The most famous bargain in American history is said to be the Native North Americans sale of Manhattan Island in 1626 to Peter Minuit, of the Dutch West India Company, for a sack of beads, clothes and ironware. It was all worth about 60 guilders, or about $24. The entire island, which lies in the most highly populated city in the US, cost him just 41 cents per square kilometre.
Manhattan was first discovered by an Italian explorer Giovanni da Verazzano. He was working for the king of French. He raised the French flag, claimed the land for the French and founded a small village.
