East Jersey

Province of East Jersey
Colony of England
←
1674–1702 →
Capital Perth Amboy
Languages English, Dutch
Government Constitutional monarchy
History
 •  Established 1674
 •  Disestablished 1702
Currency Pound sterling
Today part of
The original provinces of West and East 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

The Province of East Jersey, along with the Province of West Jersey, between 1674 and 1702 in accordance with the Quintipartite Deed were two distinct political divisions of the Province of New Jersey, which became the U.S. state of New Jersey. The two provinces were amalgamated in 1702. East Jersey's capital was located at Perth Amboy. Determination of an exact location for a border between West Jersey and East Jersey was often a matter of dispute.

The area comprising East Jersey had been part of New Netherland. Early settlement (including today's Bergen and Hudson counties) by the Dutch included Pavonia (1633), Vriessendael (1640) and Achter Col (1642) These settlements were compromised in Kieft's War (1643–1645) and the Peach Tree War (1655–1660). Settlers again returned to the western shores of the Hudson River in the 1660 formation of Bergen, New Netherland, which would become the first permanent European settlement in the territory of the modern state of New Jersey. During the Second Anglo-Dutch War, on August 27, 1664, New Amsterdam surrendered to English forces.[1]

Between 1664 and 1674 most settlement was from other parts of the Americas, especially New England, Long Island, and the West Indies. Elizabethtown and Newark in particular had a strong Puritan character. South of the Raritan River the Monmouth Tract was developed primarily by Quakers from Long Island. In 1675, East Jersey was partitioned into four counties for administrative purposes: Bergen County, Essex County, Middlesex County, and Monmouth County. There were seven established towns: Shrewsbury, Middleton, Piscataway, Woodbridge, Elizabethtown, Newark, and Bergen. In a survey taken in 1684 the population was estimated to be 3500 individuals in about 700 families. (African slaves were not included).

Although a number of the East Jersey proprietors in England were Quakers and the governor through most of the 1680s was the leading Quaker Robert Barclay, the Quaker influence on government was not significant. Even the immigration instigated by Barclay was oriented toward promoting Scottish influence more than Quaker influence. In 1682 Barclay and the other Scottish proprietors began the development of Perth Amboy as the capital of the province.

Frequent disputes between the residents and the mostly-absentee proprietors over land ownership and quitrents plagued the province until its surrender to Queen Anne's government in 1702.

Constitution

See: History of the New Jersey State Constitution#East Jersey Constitution

Governors of East Jersey (1674–1702)

See also: Lords Proprietor (1665–1703) and Governors under the Proprietors (1665–1674)
Philip Carteret1674–1682
Robert Barclay 1682–1688
Edmund Andros 1688–1689 Governed as the Dominion of New England
Andrew Hamilton1692–1697
Jeremiah Basse 1698–1699
Andrew Hamilton 1699–1702

See also

References

  1. ↑ New Jersey Guide to Its Present and Past (Federal Writers' Project of the Works Progress Administration. New York: The Viking Press, 1939)

Other sources

External links

Coordinates: 40°28′01″N 74°19′59″W / 40.467°N 74.333°W / 40.467; -74.333

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