall gave it`s name to a street in Lower Manhattan and the street, in turn, became synonymous with American capitalism. The street, of course, is Wall Street. The New York Stock Exchange and the American Stock Exchange are both located in the Wall Street area. So are many stock brokers, investment blanks and other banks, as well as headquarters of many large corporations.

To escape the commotion of Wall Street you can visit the nearby South Street Seaport, an open area of low buildings on the East River. In addition to many shops and restaraunts, the seaport has a museum. Two good ways to get the larger picture of New York are to circle it around on a boat or to hover over it in helicopter.

As every American schoolchild knows, the Dutch bought Manhattan from the Indians, for the ridiculously low price of 24 dollars worth of beads and trinkets. There is, however, another, less known side of this: evidently, the Indians who had sold Manhattan did not themselves live there or in any sense own it. Both the Dutch and the Indians were pleased with the deal.

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