Province of New Jersey facts for kids

Quick facts for kids New Jersey
1664–1673 1702–1776
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The Province of New Jersey, Divided into East and West, commonly called The Jerseys, 1777 map by William Faden
Status	Proprietary Colony of England (1664–1673) Royal Colony of England (1702–1707) Royal Colony of Great Britain (1707–1776)
Capital	Elizabethtown (1664–1673) Perth Amboy and Burlington (1702–1776)
Common languages	English, Dutch
Religion	Church of England (Official)
Government	Proprietary colony (1664-1673) Royal colony (1702-1776)
Lords Proprieter
• 1664-1673	Lord Berkeley of Stratton Sir George Carteret
Governor
• 1664-1665	Richard Nicolls (first)
• 1672-1673	John Berry (last)
Royal Governor
• 1702-1708	Lord Cornbury (first)
• 1763-1776	William Franklin (last)
Legislature	Council General Assembly Provincial Congress (1775-1776)
History
• 1609	1664
• 1666	1776
Currency	New Jersey pound
Preceded by Succeeded by New Netherland East Jersey West Jersey East Jersey West Jersey 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
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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 renamed the province after the 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 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.

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 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, had been the first to discover the place, but 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.

East and West Jerseys

1706 map of East and West Jersey
by John Thorton, surveyed by John Worlidge

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).

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 north-northwest 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.

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 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.

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 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 210,000 acres (850 km²) of land were at stake between New York and New Jersey. The conflict was eventually settled by royal commission in 1769.

Provincial Congress

The Province of New Jersey, Divided into East and West, commonly called The Jerseys,
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 state constitution was adopted on July 2, 1776. The American Revolutionary War was underway, and General George Washington recently had been defeated in New York, putting the state in danger of invasion. The 1776, the 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. Among other provisions, it granted unmarried women and blacks who met property requirements the right to vote.

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

See also

In Spanish: Provincia de Nueva Jersey para niños