History of New York City (prehistory–1664) with the ethnic and racial balance of the community. The economic activity brought in a wide variety of ethnic groups to the fledgling city during the 17th century, including Spanish, Jews, and Africans, some of them as slaves. The Dutch origins can still be seen in many names in New York City, such as Coney Island (from "Konijnen Eiland" – Dutch for "Rabbit Island"), Bowery from "bouwerij" (modern Dutch "boerderij" = "farm"), Brooklyn (from Breukelen), Harlem from Haarlem (formalized in 1658 as "Nieuw Haarlem"), Greenwich Village (from Greenwijck, meaning "pine wood quarter"), Flushing (from Vlissingen) and Staten Island (from "Staaten
Dutch Americans Dutch Americans Dutch Americans are Americans of Dutch descent whose ancestors came from the Netherlands in the recent or distant past. Whether it is intentional, they usually maintain connections with their Dutch heritage, by having, for example, a Dutch surname or belonging to a Dutch community group. Dutch settlement in the Americas started in 1613 with New Amsterdam, which was exchanged with the British for the current Suriname at the Treaty of Breda (1667) and renamed New York City. The British split the Dutch colony of New Netherland into two pieces, and named them New York and New Jersey. Further