Who was Peter Minuit, and why did he purchase Manhattan?

Peter Minuit was a Dutch colonial governor and a member of the Dutch West Indian Company. He became the third director of the New Netherland Colony. As director, he was tasked with purchasing the land of Manhattan from the Native Americans that lived there. He traded 60 guilders for the land, and because of this negotiation, Minuit was able to consolidate the Dutch settlements, which were previously scattered.
This land purchase has been questioned by scholars, especially considering that Native Americans did not have the same concept of land ownership that the Europeans did. This, along with the language barrier, could have created a miscommunication between Minuit and the Native Americans, and there was not accurate record-keeping during these times to confirm the technicalities of the deal made between Minuit and the Native Americans.