Colonial history of New Jersey

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

The Colony of New Jersey started in 1609 with the discovery of Cape May by Sir Henry Hudson. In the 17th Century, part of what is now New Jersey was colonized by Dutch and Swedish settlers. In 1664 the entire area was seized by the British; and with ratification of the Treaty of Westminster in 1674, they formally gained control of the region until the American Revolution.

[edit] New Netherland

Map of New Netherland (17th century)

The earliest Dutch settlement was built around 1613, and consisted of a number of small huts built by the crew of the "Tijger" (Tiger), a Dutch ship under the command of Captain Adriaen Block which had caught fire while sailing on the Hudson.^[1] Although the European principle of land ownership was not recognized by the Lenape, Dutch policy required formal purchase of all land settled upon ^[2]The settlement grew slowly, impeded by Willem Kieft's mismanagement^[3]. In 1658, the last Director-General of New Netherland, Peter Stuyvesant, "re-purchased" the entire peninsula known as Bergen Neck, and in 1661 granted a charter to the village at Bergen, establishing the oldest municipality in the state.^[1]

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

[edit] New Sweden

New Sweden, founded in 1638, rose to its height under governor Johan Björnsson Printz (1643-1653). Led by Printz, the settlement extended as far north as Fort Christina (on both sides of the Delaware River). ^[4]. He helped to improve the military and commercial status of the colony by constructing Fort Nya Elfsborg, which is now near Salem, on the east side of the Delaware River. The Swedish and Finnish colonists generally lived in peace with their Dutch and Lenape neighbors.^{[citation needed]} In 1655, the Dutch annexed New Sweden into New Netherland in retaliation for the loss of Fort Casimir.

[edit] British takeover

Italian navigator John Cabot left England in 1498 to explore North America, but never returned. The British later used Cabot's voyage as proof that England had claims to the North American lands. Insisting that John Cabot had been the first to discover North America, the British granted the land that now encompasses New Jersey to the Duke of York, who ordered Colonel Richard Nicolls to take over the area. In September 1664, a British fleet under the command of Richard Nicolls sailed into what is now New York Harbor and seized the colony from the Dutch. The British received little resistance due to West India Company's decision not to garrison the colony. After capturing the colony, Nicolls took the position of deputy-governor of New Amsterdam and the rest of New Netherland, guaranteeing colonists' property rights, laws of inheritance, and the enjoyment of religious freedom. Within six years, the nations were again at war, and in August 1673 the Dutch recaptured New Netherland with a fleet of 21 ships. Nevertheless, in November 1674, the Dutch Treaty of Westminster concluded the war in the Treaty of Westminster and ceded New Netherland to the English due financial insolvency.^[5]

New Netherland (or at least part of it) was renamed New Jersey (after the English Channel Island of Jersey at which Charles II of England was proclaimed king in 1649) and New Amsterdam was renamed New York (after the Duke of York).

[edit] Proprietary Colony

East Jersey and West Jersey were two distinct provinces of the proprietary colony of New Jersey. The political division existed for the 28 years between 1674 and 1702. Determination of an exact location for a border between West Jersey and East Jersey was often a matter of dispute, as was the border with New York.

The original provinces of West and East New Jersey are shown in yellow and green respectively. The Keith Line is shown in red, and the Coxe and Barclay line is shown in orange

Charles II gave the region between New England and Maryland to his brother, the Duke of York (later King James II), as a proprietary colony (as opposed to a royal colony). Later James granted the land between the Hudson River and the Delaware River that would become New Jersey to two friends who had been loyal to him through the English Civil War: Sir George Carteret and Lord Berkeley of Stratton.

The two proprietors of New Jersey attempted to entice more settlers to move to New Jersey by granting sections of lands to settlers and by passing Concession and Agreement, a document granting religious freedom to all inhabitants of New Jersey; under the British Church of England there was no such religious freedom. In return for land, settlers paid annual fees known as quitrents. Philip Carteret was appointed by the two proprietors as the first governor of New Jersey. Philip Carteret designated Elizabethtown as the first capital of the colony^[6]. However, it became difficult for the two proprietors to collect the quitrents. As a result, on March 18, 1673 Berkeley sold his share of New Jersey to the Quakers. ^{[7] [8]}.

With this sale, New Jersey was divided into East Jersey and West Jersey. 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 Atlantic City. The border line was created by George Keith, and can still be seen in the county boundaries between Monmouth and Burlington/Mercer Counties; Burlington and Ocean Counties; and Hunterdon and Somerset Counties, reaching upward to a point on the Delaware River which is just north of the Delaware Water Gap. The border was often disputed, so with the 1676 Quintipartite Deed 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.

[edit] Royal Colony

On April 15, 1702^{[citation needed]}, under the reign of Queen Anne, West and East Jersey were reunited as a royal colony. Edward Hyde, Lord Cornbury became the first governor of the colony as a royal colony. Lord Cornbury was an ineffective and corrupt ruler, taking bribes and speculating on land, so in 1708 he was recalled to England. New Jersey was then ruled by the governors of New York, but this infuriated the settlers of New Jersey, who accused 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^[9].

The East Jersey/West Jersey border was not the only one in dispute. Beginning in 1701, New Jersey's border with New York was in dispute, resulting in a series of skirmishes and raids. In the largest of these squabbles 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.

In 1746 The College of New Jersey (now Princeton University) was founded in Elizabethtown by a group of Great Awakening "New Lighters" that included Jonathan Dickinson, Aaron Burr, Sr. and Peter Van Brugh Livingston. In 1756 the school moved to Princeton.

[edit] Life in Colonial New Jersey

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Many of the colonists of New Jersey took up the occupation as farmers. However, despite the fertility of the soil, farmers were forced to struggle due to the dearth of English money. Some farmers had slaves work for them, and others owned indentured servants that had to work to pay back debts.

Transportation was difficult by today's standards. Usually, people walked by foot or traveled on horseback.

The majority of the colonists lived in simple log cabins. The log cabin came from the Finns and Swedes, the original settlers along the Delaware. Since New Jersey was ideally located next to the coast, colonists farmed, fished, and traded by sea.

Education came through private academies, religious schools, or private tutors. There were no public schools for children. Many children didn't go to school, and instead started working at a young age in order to generate an income for their family.

[edit] Notes and references