How Wall Street was Created

Whether you know it from the movies, the financial services industry or even the location itself, the name Wall Street is definitely something that’s very familiar to all of us.

But have you ever wondered how it got its name and why this was chosen to be a centre of business and finance?

Although there are speculations about how the street got its name, it’s widely believed to date back to the Dutch settlers in the 17th century. This is when New York was actually called New Amsterdam and was a Dutch colony.

It was at this time that Governor Petrus Stuyvesant ordered a wall to be built on the Northern boundary, predominantly to keep out the Native Americans, but also other threats including the British. The wall was about 10 feet high and made of big wooden planks. It was so big that it even featured in 17th-century maps.

Surprisingly, the wall only protected the Northern border and not the Southern border, which was a big mistake to make and the British capitalised on this in 1664. They…