Petrus Stuyvesant

Petrus (Peter) Stuyvesant was director general of New Netherland from 1647 to 1664. Before being appointed to his post in New Netherland, Stuyvesant served in the West Indies and lost a leg during an attack on the island of St. Martin. This image reproduces an original painting of Stuyvesant that is now in the collections of the New-York Historical Society. The reproduction was created on a glass slide by the State Education Department in an early effort to provide teaching aids to teachers for classroom use. In the early twentieth century, the history of New Netherland was an important part of the curriculum, as was the study of historical art and famous figures from New York’s past.

New York State Archives [Series A3045, Instructional lantern slides, ca. 1856–1939]