AN EXCITING PAST

Pietermaai came into being in the late 17th century in the area east of Fort Amsterdam and De Willemstad, as Punda was called in those days. The district takes its name from the ship’s captain Pieter de Meij. The latter settled in Curaçao from Brazil around 1674. He owned a plantation near the current Julianaplein called ‘Zeelucht’ (Sea air). In 1680 the West Indian Trading Company (‘WIC’) auctioned off a plot in that neighborhood, which is mentioned as being close to Altena and was also called ‘Pieter de Meij.’ Nicolaas van Liebergen, the then-director of the WIC in Curaçao, bought this lot. He had three houses built there for himself by slaves and with building materials belonging to the Company. His successor, director J. van Erpecum, thought this way of behaving was reprehensible and informed the Amsterdam chamber.