Content deleted Content added
No edit summary |
m →Proprietary government: context |
||
| (806 intermediate revisions by more than 100 users not shown) | |||
Line 1:
{{Short description|British colony in North America (1664–1673, 1702–1776)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2023}}
{{Use American English|date=February 2023}}
{{Infobox Former Country
|conventional_long_name = New Jersey
|common_name = New Jersey
|status = Proprietary Colony of [[Kingdom of England|England]] (1664–1673)<br>Royal Colony of [[Kingdom of England|England]] (1702–1707)<br>Royal Colony of [[Kingdom of Great Britain|Great Britain]] (1707–1776)
|government_type = [[Proprietary colony]]<br>(1664-1673)<br>[[Royal colony]]<br>(1702-1776)
|event_start = 1609
|event_end = 1666
|year_start = 1664
|life_span = 1664–1673<br>1702–1776
|year_end = 1776
|image_map = The Province of New Jersey, Divided into East and West, commonly called The Jerseys. LOC 74692203 (cropped).jpg
|p1 = New Netherland
|p2 = East Jersey
|flag_p2 = Civil ensign of Great Britain (1707–1800).svg
|p3 = West Jersey
|flag_p3 = Civil ensign of Great Britain (1707–1800).svg
|flag_p1 = Statenvlag.svg
|s1 = East Jersey
|flag_s1 = Civil ensign of Great Britain (1707–1800).svg
|s2 = West Jersey
|flag_s2 = Civil ensign of Great Britain (1707–1800).svg
|s3 = New Jersey
|flag_s3 = Flag of New Jersey.svg
|image_flag = Colonial-Red-Ensign.svg
|national_anthem = [[God Save the King]]<br />{{center|[[File:Rufst du, mein Vaterland (1938).oga]]}}
|image_map_caption = ''The Province of New Jersey, Divided into East and West, commonly called The Jerseys'',<br />1777 map by [[William Faden]]
|capital = [[Elizabeth, New Jersey|Elizabethtown]] (1664–1673)<br/>[[Perth Amboy]] and [[Burlington, New Jersey|Burlington]] (1702–1776)
|common_languages = English, Dutch
|currency = [[New Jersey pound]]
|religion = [[Church of England]] <small>([[State church|Official]])</small>
|leader1 = [[John Berkeley, 1st Baron Berkeley of Stratton| Lord Berkeley of Stratton]]<br>[[George Carteret| Sir George Carteret]]
|title_leader = Lords Proprietors
|year_leader1 = 1664-1673
|representative1 = [[Richard Nicolls]] (first)
|representative2 = [[John Berry (New Jersey governor)|John Berry]] (last)
|year_representative1 = 1664-1665
|year_representative2 = 1672-1673
|title_representative = Governor
|deputy1 = [[Edward Hyde, 3rd Earl of Clarendon| Lord Cornbury]] (first)
|deputy2 = [[William Franklin]] (last)
|year_deputy1 = 1702-1708
|year_deputy2 = 1763-1776
|title_deputy = Royal Governor
|legislature = [[New Jersey Provincial Council|Council]]<br>[[New Jersey General Assembly|General Assembly]]<br><br>[[Provincial Congress of New Jersey|Provincial Congress]]<br>(1775-1776)
|today= [[United States]]
}}
{{NJhistory}}
The '''Province of New Jersey''' was one of the [[Middle Colonies]] of [[Colonial history of the United States|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 [[Kingdom of England|English]] rule after the surrender of [[Fort Amsterdam]] in 1664, becoming a [[proprietary colony]]. The English renamed the province after the [[Jersey|island 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 [[British colonization of the Americas|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 (state)|New York]], until the border was finalized in 1773.<ref>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 [[Thirteen Colonies|American colonies]] — the Province of New Jersey and the [[Province of New York]].</ref>
==Background==
[[Image:Nieuw Nederland and Nya Sverige.svg|thumb|right|180px|The relative ___location of New Netherland and New Sweden in eastern North America]]
{{see also|Colonial history of New Jersey}}
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 (United States)|Mid-Atlantic]] region to the English as part of the [[Second Anglo-Dutch War]]. The English justified the seizure by claiming that [[John Cabot]], an Italian under the sponsorship of the English King [[Henry VII of England|Henry VII]], had been the first to discover the place, but it was probably to assert control over the profitable North Atlantic trade. [[Director of New Netherland|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, New Netherland|Bergen]] and those along the [[Delaware River]] that had been [[New Sweden]].
==Proprietary government==
{{Historical populations
|type= USA
|1670|1000
|1680|3400
|1690|8000
|1700|14010
|1710|19872
|1720|29818
|1730|37510
|1740|51373
|1750|71393
|1760|93813
|1770|117431
|1780|139627
|1784|149435
|footnote=Source: 1670–1760;<ref>{{cite book|first=Thomas L.|last=Purvis|editor-first=Richard|editor-last=Balkin|title=Colonial America to 1763|year=1999|place=New York|publisher=[[Infobase Publishing|Facts on File]]|isbn=978-0816025275|pages=[https://archive.org/details/colonialamericat00purv_0/page/128 128–129]|url=https://archive.org/details/colonialamericat00purv_0/page/128}}</ref> 1784<ref>{{cite book|last1=Purvis|first1=Thomas L.|editor-last=Balkin|editor-first=Richard|title=Revolutionary America 1763 to 1800|year=1995|place=New York|publisher=[[Infobase Publishing|Facts on File]]|page=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780816025282/page/153 153]|isbn=978-0816025282|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780816025282/page/180}}</ref> 1770–1780<ref name="Colonial and Pre-Federal Statistics">{{cite web|title=Colonial and Pre-Federal Statistics|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|page=1168|url=https://www2.census.gov/prod2/statcomp/documents/CT1970p2-13.pdf}}</ref>
}}
In March 1664, [[Charles II of England|King Charles II]] granted his brother, [[James II of England|James]], the [[Duke of York]], a [[Crown colony|Royal colony]] that covered New Netherlands and present-day [[Maine]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Timeline|url=https://www.nysenate.gov/timeline|website=New York State Senate|date=February 13, 2009 |access-date=15 July 2016}}</ref> 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.
[[Image:New Jersey Tricentennial Flag.svg|thumb|New Jersey Tricentennial Flag, which was designed in 1964 to mark the 300th anniversary of the creation of the Province of New Jersey<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/us-nj.html#300 |title=New Jersey: Tricentennial flag |author=Jan Mertens |date=13 October 2008 |work=Flags of the World |access-date=1 May 2023}}</ref>]]
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 his loyalty during the [[English Civil War]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Turner|first1=Jean-Rae and Richard T. Koles|title=Elizabeth: First Capital of New Jersey|date=Aug 27, 2003|publisher=Arcadia Publishing|isbn=0738523933|page=11}}</ref> The territory was named after the [[Channel Islands|Channel Island]] of [[Jersey]], [[De Carteret family|Carteret's]] homeland.<ref>The province was also called "the Province of New Caesaria or New Jersey". See: [[Philip Carteret (governor)|Philip Carteret]].</ref> The other section of New Jersey was sold to [[John Berkeley, 1st Baron Berkeley of Stratton|Lord Berkeley of Stratton]], who was a close friend of the Duke. As a result, Carteret and Berkeley became the two English [[Lord proprietor|lords proprietors]] of New Jersey.<ref>{{Citation
| last = Rieff
| first = Henry
| title = Interpretations of New York-New Jersey Agreements 1834 and 1921
| journal = Newark Law Review
| volume = 1
| issue = 2
| url = http://njlegallib.rutgers.edu/journals/docs/journal.nwk.1.29.pdf
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060506003540/http://njlegallib.rutgers.edu/journals/docs/journal.nwk.1.29.pdf
| archive-date = May 6, 2006}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal
| title = Land Speculation and Proprietary Beginnings of New Jersey
| journal = The Advocate
| volume = XVI
| issue = 4
| pages = 3, 20, 14
| publisher = New Jersey Land Title Association
| url = http://www.njlta.org/Dec2004.pdf
| access-date = April 15, 2010}}</ref> 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;<ref>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 and West Jerseys]].</ref> under the British government, there was no such religious freedom as the [[Church of England]] was the [[Christian state|state church]]. In return for the land, the settlers were supposed to pay annual fees known as [[Quit-rent|quit-rents]].
In 1665, [[Philip Carteret (colonial governor)|Philip Carteret]] became the first [[List of colonial governors of New Jersey|governor of New Jersey]], appointed by the two proprietors. He selected [[Elizabeth, New Jersey|Elizabeth]] as the capital of New Jersey. Immediately, Carteret issued several additional grants of land to landowners. Towns were started and charters granted to [[Newark, New Jersey|Newark]] (1666), [[Piscataway, New Jersey|Piscataway]] (1666), [[Bergen Township, New Jersey (1661–1862)|Bergen]] (1668), [[Middletown Township, New Jersey|Middletown]] (1693), [[Woodbridge Township, New Jersey|Woodbridge]] (1669), and [[Shrewsbury, New Jersey|Shrewsbury]].
The idea of quit-rents 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]], [[List of colonial governors of New York|governor of New York]]. This forced Berkeley to sell West Jersey to [[John Fenwick (Quaker)|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 Sir 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 between Eastern and Western New Jerseyans, between [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]] and New Jerseyans, and between different religious groups.
==East and West Jerseys==
[[File:A new mapp of East and West New Jarsey (sic) - being an exact survey LOC 97683601 (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|1706 map of East and West Jersey<br />by John Thorton, surveyed by John Worlidge]]From 1674 to 1702, the Province of New Jersey was divided into [[East Jersey]] and [[West Jersey]], [[List of colonial governors of New Jersey|each with its own governor]]. Each had its own constitution: the [[History of the New Jersey State Constitution#West Jersey Constitution|West Jersey Constitution]] (1681) and the [[History of the New Jersey State Constitution#East Jersey Constitution|East Jersey Constitution]] (1683).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/states/nj08.htm |title=Province of West New-Jersey, in America, The 25th of the Ninth Month Called November |author=Avalon Project |publisher=Yale Law School |access-date=2006-12-17 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070102120721/http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/states/nj08.htm |archive-date=2007-01-02 }} {{cite web |url=http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/states/nj10.htm |title=The Fundamental Constitutions for the Province of East New Jersey in America, Anno Domini 1683 |author=Avalon Project |publisher=Yale Law School |access-date=2006-12-17 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061205053838/http://yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/states/nj10.htm |archive-date=2006-12-05 }}</ref><ref>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]].</ref>
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, New Jersey|Atlantic City]]. The border line was created by [[George Keith (missionary)|George Keith]] and can still be seen in the county boundaries between [[Burlington County, New Jersey|Burlington]] and [[Ocean County, New Jersey|Ocean]] counties, and between [[Hunterdon County, New Jersey|Hunterdon]] and [[Somerset County, New Jersey|Somerset]] counties. The [[Keith line]] runs north-northwest from the southern part of [[Little Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey|Little Egg Harbor Township]], passing just north of [[Tuckerton, New Jersey|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.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Aun|first=Fred|title=A Fine Old Line Across New Jersey|journal=Coordinate|date=January 1995|volume=15|issue=1|url=http://www.surveyhistory.org/a_fine_old_line_across_new_jersey1.htm|access-date=2 May 2013}}</ref>
==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 because of its size, New York, East Jersey, and West Jersey were run by the lieutenant governor from [[New York City]]. After news of the overthrow of James II by [[William III of England|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==
{{See also|List of colonial governors of New Jersey#As a British Crown colony (1702–76)|l1=Governors under Royal Government (1702–1776)}}
On April 17, 1702, under the rule of [[Anne, Queen of Great Britain|Queen Anne]], the two sections of the proprietary colony were united, and New Jersey became a [[crown colony|royal colony]]. [[Edward Hyde, 3rd Earl of Clarendon|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. [[Lewis Morris (governor)|Judge Lewis Morris]] led the case for a separate governor and was appointed governor by King [[George II of Great Britain|George II]] in 1738.<ref>Streissguth pg 30–36</ref>
==New York–New Jersey Line War==
The [[New York – New Jersey Line War]] was a series of skirmishes and raids that took place for over half a century between 1701 and 1765 at the disputed border between the two [[Thirteen Colonies|American colonies]] the Province of New York and the Province of New Jersey. Border wars were not unusual in the early days of settlements of the colonies and originated in conflicting land claims. Because of ignorance, willful disregard, and legal ambiguities, such conflicts arose involving local settlers until a final settlement was reached. In the largest of these squabbles some {{convert|210,000|acres|km2}} of land were at stake between New York and New Jersey. The conflict was eventually settled by royal commission in 1769.
==Provincial Congress==
[[File:The Province of New Jersey, Divided into East and West, commonly called The Jerseys. LOC 74692203 (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|''The Province of New Jersey, Divided into East and West, commonly called The Jerseys'',<br />1777 map by [[William Faden]]]]
The [[Provincial Congress of New Jersey]] was a transitional governing body of the Province of New Jersey in the early part of the [[American Revolution]]. It first met in 1775 with representatives from all New Jersey's thirteen counties, to supersede the royal governor.
==First state constitution==
New Jersey's first [[History of the New Jersey State Constitution|state constitution]] was adopted on July 2, 1776.<ref name=1776const>See: [[New Jersey State Constitution#Previous versions]].</ref> The [[American Revolutionary War]] was underway, and General [[George Washington]] recently had been defeated in New York, putting the state in danger of invasion.<ref name=1776const/> The 1776, the [[Constitution of New Jersey|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.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.state.nj.us/njfacts/njdoc10.htm|title=The New Jersey Constitution of 1776 | access-date=2006-12-17}}</ref> Among other provisions, it granted unmarried women and blacks who met property requirements the [[suffrage|right to vote]].<ref name=1776const/>
==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 <ref>{{cite book|title=The province of New Jersey, 1664-1738 (Volume 1)|first=Edwin|last = Tanner|url = http://www.ebooksread.com/authors-eng/edwin-platt-tanner/the-province-of-new-jersey-1664-1738-volume-1-nna/1-the-province-of-new-jersey-1664-1738-volume-1-nna.shtm}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:left"
!rowspan="2"|Incumbent
!colspan="2"|Tenure
!rowspan="2" width=50% |Notes
|-
!Took office
!Left office
|-
|[[Roger Mompesson]]|| Oct 1704||1709||
|-
|[[Thomas Gordon (lawyer)|Thomas Gordon]]|| April 28, 1709||1709||
|-
|[[Roger Mompesson]]|| 1709||February 14, 1710||
|-
|[[David Jamison (politician)]]|| 1710||1723||
|-
||[[William Trent (Trenton)|William Trent]]|| November 23, 1723||December 25, 1724||
|-
|[[Robert Lettis Hooper]]||January 2, 1725||1728||
|-
|Thomas Farmar ||1728||1728||
|-
|[[Robert Lettis Hooper]] ||1729||1738||
|-
|[[Robert Hunter Morris]] ||March 17, 1739||January 27, 1757 ||disputed resignation in 1754, left for England 1757
|-
|William Aynsley|| February 16, 1757||May 1758||
|-
|[[Robert Hunter Morris]]|| 1761||January 27, 1764 ||restored to office
|-
|Charles Reade|| February 20, 1764||1764||
|-
|Frederick Smyth ||October 17, 1764||1766||
|}
==See also==
*[[Elizabethtown Tract]]
*[[Horseneck Tract]]
*[[English Neighborhood]]
*[[Colonial government in the Thirteen Colonies]] (Council and Assembly)
*[[Robert Treat]]
*[[List of the oldest buildings in New Jersey]]
==References==
{{reflist|30em}}
==Further reading==
* Cunningham, John T. ''Colonial New Jersey'' (1971) 160pp
* Doyle, John Andrew. ''English Colonies in America: Volume IV The Middle Colonies'' (1907) [https://books.google.com/books?id=4wYOAAAAIAAJ 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
== External links ==
* Colonial Charters, Grants and Related Documents (at "New Jersey").
{{Thirteen Colonies}}
{{British overseas territories}}
{{Portal bar|British Empire|Monarchy|New Jersey|North America}}<!-- EDITORS NOTE: Please do not add "Portal:United States" as it would be historically inaccurate. Thank you. -->
{{Authority control}}
{{coord|40.809|-74.520|type:adm2nd_globe:earth_region:US-NJ|display=title}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:New Jersey, Province Of}}
[[Category:Province of New Jersey| ]]
[[Category:Pre-statehood history of New Jersey|Province of New Jersey]]
[[Category:Thirteen Colonies]]
[[Category:
[[Category:Former English colonies]]
[[Category:1776 disestablishments in the British Empire]]
[[Category:Colonial United States (British)]]
[[Category:1664 establishments in the British Empire]]
[[Category:Middle Colonies]]
[[Category:States and territories disestablished in 1776]]
| |||