Honoring Our Roots
Commemorating the Unity of the City of New York
Over the next few years, we would like you to join us in commemorating and honoring the original founders and builders of the City of New York. Although under Dutch rule, the early people of New Amsterdam were Europeans: Germans, French, French Huguenots, Scandinavians, Scots, English, Irish, Italians, Croats, Jews, and enslaved Africans. By 1665, it was said that there were eighteen European and Native American languages spoken in New Amsterdam, not to mention the different languages from the African nations.