A number of months ago, I stumbled across an image of the “prince’s flag,” the predecessor to the flag of the Netherlands. This flag had uncanny similarities to the New York City flag which made me wonder about the history of the design of the flag. Just this past week, for reasons that I will not go into, I needed to find the RGB, CKMY, or Pantone numbers for the colors of the New York City flag. It put me on a quest, which gave me a better understanding of the meaning behind the city flag.
Description:
According to the City Administrative Code,
§ 2-103 Official city flag.
a. The following design is hereby adopted as the design of the official flag of the city:
1. A flag combining the colors orange, white and blue arranged in perpendicular bars of equal dimensions (the blue being nearest to the flagstaff) with the standard design of the seal of the city in blue upon the middle, or white bar, omitting the legend "Sigillum Civitatis Novi Eboraci," which colors shall be the same as those of the flag of the United Netherlands in use in the year sixteen hundred twenty-five.
The Seal of City
The seal is made up of six predominate features: Shield, two supports, crest, date, legend, and laurel wreath.
At the center of the seal is a shield with saltire-wise (drawn in the direction of the bend of the shield and crossing in the center) sails of a windmill. Between the sails on the top and base are two beavers. Both beavers are in profile. The design of the beavers is the same design of the seal of the New Netherlands. Between the sails on each flank are flour barrels.
Popular belief is that the windmills represent New York’s Dutch history. According to a John Pine's book, “Seal and Flag of the City of New York”, windmills were not exclusively used in Holland, but were widely used in England as well. In addition, in New Amsterdam, and then in New York, the principle source of mechanical power prior to the common use of steam was wind and water. Mr. Pine suggests that sails may have been suggested by one of the leading citizens of New Amsterdam and New York, Mr. Van Courtlandt. Saltire-wise sails of a windmill are exhibited in the Van Courtland family coat of arms. The beavers and the flour barrels represent the cities’ earliest trade goods.
Holding the shield is a Lenape tribesman forming the sinister (left) supporter, and a Dutch sailor forming the dexter (right) supporter. The Native American is holding a self-bow and the sailor is holding a plummet (lead-line) and to his right is a cross-staff both used for water navigation. Both supports are standing on a horizontal laurel.
The crest located above the shield is the American eagle with wings displayed, upon a hemisphere. The crest was added after the revolutionary war to indicate New York City’s succession to the United States. (Some references indicated that the eagle represents New York State). Prior to the change the crest was an imperial crown.
The date, 1625 is located beneath the horizontal laurel. It indicates the official date New Amsterdam was founded by the Dutch. The date has been changed a number of times during the history of the seal. It’s last change happened in 1977, prior to this change it read 1664, signifying the English takeover and renaming New Amsterdam to New York.
The legend in Latin, ‘Sigillum Civitatis Novi Eboraci’, ‘the Seal of the City of New York,’ is removed from the flag’s seal.
Finally, a laurel wreath encapsulates the ensemble.
Origin of the Field.
In 1579, the northern half of the seventeen Dutch provinces under the control of Charles V, King of Spain, decalred their independence which began an 80-year war ending in 1648. (1) One of the most influential of the rebels was Prince William I of Orange, Court of Nassau. (2) The livery colors of William I were Orange, White and Blue (the prince’s coat of arms). These colors were worn as Armbands by his soldiers at the siege of Leiden in 1574 (3), and when the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands (aka Dutch Republic or United Provinces) was born in 1581 they used the horizontal tricolor for the ensign and the flag used on the land. (4) The flag is commonly referred to as the Prince’s Flag.
Republic of the Seven United Netherlands
In 1609, the ship Halve Maen (Half moon) under the command of Henry Hudson was commissioned by the Dutch East Indian Company to find a Northeast ‘New Netherland’ all-water passage to Asia. The Ship possibly flew four ensigns (flags), the South Holland Province, the United Provinces of Holland, the City of Amsterdam and the Dutch East India Company Amsterdam Chamber. (5)
Dutch East Indian Company
Dutch East India Company Amsterdam Chamber
The Dutch fur trading company founded the settlement in 1613 eventually naming it New Amsterdam. Company flags are an important part of vexillogy in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries because companies, rather than governments, were in many cases responsible for the actual exploration, settlement and administration of colonial territories. (6) This was the case in New Amsterdam. The first settlements would have flown the Dutch East Indian Company’s flag. The company’s flag used the national stripes of orange (top), white and blue. It contained three letters, VOC, for Vereenigte Oost-Indische Compagnie, the name of the company in Dutch. (7)
The light blue of the prince’s flag by the time of the settlement of New Amsterdam would have been darker. The “De Nederlandsche Vlag” by C. De Waard, published at Groninge in 1900, establishes the fact that prior to 1630 all flags of the Dutch were orange, white and blue and the same authority indicates that a dark blue, rather than the light blue, was the shade in use. (8) The orange and white have not been contested and it is suggested that the orange has not changed from the time of the original settlement.
It was suggested in the book Seal and Flag of the City of New York, that the blue would have been indigo. Whether imported from India or Egypt or extracted from the plant known as “Woad,” which was cultivated throughout Europe, Indigo was the only fast dye of blue color that was known in 1626 when New Amsterdam was founded. (9)
Image above, NYC flag does not include legend in seal. Rendering of NYC flag at top of page does include legend this rendering is incorrect.
Theoretical Time line of the primary flag flown in New Amsterdam and New York.
1613-1647: Dutch East Indian Company flag then the United New Netherlands Company and after 1621 the Chartered West India Company
1647-1652: National Flag of the Netherlands (the orange was changed to red and the light blue to dark blue around 1630)
1653-1783: Kingdom of England Flag
1783-1915: White field bearing the seal of New York in dark blue.
1915 -1977: Official flag and seal (actually the original British seal) commemorating the 250th anniversary of the assumption of municipal controlled by the English. The Design by Paul Manship. (10)
1977-Present: Official flag with change of seal
And if you are curious:
According to the New York City Arts Commission who graciously provided me with the calibration colors of the present New York City Flag.
Blue = PMS 072
Orange = PMS Orange 021
(However, depending on the printer this is may be too red so use 137)
Footnotes:
(1) Dutch Republic (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_Republic)
(2) William the Silent (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_I_of_Orange)
(3) Smith, Whittney. The Flag Book of the U.S.. New York: William Morrow & Co. 1970
(4) ibid
(5) Site about the Half Moon replica (http://www.hudsonriver.com)
(6) Smith, Whittney. The Flag Book of the U.S.. New York: William Morrow & Co. 1970
(7) ibid
(8) Pine, John B. Seal and Flag of the City of New York. New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons
(9) ibid
(10) the Times Square Enterprises Corporation - 2002 http://nyctimeline.com/data7.HTM
Bibliography:
Report by the Committee of the Art Commission Associates for submission of the city of New York. On the Adoption of an Official Flag By the City of New York and the Restoration of the Ancient Corporate Seal. Jan 1915
Sheffield 57
