---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Gunnar Larson
Date: Fri, Mar 3, 2023, 9:05 AM
Subject: Seal of New York City - Indians and Windmills
To:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seal_of_New_York_City
Official description
According to the New York City Administrative Code, the city seal must
adhere to the following design:
1. Arms: Upon a shield, saltire wise, the sails of a windmill. Between the
sails, in chief a beaver, in base a beaver, and on each flank a flour
barrel.
2. Supporters: Dexter, a sailor, his right arm bent, and holding in his
right hand a plummet; his left arm bent, his left hand resting on the top
of the shield; above his right shoulder a cross-staff. Sinister, an Indian
of Manhattan, his right arm bent, his right hand resting on top of the
shield, his left hand holding the upper end of a bow, and lower end of
which rests on the ground. Shield and supporters resting upon a horizontal
laurel branch.
3. Date: Beneath the horizontal laurel branch the date 1625 being the year
of the establishment of New Amsterdam.
4. Crest: Upon a hemisphere, an American eagle with wings displayed.
5. Legend: Upon a ribbon encircling the lower half of the design the words
"Sigillum Civitatis Novi Eboraci".
6. The whole encircled by a laurel wreath.[1]
Overview
Edit
The design of the current seal of New York City is adapted from the seal of
the city first used in 1686. It features common elements from coats of arms
used throughout heraldry, such as a shield, supporters, and a crest.[a]
The two supporters represent friendship between Native Americans and
colonists: in the dexter position, a sailor colonist holds a plummet—a
navigational tool—in his right hand, while over his right shoulder is
another navigational tool, a cross-staff; in the sinister position, a
Lenape native to Manhattan rests his left hand on a bow.
On the shield, the four windmill sails recall the city's Dutch history as
New Amsterdam, and the beavers and flour barrels signify the city's
earliest trade goods. Specifically, the flour barrels and windmill sails
represent the tremendous wealth generated by New York City from the Bolting
Act of 1674.[2] The act gave the city an exclusive monopoly to mill and
export flour. The shield and supporters rest on a horizontal laurel branch.
Located at the crest over the shield is an American eagle, added in 1784
after the American Revolution and taken from the seal of New York State.[3]
The eagle replaced an imperial crown, which had represented the authority
of the British monarch during the colonial period. The eagle rests on a
hemisphere.
Beneath the shield is the date, 1625, when New Amsterdam was designated the
capital of the province of New Netherland. The use of this date has been a
source of debate among historians, as there is evidence that the first
European settlers actually arrived in the region, and established what
became New Amsterdam, in 1624. New Amsterdam was incorporated in 1653.[4]
Different founding dates have appeared on the seal throughout its history.
Beneath the date is a ribbon that bears the legend SIGILLUM CIVITATIS NOVI
EBORACI, which means "Seal of the City of New York". Eboracum was the Latin
name for York, the titular seat of James II as Duke of York, for whom New
York City is named.
A laurel wreath, an ancient Greek symbol of victory, encircles the seal.
