Peter Stuyvesant chose a military career and entered the service of the Dutch West India Company in 1635. By 1643 he was governor of several Caribbean islands, including Curacao. The following year, he attacked the Portuguese island of St. Martin and was wounded. Stuyvesant became governor of New Netherland in 1646, arriving in New Amsterdam in May 1647. He found a colony with colonists speaking 18 different languages. One of his positive moves was to organize a company of volunteer firemen to be ready in the event of fire in the colony. Because of his tight regulations and high duties, traders stayed away, and the colony stagnated. He annexed a weaker New Sweden in 1655. That annexation included New Jersey, Delaware, and Pennsylvania.