“Gotham City” is most often recognized as the setting for the Batman franchise, but it turns out to be the name of an old town near Sherwood, England. Since the 13th century it was the subject of little stories, usually portraying the inhabitants as fools at worst and tricksters at best. Click here for a 33-minute video of the origins of New York City presentation posed on March 1, 2024 by Gold and Gunpowder.

In 1807, New York denizen Washington Irving wrote a series of sardonic essays associating his hometown with the “antient city of Gotham”, in order to mock the fashionable citizenry viewed as self-important and foolish. The nickname stuck, and the likeness isn’t entirely irrelevant.

According to legend, Dutch merchants landed on Manhattan Island in 1626, and bought it from the natives for a trifling sum of 60 guilder – around one million US dollars today. Most people remember the purchase as costing 24 dollars, but that figure originated from a misunderstanding in 1846, and since then we’ve had a bit of inflation.

Whether the story is true or not and its exact details aren’t too important: but it shows that even from its inception, New York was a city of commerce. And in 17th century colonial America, the best way to make a profit, was to fund piracy.