The 'Seal of the
City of New York', adopted in an earlier form in 1686, bears the legend
SIGILLUM CIVITATIS NOVI EBORACI which means simply "The Seal of the City of New York": ''
Eboracum'' was the Roman name for York, the titular seat of
James II as Duke of York. The two supporters represent the unity between native American and colonist, the four windmill sails recall the city's Dutch history as
New Amsterdam, and the beavers and flour barrels the city's earliest trade goods (see
History of New York City). The crest over the seal is the American eagle added after the Revolution and at the bottom the date, 1625, of the founding of the city.