For the sake of this project we have used the term 'affiliation' as it is not always possible to determine citizenship, and/or genetic background of the diverse people who settled in New Netherland.
For example, settlers in New Amsterdam are listed as being Turkish, German, English, etc. but in many cases we have included them in the Dutch affiliation as they were choosing to settle in a colony organized by the Dutch.
In the case of enslaved peoples who clearly did not choose to become part of the Dutch, English, or other European settlements, whenever possible we have also affiliated them with their country of origin.
If a specific country is not salient in our research, and the person is likely to be of African descent we have used Affiliation - African until more specific information is available.
We have also assumed that people might have more than one affiliation because of heritage, intermarriage, or perhaps circumstances, land deals, court cases, and the change in power of the colonies over time.
Angola is sometimes noted in either the last name of the person, or perhaps in documents relating to them. Many enslaved Africans came from what was the Kingdom of Kongo, where internal wars resulted in the establishment of a significant slave trade with Europe, the Caribbean, Brazil, and North America.