31 March 1644: "Resolved: that a fence or park shall be made beginning at the great bouwery and extending to Emanuel's plantation, and every one . . . is warned to repair thither next Monday beginning the 4th of April at 7 o'clock . . . with tools in hand to aid in con-structing said fence. Let everyone take notice hereof and communicate it to his neighbor."

Early Manhattan
April 4th, 1644: Wall St. was born. Manhattan had a couple thousand Dutch settlers (notice the stepped roofs) living below Wall Street. Unlike the British colonies in Virginia, Rhode Island and Massachusetts, New Amsterdam (renamed New York in 1664) was exclusively a trading colony, set up to extract valuable resources from surrounding area. Beaver pelts, in particular, were in high demand in Europe.

The Dutch did not even need to trap them themselves, but could trade with the local indians who were much more adept at it. The Dutch provided the indians with wampum (sea shells collected off the banks of Long Island), liquor, guns and ammunition, in return for beaver pelts and anything else they needed. This was a double-edged sword, however, because these mercenary colonists tended to make quick enemies of the indians, and once they were armed with European weapons, they became a serious threat - hence, the wall.