Stuyvesant, Peter
c.1610
Scherpenzeel, Netherlands
1672
Manhattan, New York
Dutch director general of New Netherland
" . . . if any one should [appeal a law], I will make him a foot shorter, and send the pieces to Holland, and let him appeal in that way."
Peter Stuyvesant.
Peter Stuyvesant was the colorful and controversial director general of the Dutch colony of New Netherland (presentday New York State). During his seventeen years in office, he caused considerable unrest by imposing heavy taxes and passing laws that prohibited religious freedom. However, Stuyvesant was also responsible for some important progress in the colony, such as improving relations with nearby English settlements and promoting commerce. Nevertheless citizens of New Amsterdam (now New York City) ultimately forced him to declare the city a municipality (self-governing political unit). Stuyvesant's harsh rule eventually led to the downfall of New Netherland, which was taken over by the English with no resistance from the Dutch in 1664.
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Petrus Stuyvesant (called Peter by the English) was born in 1592. His mother died in 1625, and his father, the Reverend Balthazar Johannes Stuyvesant, remarried two years later. Before his mother's death, Peter lived with his family in Scherpenzeel (now in West Stellingwerf), where his father waspastor of the Dutch Reformed Church.
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