Province of New Jersey

Proprietary Colony of England (1664–73)
Royal Colony of England (1702–06)
Royal Colony of Great Britain (1707–76)

1664–1673
1702–1776

Flag

Capital

Elizabethtown (1664–73)
Perth Amboy and Burlington (1702–76)

Languages

English, Dutch

Government

Constitutional monarchy

Legislature

Council
General Assembly

History

•

Established

1664

•

Disestablished

1776

Currency

Pound sterling

Preceded by

Succeeded by

New Netherland

New Jersey

Today part of

United States

History of New Jersey

Colonial period
American Revolution
Nineteenth century
Twentieth century
Twenty-first century
Timeline of New Jersey

The Province of New Jersey was one of the Middle Colonies of Colonial America and became the U.S. state of New Jersey in 1776. The province had originally been settled by Europeans as part of New Netherland, but came under English rule after the surrender of Fort Amsterdam in 1664, becoming a proprietary colony. The English then renamed the province after the Isle of Jersey in the English Channel. The Dutch Republic reasserted control for a brief period in 1673–1674. After that it consisted of two political divisions, East Jersey and West Jersey, until they were united as a royal colony in 1702. The original boundaries of the province were slightly larger than the current state, extending into a part of the present state of New York, until the border was finalized in 1773.^[1]

Map showing the borders of West New Jersey (left) and East New Jersey (right)

Background

The relative location of New Netherland and New Sweden in eastern North America.

The Province of New Jersey was originally settled in the 1610s as part of the colony of New Netherland. The surrender of Fort Amsterdam in September 1664 gave control over the entire Mid-Atlantic region to the English as part the Second Anglo-Dutch War. The English justified the seizure by claiming that John Cabot (c. 1450 – c. 1508), an Italian under the sponsorship of the English King Henry VII, had been the first to discover the place, though it was probably to assert control over the profitable North Atlantic trade. Director-General of New Netherland, Peter Stuyvesant, (unable to rouse a military defense) relinquished control of the colony and was able in the articles of transfer to secure guarantees for property rights, laws of inheritance, and freedom of religion. After the surrender Richard Nicolls took the position as deputy-governor of New Amsterdam and the rest of New Netherland, including those settlements on the west side of the North River (Hudson River) known as Bergen, and those along the Delaware River that had been New Sweden.

Proprietary government

See also: Lords Proprietor (1665–1703) and Governors under the Proprietors (1665–1674)

In March 1664, King Charles II granted his brother, James, the Duke of York, a Royal colony that covered New Netherland and present-day Maine.^[2] This charter also included parts of present-day Massachusetts, which conflicted with that colony's charter. The charter allowed James traditional propriety rights and imposed few restrictions upon his powers. In general terms, the charter was equivalent to a conveyance of land conferring on him the right of possession, control, and government, subject only to the limitation that the government must be consistent with the laws of England. The Duke of York never visited his colony and exercised little direct control of it. He elected to administer his government through governors, councils, and other officers appointed by himself. No provision was made for an elected assembly.

Later in 1664, the Duke of York gave the part of his new possessions between the Hudson River and the Delaware River to Sir George Carteret in exchange for settlement of a debt.^[3] The territory was named after the Island of Jersey, Carteret's ancestral home.^[4] The other section of New Jersey was sold to Lord Berkeley of Stratton, who was a close friend of the Duke. As a result, Carteret and Berkeley became the two English Lords Proprietors of New Jersey.^[5]^[6] The two proprietors of New Jersey attempted to attract more settlers to move to the province by granting sections of lands to settlers and by passing the Concession and Agreement, a 1665 document that granted religious freedom to all inhabitants of New Jersey;^[7] under the British government, there was no such religious freedom as the Church of England was the state church. In return for the land, the settlers were supposed to pay annual fees known as quit-rents.

In 1665, Philip Carteret became the first Governor of New Jersey, appointed by the two proprietors. He selected Elizabeth as the capital of New Jersey. Immediately, Carteret issued several additional grants of land to landowners. Towns were started and charters granted to Bergen (1668) Woodbridge (1669), Piscataway (1666), Shrewsbury, Middletown (1693) and Newark (1666).

The idea of quitrents became increasingly difficult because many of the settlers refused to pay them. Most of them claimed that they owed nothing to the proprietors because they received land from Richard Nicolls, Governor of New York. This forced Berkeley to sell West Jersey to John Fenwick and Edward Byllynge, two English Quakers. Many more Quakers made their homes in New Jersey, seeking religious freedom from English (Church of England) rule.

Meanwhile, conflicts began rising in New Jersey. Edmund Andros, governor of New York, attempted to gain authority over East Jersey after the death of Proprietor George Carteret in 1680. However, he was unable to remove the position of governorship from Governor Phillip Carteret and subsequently moved to attack him and brought him to trial in New York. Carteret was later acquitted. In addition, quarrels occurred in between Eastern and Western New Jerseyans, between Native Americans and New Jerseyans and between different religious groups. In the largest of these squabbles, the New York-New Jersey Line War some 210,000 acres (849.8 km²) of land were at stake between New York and New Jersey. The conflict was eventually settled by a royal commission in 1769.

East Jersey and West Jersey

1706 Map of East and West Jersey

See also: Governors of East Jersey (1674–1702) and Governors of West Jersey (1680–1702)

From 1674 to 1702, the Province of New Jersey was divided into East Jersey and West Jersey, each with its own governor. Each had its own constitution: the West Jersey Constitution (1681) and the East Jersey Constitution (1683).^[8]^[9]

The exact border between West and East Jersey was often disputed. The border between the two sides reached the Atlantic Ocean to the north of present-day Atlantic City. The border line was created by George Keith and can still be seen in the county boundaries between Burlington and Ocean Counties, and between Hunterdon and Somerset Counties. The Keith line runs NNW from the southern part of Little Egg Harbor Township, passing just north of Tuckerton, and reaching upward to a point on the Delaware River which is just north of the Delaware Water Gap. Later, the 1676 Quintipartite Deed helped to lessen the disputes. More accurate surveys and maps were made to resolve property disputes. This resulted in the Thornton line, drawn around 1696, and the Lawrence line, drawn around 1743, which was adopted as the final line for legal purposes.^[10]

Dominion of New England

The Dominion of New England was a short-lived administrative union. On May 7, 1688, the Province of New York, the Province of East Jersey, and the Province of West Jersey were added to the Dominion. The capital was located in Boston but, due to its size, New York and the Jerseys were run by the lieutenant governor from New York City. After news of the overthrow of James II by William of Orange in the Glorious Revolution of 1688 reached Boston, the colonists rose up in rebellion, and the dominion was dissolved in 1689.

Royal colony

On April 17, 1702, under the rule of Queen Anne, the two sections of the proprietary colony were united and New Jersey became a royal colony. Edward Hyde, Lord Cornbury, became the first governor of the colony as a royal colony. However, he was an ineffective and corrupt ruler, taking bribes and speculating on land. In 1708, Lord Cornbury was recalled to England. New Jersey was then again ruled by the governors of New York, but this infuriated the settlers of New Jersey, accusing those governors of favoritism to New York. Judge Lewis Morris led the case for a separate governor, and was appointed governor by King George II in 1738.^[11]

New York–New Jersey Line War

Provincial Congress

First state constitution

New Jersey's first state constitution was adopted on July 2, 1776.^[12] The American Revolutionary War was underway and General George Washington recently had been defeated in New York, putting the state in danger of invasion.^[12] The 1776 New Jersey State Constitution was drafted in five days and ratified within the next two days to establish a temporary government, thereby preventing New Jersey from collapsing and descending into anarchy.^[13] Among other provisions, it granted unmarried women and blacks who met property requirements the right to vote.^[12]

Judiciary

The Supreme Court was established in 1704, to sit alternately at Perth Amboy and Burlington, consisting of a Chief Justice, a Second Judge and several Associate Judges.

Chief Justices ^[14]

Incumbent	Tenure		Notes
Incumbent	Took office	Left office	Notes
Roger Mompesson	Oct 1704	1709
Thomas Gordon	28 Apr 1709	1709
Roger Mompesson	1709	14 Feb 1710
David Jamison	1710	1723
William Trent	23 Nov 1723	25 Dec 1724
Robert Lettis Hooper	2 Jan 1725	1728
Thomas Farmar	1728	1728
Robert Lettis Hooper	1729	1738
Robert Hunter Morris	17 Mar 1739	27 January 1757	disputed resignation in 1754, left for England 1757
William Aynsley	16 Feb 1757	May 1758
Robert Hunter Morris	1761	27 Jan 1764	restored to office
Charles Reade	20 Feb 1764	1764
Frederick Smyth	17 Oct 1764	1766

References

↑ The New York – New Jersey Line War (also known as the "N.J. Line War") refers to a series of skirmishes and raids that took place between 1701 and 1765 at the disputed border between two American colonies — the Province of New Jersey and the Province of New York.
↑ "Timeline". New York State Senate. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
↑ Turner, Jean-Rae and Richard T. Koles (Aug 27, 2003). Elizabeth: First Capital of New Jersey. Arcadia Publishing. p. 11. ISBN 0738523933. |access-date= requires |url= (help)
↑ The province was also called "the Province of New Caesaria or New Jersey". See: Philip Carteret.
↑ Rieff, Henry, "Intrepretations of New York-New Jersey Agreements 1834 and 1921" (PDF), Newark Law Review, 1 (2)
↑ "Land Speculation and Proprietary Beginnings of New Jersey" (PDF). The Advocate. New Jersey Land Title Association. XVI (4): 3, 20, 14. Retrieved April 15, 2010.
↑ The Concession and Agreement was the first of three fundamental documents that governed the Province of New Jersey. See: New Jersey State Constitution#Previous versions. See also: History of the New Jersey State Constitution. For the other two fundamental documents, see #East Jersey and West Jersey.
↑ Avalon Project. "Province of West New-Jersey, in America, The 25th of the Ninth Month Called November". Yale Law School. Retrieved 2006-12-17. Avalon Project. "The Fundamental Constitutions for the Province of East New Jersey in America, Anno Domini 1683". Yale Law School. Retrieved 2006-12-17.
↑ See: New Jersey State Constitution#Previous versions. See also: History of the New Jersey State Constitution. In addition to these two fundamental documents, a third such document was the Concession and Agreement. See: #Settlement and early history.
↑ Aun, Fred (January 1995). "A Fine Old Line Across New Jersey". Coordinate. 15 (1). Retrieved 2 May 2013.
↑ Streissguth pg 30–36
1 2 3 See: New Jersey State Constitution#Previous versions.
↑ "The New Jersey Constitution of 1776". Retrieved 2006-12-17.
↑ Tanner, Edwin. The province of New Jersey, 1664-1738 (Volume 1).

External links

Colonial Charters, Grants and Related Documents (at "New Jersey"). The Avalon Project: Documents in Law, History and Diplomacy. Lillian Goldman Law Library (Yale Law School). Retrieved 2010-03-14. This website has links to the following documents:
- 1664 – The Duke of York's Release to John Ford Berkeley, and Sir George Carteret, 24 June
- 1664 – The Concession and Agreement of the Lords Proprietors of the Province of New Caesarea, or New Jersey, to and With All and Every the Adventurers and All Such as Shall Settle or Plant There
- 1672 – A Declaration of the True Intent and Meaning of us the Lords Proprietors, and Explanation of There Concessions Made to the Adventurers and Planters of New Caesarea or New Jersey
- 1674 – His Royal Highness's Grant to the Lords Proprietors, Sir George Carteret, 29 July
- 1676 – The Charter or Fundamental Laws, of West New Jersey, Agreed Upon
- 1676 – Quintipartite Deed of Revision, Between E. and W Jersey: July 1
- 1680 – Duke of York's Second Grant to William Penn, Gawn Lawry, Nicholas Lucas, John Eldridge, Edmund Warner, and Edward Byllynge, for the Soil and Government of West New Jersey-August 6
- 1681 – Province of West New-Jersey, in America, The 25th of the Ninth Month Called November
- 1682 – Duke of York's Confirmation to the 24 Proprietors: 14 March
- 1683 – The Fundamental Constitutions for the Province of East New Jersey in America
- 1683 – The King's Letter Recognizing the Proprietors' Right to the Soil and Government
- 1702 – Surrender from the Proprietors of East and West New Jersey, of Their Pretended Right of Government to Her Majesty
- 1709 – The Queen's Acceptance of the Surrender of Government; April 17
- 1712 – Charles II's Grant of New England to the Duke of York, 1676 – Exemplified by Queen Anne
- 1776 – Constitution of New Jersey

Cunningham, John T. Colonial New Jersey (1971) 160pp
Doyle, John Andrew. English Colonies in America: Volume IV The Middle Colonies (1907) online ch 7–8
McCormick, Richard P. New Jersey from Colony to State, 1609–1789 (1964) 191pp
Pomfret, John Edwin. Colonial New Jersey: a history (1973), the standard modern history

The Thirteen Colonies of Colonial America
New England Colonies Middle Colonies Chesapeake Colonies Southern Colonies
Connecticut Delaware Georgia Maryland Massachusetts Bay New Hampshire New Jersey New York North Carolina Pennsylvania Rhode Island and Providence Plantations South Carolina Virginia
Earlier English colonial entities Carolina East Jersey New England New Haven Plymouth West Jersey

British Empire

Legend: Current territory; Former territory; * Now a Commonwealth realm; Now a member of the Commonwealth of Nations; Historical flags of the British Empire

Europe
1542–1800 Ireland (integrated into UK) 1708–1757, 1763–1782 and 1798–1802 Minorca Since 1713 Gibraltar 1800–1813 Malta (Protectorate) 1813–1964 Malta (Colony) 1807–1890 Heligoland 1809–1864 Ionian Islands 1878–1960 Cyprus 1921–1937 Irish Free State

North America

17th century and before		18th century	19th and 20th century
1579 New Albion 1583–1907 Newfoundland 1605–1979 *Saint Lucia 1607–1776 Virginia Since 1619 Bermuda 1620–1691 Plymouth 1623–1883 Saint Kitts 1624–1966 *Barbados 1625–1650 Saint Croix 1627–1979 *Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1628–1883 Nevis 1629–1691 Massachusetts Bay 1632–1776 Maryland since 1632 Montserrat 1632–1860 Antigua 1636–1776 Connecticut 1636–1776 Rhode Island 1637–1662 New Haven	1643–1860 Bay Islands Since 1650 Anguilla 1655–1850 Mosquito Coast 1655–1962 *Jamaica 1663–1712 Carolina 1664–1776 New York 1665–1674 and 1702–1776 New Jersey Since 1666 Virgin Islands Since 1670 Cayman Islands 1670–1973 *Bahamas 1670–1870 Rupert's Land 1671–1816 Leeward Islands 1674–1702 East Jersey 1674–1702 West Jersey 1680–1776 New Hampshire 1681–1776 Pennsylvania 1686–1689 New England 1691–1776 Massachusetts Bay	1701–1776 Delaware 1712–1776 North Carolina 1712–1776 South Carolina 1713–1867 Nova Scotia 1733–1776 Georgia 1754–1820 Cape Breton Island 1762–1974 *Grenada 1763–1978 Dominica 1763–1873 Prince Edward Island 1763–1791 Quebec 1763–1783 East Florida 1763–1783 West Florida 1784–1867 New Brunswick 1791–1841 Lower Canada 1791–1841 Upper Canada Since 1799 Turks and Caicos Islands	1818–1846 Columbia District/Oregon Country¹ 1833–1960 Windward Islands 1833–1960 Leeward Islands 1841–1867 Canada 1849–1866 Vancouver Island 1853–1863 Queen Charlotte Islands 1858–1866 British Columbia 1859–1870 North-Western Territory 1860–1981 *British Antigua and Barbuda 1862–1863 Stickeen 1866–1871 British Columbia 1867–1931 *Dominion of Canada² 1871–1964 Honduras 1882–1983 *Saint Kitts and Nevis 1889–1962 Trinidad and Tobago 1907–1949 Newfoundland³ 1958–1962 West Indies Federation

1. Occupied jointly with the United States.
2. In 1931, Canada and other British dominions obtained self-government through the Statute of Westminster. See Name of Canada.
3. Gave up self-rule in 1934, but remained a de jure Dominion until it joined Canada in 1949.

South America
1631–1641 Providence Island 1651–1667 Willoughbyland 1670–1688 Saint Andrew and Providence Islands⁴ 1831–1966 Guiana Since 1833 Falkland Islands⁵ Since 1908 South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands⁵
4. Now a department of Colombia. 5. Occupied by Argentina during the Falklands War of April–June 1982.

Africa

17th and 18th centuries	19th century		20th century
Since 1658 Saint Helena¹⁴ 1792–1961 Sierra Leone 1795–1803 Cape Colony	Since 1815 Ascension Island¹⁴ Since 1816 Tristan da Cunha¹⁴ 1806–1910 Cape of Good Hope 1807–1808 Madeira 1810–1968 Mauritius 1816–1965 The Gambia 1856–1910 Natal 1862–1906 Lagos 1868–1966 Basutoland 1874–1957 Gold Coast 1882–1922 Egypt	1884–1900 Niger Coast 1884–1966 Bechuanaland 1884–1960 Somaliland 1887–1897 Zululand 1890–1962 Uganda 1890–1963 Zanzibar 1891–1964 Nyasaland 1891–1907 Central Africa 1893–1968 Swaziland 1895–1920 East Africa 1899–1956 Sudan	1900–1914 Northern Nigeria 1900–1914 Southern Nigeria 1900–1910 Orange River 1900–1910 Transvaal 1903–1976 Seychelles 1910–1931 South Africa 1914–1960 Nigeria 1915–1931 South-West Africa 1919–1961 Cameroons⁶ 1920–1963 Kenya 1922–1961 Tanganyika⁶ 1923–1965 and 1979–1980 Southern Rhodesia⁷ 1924–1964 Northern Rhodesia

6. League of Nations mandate.
7. Self-governing Southern Rhodesia unilaterally declared independence in 1965 (as Rhodesia) and continued as an unrecognised state until the 1979 Lancaster House Agreement. After recognised independence in 1980, Zimbabwe was a member of the Commonwealth until it withdrew in 2003.

Asia

17th and 18th century	19th century		20th century
1685–1824 Bencoolen 1702–1705 Pulo Condore 1757–1947 Bengal 1762–1764 Manila and Cavite 1781–1784 and 1795–1819 Padang 1786–1946 Penang 1795–1948 Ceylon 1796–1965 Maldives	1812–1824 Banka and Billiton 1819–1826 Malaya 1826–1946 Straits Settlements 1839–1967 Aden 1839–1842 Afghanistan 1841–1997 Hong Kong 1841–1946 Sarawak 1848–1946 Labuan 1858–1947 India 1874–1963 Borneo	1879–1919 Afghanistan (protectorate) 1882–1963 North Borneo 1885–1946 Unfederated Malay States 1888–1984 Brunei 1891–1971 Muscat and Oman 1892–1971 Trucial States 1895–1946 Federated Malay States 1898–1930 Weihai 1878–1960 Cyprus	1907–1949 Bhutan (protectorate) 1918–1961 Kuwait 1920–1932 Mesopotamia⁸ 1921–1946 Transjordan⁸ 1923–1948 Palestine⁸ 1945–1946 South Vietnam 1946–1963 North Borneo 1946–1963 Sarawak 1946–1963 Singapore 1946–1948 Malayan Union 1948–1957 Federation of Malaya Since 1960 Akrotiri and Dhekelia (before as part of Cyprus) Since 1965 British Indian Ocean Territory (before as part of Mauritius and the Seychelles)

⁸ League of Nations mandate. Iraq's mandate was not enacted and replaced by the Anglo-Iraqi Treaty

Oceania

18th and 19th centuries		20th century
1788–1901 New South Wales 1803–1901 Van Diemen's Land/Tasmania 1807–1863 Auckland Islands⁹ 1824–1980 New Hebrides 1824–1901 Queensland 1829–1901 Swan River/Western Australia 1836–1901 South Australia since 1838 Pitcairn Islands	1841–1907 New Zealand 1851–1901 Victoria 1874–1970 Fiji¹⁰ 1877–1976 Western Pacific Territories 1884–1949 Papua 1888–1901 Rarotonga/Cook Islands⁹ 1889–1948 Union Islands⁹ 1892–1979 Gilbert and Ellice Islands¹¹ 1893–1978 Solomon Islands¹²	1900–1970 Tonga 1900–1974 Niue⁹ 1901–1942 *Australia 1907–1953 *New Zealand 1919–1942 and 1945–1968 Nauru 1919–1949 New Guinea 1949–1975 Papua and New Guinea¹³

9. Now part of the *Realm of New Zealand.
10. Suspended member.
11. Now Kiribati and *Tuvalu.
12. Now the *Solomon Islands.
13. Now *Papua New Guinea.

Antarctica and South Atlantic
Since 1658 Saint Helena¹⁴ Since 1815 Ascension Island¹⁴ Since 1816 Tristan da Cunha¹⁴ Since 1908 British Antarctic Territory¹⁵ 1841–1933 Australian Antarctic Territory (transferred to the Commonwealth of Australia) 1841–1947 Ross Dependency (transferred to the Realm of New Zealand)
14. Since 2009 part of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha; Ascension Island (1922–) and Tristan da Cunha (1938–) were previously dependencies of Saint Helena. 15. Both claimed in 1908; territories formed in 1962 (British Antarctic Territory) and 1985 (South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands).

Coordinates: 40°48′32″N 74°31′12″W / 40.809°N 74.520°W / 40.809; -74.520

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