The beavers on the
seal suggest the early days when the trade in beaver skins made a city
possible. At one time there was a crown on the seal--a king's crown--but
that gave way to an eagle when the English King no longer had a claim on
New York.
Now that the province was prosperous, one would think that the people
would have been quite happy. But they were not. They did not like
Governor Andros because they thought that he taxed them too heavily, and
they sent so many petitions to the Duke of York that, in 1681, Andros
was recalled, and Colonel Thomas Dongan was appointed the new Governor.
A few years later, when the Duke of York became King James II., he
remembered how carefully Andros had carried out his orders, and
appointed him Governor of New England; where he conducted matters so
much to the satisfaction of his King that he earned the title of "The
Tyrant of New England."
When Governor Dongan reached the city and announced that the Duke had
instructed him to let the people have something to say as to how they
should be governed, he was joyfully received. It really seemed now that
everything was going to be satisfactory. But there came a sudden check.
Two years after Dongan became Governor, the Duke of York was made King
of England.
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