Who was nickname peg legged and why was he important to New York city?

Answer 1

The nickname "Pegleg" refers to Peter Stuyvesant, the last Dutch Director-General of the colony of New Netherland, who served from 1647 to 1664. His accomplishments as Director-General included expansion of the settlement beyond the southern tip of Manhattan, construction of a wall for protection against attacks by Native Americans (this later became Wall Street), digging a canal to drain a noxious swampy area (this developed into Canal Street), and constructing the "Broad Way", a spacious and straight roadway far easier to travel than the narrow twisted streets in rest of the colony.

Stuyvesant was born in the Netherlands around 1612. As director of the Dutch West India Company's colony of Curaçao from 1642 to 1644, he attacked the Spanish-held island of Saint Martin. During the battle, a cannon ball destroyed the lower part of his right leg. The missing part was replaced with a wooden peg and so he became known as "Pegleg Peter".

In 1664, Charles II of England gave to his brother, the Duke of York, a large tract of land that included New Netherland, even though the Dutch also claimed the land and had actually settled it. Four English ships sailed into New Amsterdam's harbor and demanded surrender. Feisty Pegleg wanted to fight them, but wiser heads prevailed, and he surrendered. New Amsterdam became New York.