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 dis¬trict takes its name from the ship’s captain Pieter de Meij. The latter settled in Curaçao from Brazil around 1674. He was the owner of 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 situated close to Altena and was also called ‘Pieter de Meij’. This lot was bought by Nicolaas van Liebergen, the then director of the WIC in Curaçao. He had three houses built there for himself by slaves and with building material belonging to the Company. His successor, director J. van Erpecum, thought this way of behaving was very reprehensible and informed the Amsterdam chamber.