Colonial Governors Of New Jersey
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The territory which would later become the state of
New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delawa ...
was settled by
Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...
and Swedish
colonists A settler is a person who has migrated to an area and established a permanent residence there, often to colonize the area. A settler who migrates to an area previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited may be described as a pioneer. Settle ...
in the early seventeenth century. In 1664, at the onset of the
Second Anglo-Dutch War The Second Anglo-Dutch War or the Second Dutch War (4 March 1665 – 31 July 1667; nl, Tweede Engelse Oorlog "Second English War") was a conflict between England and the Dutch Republic partly for control over the seas and trade routes, whe ...
,
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...
forces under
Richard Nicolls Richard Nicolls (sometimes written as Nichols, 1624 – 28 May 1672) was the first English colonial governor of New York province. Early life Nicolls was born in 1624 in Ampthill in Bedfordshire, England. He was the son of Francis Nicolls ( ...
ousted the Dutch from control of
New Netherland New Netherland ( nl, Nieuw Nederland; la, Novum Belgium or ) was a 17th-century colonial province of the Dutch Republic that was located on the east coast of what is now the United States. The claimed territories extended from the Delmarva ...
(present-day New York, New Jersey, and Delaware), and the territory was divided into several newly defined English colonies. Despite one brief year when the Dutch retook the colony (1673–74), New Jersey would remain an English possession until the
American colonies The Thirteen Colonies, also known as the Thirteen British Colonies, the Thirteen American Colonies, or later as the United Colonies, were a group of British colonies on the Atlantic coast of North America. Founded in the 17th and 18th centur ...
declared independence in 1776. In 1664,
James, Duke of York James VII and II (14 October 1633 16 September 1701) was King of England and King of Ireland as James II, and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II, on 6 February 1685. He was deposed in the Glorious ...
(later King James II) divided New Jersey, granting a portion to two men, Sir George Carteret and John Berkeley, 1st Baron Berkeley of Stratton, who supported the monarchy's cause during the
English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I (" Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of r ...
(1642–49) and
Interregnum An interregnum (plural interregna or interregnums) is a period of discontinuity or "gap" in a government, organization, or social order. Archetypally, it was the period of time between the reign of one monarch and the next (coming from Latin '' ...
(1649–60)."The Duke of York's Release to John Lord Berkeley, and Sir George Carteret, 24th of June, 1664"
from Leaming, Aaron and Spicer, Jacob. ''The Grants, Concessions, and Original Constitutions of the Province of New-Jersey. The acts passed during the proprietary governments, and other material transactions before the surrender thereof to Queen Anne. The instrument of surrender, and her formal acceptance thereof, Lord Cornbury's Commission and Introduction consequent thereon.'' (2nd Edition. Philadelphia: William Bradford, 1758), 8–11. Published online at the ''Avalon Project: Documents in Law, History and Diplomacy'', Yale Law School, Lillian Goldman Law Library. Retrieved 5 April 2013.
Carteret and Berkeley subsequently sold their interests to two groups of proprietors, thus creating two provinces:
East Jersey 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. ...
and the
West Jersey West Jersey and East Jersey were two distinct parts of the Province of New Jersey. The political division existed for 28 years, between 1674 and 1702. Determination of an exact location for a border between West Jersey and East Jersey was ofte ...
."Quintipartite Deed of Revision, Between E. and W Jersey: July 1st, 1676"
from Thorpe, Francis Newton (editor). ''The Federal and State Constitutions Colonial Charters, and Other Organic Laws of the States, Territories, and Colonies Now or Heretofore Forming the United States of America'' Volume IV. (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1909). Published online at the Avalon Project: Documents in Law, History and Diplomacy, Yale Law School, Lillian Goldman Law Library. Retrieved 5 April 2013.
The exact location of the border between West Jersey and East Jersey was often a matter of dispute. The two provinces would be distinct political divisions from 1674 to 1702. West Jersey was largely a
Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abili ...
colony due to the influence of
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
founder
William Penn William Penn ( – ) was an English writer and religious thinker belonging to the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, a North American colony of England. He was an early advocate of democracy a ...
and its prominent Quaker investors. Many of its early settlers were Quakers who came directly from
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
,
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...
, and
Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...
to escape religious persecution.Pomfret, John Edwin. The Province of West New Jersey, 1609–1702: A History of the Origins of an American Colony. (New York: Octagon Books, 1956). Although a number of the East Jersey proprietors in England were Quakers and First Governor
Robert Barclay Robert Barclay (23 December 16483 October 1690) was a Scottish Quaker, one of the most eminent writers belonging to the Religious Society of Friends and a member of the Clan Barclay. He was a son of Col. David Barclay, Laird of Urie, and his ...
of Aberdeenshire Scotland (Ury served by proxy) was a leading Quaker theologian, the Quaker influence on the East Jersey government was insignificant. Many of East Jersey's early settlers came from other colonies in the Western Hemisphere, especially
New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...
,
Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United States and the 18 ...
, and the
West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greate ...
. Elizabethtown and Newark in particular had a strong
Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become more Protestant. ...
character.Whitehead, William A. ''East Jersey Under the Proprietary Governments: A Narrative of Events connected with the Settlement and Progress of the Province, until the Surrender of the Government to the Crown in 1703''. (Newark, New Jersey: New Jersey Historical Society, 1875). East Jersey's Monmouth Tract, south of the
Raritan River Raritan River is a major river of New Jersey. Its watershed drains much of the mountainous area of the central part of the state, emptying into the Raritan Bay on the Atlantic Ocean. History Geologists assert that the lower Raritan provided t ...
, was developed primarily by Quakers from Long Island. In 1702, both divisions of New Jersey were reunited as one royal colony by Queen Anne with a royal governor appointed by the Crown."Surrender from the Proprietors of East and West New Jersey, of Their Pretended Right of Government to Her Majesty; 1702"
from Leaming, Aaron and Spicer, Jacob. ''The Grants, Concessions, and Original Constitutions of the Province of New-Jersey. The acts passed during the proprietary governments, and other material trnasactions before the surrender thereof to Queen Ann. The instrument of surrender, and her formal acceptance thereof, Lord Cornbury's Commission and Introduction consequent thereon.'' (2nd Edition. Philadelphia: William Bradford, 1758) 600–618. Published online at the ''Avalon Project: Documents in Law, History and Diplomacy'', Yale Law School, Lillian Goldman Law Library. Retrieved 5 April 2013.
Until 1738, this
Province 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 1783. The province had originally been settled by Europeans as part of New Netherland but came under English rule after t ...
shared its royal governor with the neighboring
Province of New York The Province of New York (1664–1776) was a British proprietary colony and later royal colony on the northeast coast of North America. As one of the Middle Colonies, New York achieved independence and worked with the others to found the U ...
. The Province of New Jersey was governed by appointed governors until 1776.
William Franklin William Franklin (22 February 1730 – 17 November 1813) was an American-born attorney, soldier, politician, and colonial administrator. He was the acknowledged illegitimate son of Benjamin Franklin. William Franklin was the last colonial Go ...
, the province's last royal governor before the
American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...
(1775–83), was marginalized in the last year of his tenure, as the province was run ''
de facto ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with '' de jure'' ("by l ...
'' by the
Provincial Congress of New Jersey 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 then-thirteen counties, to superse ...
. In June 1776, the Provincial Congress formally deposed Franklin and had him arrested, adopted a state constitution, and reorganized the province into an independent state. The constitution granted the vote to all inhabitants who had a certain level of wealth, including single women and blacks (until 1807). The newly formed State of New Jersey elected William Livingston as its first governor on 31 August 1776—a position to which he would be reelected until his death in 1790. New Jersey was one of the original
Thirteen Colonies The Thirteen Colonies, also known as the Thirteen British Colonies, the Thirteen American Colonies, or later as the United Colonies, were a group of British colonies on the Atlantic coast of North America. Founded in the 17th and 18th centu ...
, and was the third colony to ratify the
constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these pr ...
forming the United States of America. It thereby was admitted into the new
federation A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government ( federalism). In a federation, the self-gover ...
as a state on 18 December 1787. On 20 November 1789 New Jersey became the first state to ratify the
Bill of Rights A bill of rights, sometimes called a declaration of rights or a charter of rights, is a list of the most important rights to the citizens of a country. The purpose is to protect those rights against infringement from public officials and pr ...
.


Before English control


Directors of New Netherland (1624–64)

New Netherland (Dutch: ''Nieuw-Nederland'') was the seventeenth-century colonial province of the
Republic of the Seven United Netherlands The United Provinces of the Netherlands, also known as the (Seven) United Provinces, officially as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands ( Dutch: ''Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden''), and commonly referred to in historiograph ...
and the
Dutch West India Company The Dutch West India Company ( nl, Geoctrooieerde Westindische Compagnie, ''WIC'' or ''GWC''; ; en, Chartered West India Company) was a chartered company of Dutch merchants as well as foreign investors. Among its founders was Willem Usselincx ...
. It claimed territories along the eastern coast of North America from the
Delmarva Peninsula The Delmarva Peninsula, or simply Delmarva, is a large peninsula and proposed state on the East Coast of the United States, occupied by the vast majority of the state of Delaware and parts of the Eastern Shore regions of Maryland and Virginia. ...
to southwestern
Cape Cod Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of mainland Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer mont ...
. Settled areas of New Netherland now constitute the states of
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
,
New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delawa ...
,
Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent ...
, and
Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the ...
as well as parts of
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
and
Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...
. The provincial capital
New Amsterdam New Amsterdam ( nl, Nieuw Amsterdam, or ) was a 17th-century Dutch settlement established at the southern tip of Manhattan Island that served as the seat of the colonial government in New Netherland. The initial trading ''factory'' gave rise ...
was located at the southern tip of the island of
Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
at
Upper New York Bay New York Harbor is at the mouth of the Hudson River where it empties into New York Bay near the East River tidal estuary, and then into the Atlantic Ocean on the east coast of the United States. It is one of the largest natural harbors in t ...
. New Netherland was conceived as a private business venture to exploit the North American fur trade. By the 1650s, the colony experienced dramatic growth and became a major port for trade in the North Atlantic. The leader of the Dutch colony was known by the title ''Director'' or ''Director-General.'' On 27 August 1664, four English
frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...
s commanded by
Richard Nicolls Richard Nicolls (sometimes written as Nichols, 1624 – 28 May 1672) was the first English colonial governor of New York province. Early life Nicolls was born in 1624 in Ampthill in Bedfordshire, England. He was the son of Francis Nicolls ( ...
sailed into New Amsterdam's harbor and demanded the surrender of New Netherland. This event sparked the
Second Anglo-Dutch War The Second Anglo-Dutch War or the Second Dutch War (4 March 1665 – 31 July 1667; nl, Tweede Engelse Oorlog "Second English War") was a conflict between England and the Dutch Republic partly for control over the seas and trade routes, whe ...
, which led to the transfer of the territory to England per the Treaty of Breda.


Governors of New Sweden (1638–55)

New Sweden ( sv, Nya Sverige, fi, Uusi-Ruotsi) was a Swedish colony along the
Delaware River The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock (village), New York, Hancock, New York, the river flows for along the borders of N ...
from 1638 to 1655 that included territory in present-day
Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent ...
, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.Hoffecker, Carol, et al. (editors). ''New Sweden in America'' (Newark, Delaware: University of Delaware Press, 1995). After being dismissed as director of New Netherland by the Dutch West India Company (WIC), Peter Minuit was recruited by
Willem Usselincx Willem Usselincx (1567 – c. 1647) was a Flemish Dutch merchant, investor and diplomat who was instrumental in drawing both Dutch and Swedish attention to the importance of the New World. Usselincx was the founding father of the Dutch West Ind ...
,
Samuel Blommaert Samuel Blommaert (''Bloemaert'', ''Blommaerts'', ''Blommaart'', ''Blomert'', etc.) (11 or 21 August 1583, in Antwerp – 23 December 1651, in Amsterdam) was a Flemish/Dutch merchant and director of the Dutch West India Company from 1622 to 1629 ...
and the Swedish government to create the first Swedish colony in the New World. The Swedes sought to expand their influence by creating an agricultural (
tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...
) and fur-trading colony, and thus bypassing French and English merchants. The New Sweden Company was chartered and included Swedish,
Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...
, Dutch, and
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...
stockholders. Minuit and his company arrived on the ''
Fogel Grip ''Fogel Grip'' (''Bird Griffin'', Swedish: ''Fågel Grip'') was a Swedish sailing ship originally built in the Netherlands in the early 17th century. She was used on the first Swedish expedition in 1638 together with '' Kalmar Nyckel'' to establi ...
'' and ''
Kalmar Nyckel ''Kalmar Nyckel'' (''Key of Kalmar'') was a Swedish ship built by the Dutch famed for carrying Swedish settlers to North America in 1638, to establish the colony of New Sweden. The name Kalmar Nyckel comes from the Swedish city of Kalmar and nyck ...
'' at
Swedes' Landing Swedes' Landing is the warehouse road found along the Minquas Kill in Wilmington, Delaware that is close to the Delaware River. This was the site where the initial Swedish landing took place and marks the spot where the New Sweden colony began. ...
(now
Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington ( Lenape: ''Paxahakink /'' ''Pakehakink)'' is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish settlement in North America. It lies at the confluence of the Christina ...
) in the spring of 1638.
Willem Kieft Willem Kieft (September 1597 – September 27, 1647) was a Dutch merchant and the Director of New Netherland (of which New Amsterdam was the capital) from 1638 to 1647. Life and career Willem Kieft was appointed to the rank of director b ...
, Director of New Netherland, objected to the Swedish presence, but Minuit ignored his protests knowing that the Dutch were militarily impotent. The colony would establish
Fort Nya Elfsborg Fort Nya Elfsborg was a fortification and settlement established as a part of New Sweden. Built in 1643 and named after the Älvsborg Fortress off Gothenburg, Fort Nya Elfsborg was located on the New Jersey side of the Delaware River, between pre ...
, near present-day
Salem, New Jersey Salem is a city in Salem County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, the city's population was 5,146,
, in 1643.Hazard, Samuel. ''Annals of Pennsylvania from the Discovery of the Delaware, 1609–82''. (Philadelphia: Hazard and Mitchell, 1850). In May 1654, Swedish militia captured the
Fort Casimir Fort Casimir or Fort Trinity was a Dutch fort in the seventeenth-century colony of New Netherland. It was located on a no-longer existing barrier island at the end of Chestnut Street in what is now New Castle, Delaware. Background The Dutch c ...
, a Dutch defense located near present-day
New Castle, Delaware New Castle is a city in New Castle County, Delaware, United States. The city is located six miles (10 km) south of Wilmington and is situated on the Delaware River. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 5,285. History New Castl ...
. As a reprisal, the Dutch Director-General
Peter Stuyvesant Peter Stuyvesant (; in Dutch also ''Pieter'' and ''Petrus'' Stuyvesant, ; 1610 – August 1672)Mooney, James E. "Stuyvesant, Peter" in p.1256 was a Dutch colonial officer who served as the last Dutch director-general of the colony of New Net ...
sent an army to the Delaware River, which compelled the surrender of the Swedish forts and settlements in 1655. The Swedish settlers continued to enjoy local autonomy, retaining their own militia, religion, court, and lands, however, until the English conquest of the New Netherland colony on 24 June 1664.


The New Albion Colony (1634–49)

In 1634,
Charles I of England Charles I (19 November 1600 – 30 January 1649) was King of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 27 March 1625 until Execution of Charles I, his execution in 1649. He was born into the House of Stuart as the second son of King James VI of ...
granted a charter to Sir Edmund Plowden, to establish a colony in North America north of lands granted to Lord Baltimore for the
Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
colony in 1633.Carter, Edward C., II, and Lewis, Clifford, III. "Sir Edmund Plowden and the New Albion Charter, 1632–1785" in ''The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography''. LXXXIII:2 (April 1959). The charter empowered Plowden to assume the title ''Lord Earl Palatinate, Governor and Captain-General of the Province of New Albion in North America,'' and poorly defined the boundaries of the New Albion colony. It is believed that the colony would have covered territory within present-day New Jersey, New York, Delaware, and Maryland. Captain Thomas Young and his nephew, Robert Evelyn, explored and charted the valley of the Delaware River (which they called the ''Charles River'') in the 1630s. Plowden took several years to raise funds, and recruit settlers and "adventurers." In 1642, Plowden and several men sailed from England with aim to settle the colony. This attempt ended in an unsuccessful
mutiny Mutiny is a revolt among a group of people (typically of a military, of a crew or of a crew of pirates) to oppose, change, or overthrow an organization to which they were previously loyal. The term is commonly used for a rebellion among member ...
, and for the next seven years Plowden remained in Virginia managing the affairs of the intended colony, and selling land rights to adventurers and speculators.Lewis, Clifford Lewis III. "Some Extracts Relating to Sir Edmund Plowden and Others from the Lost Minutes of the Virginia Council and General Court: 1642–45" and "Some Notes on Sir Edmund Plowden's Attempts to Settle His Province of New Albion" in ''William and Mary Historical Quarterly''. (January 1940). Plowden returned to England in 1649 to raise funds, and promote the colony as a refuge for
Roman Catholics The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
exiled during the
English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I (" Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of r ...
. Despite further attempts to return to his colony, Plowden was confined in a debtors prison and died a
pauper Pauperism (Lat. ''pauper'', poor) is poverty or generally the state of being poor, or particularly the condition of being a "pauper", i.e. receiving relief administered under the English Poor Laws. From this, pauperism can also be more generally ...
in 1659. A notation on John Farrar's 1651 map of Virginia references Plowden's
patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A p ...
for the colony, and labels the Delaware River as "this river the Lord Ployden hath a patten of and calls it New Albion but the Swedes are planted in it and have a great trade of Furrs."


As an English proprietary colony (1664–1702)


Governors under the Lords Proprietor (1664–73)

With the 1664 surrender of New Netherland by
Peter Stuyvesant Peter Stuyvesant (; in Dutch also ''Pieter'' and ''Petrus'' Stuyvesant, ; 1610 – August 1672)Mooney, James E. "Stuyvesant, Peter" in p.1256 was a Dutch colonial officer who served as the last Dutch director-general of the colony of New Net ...
, and under the authority and instruction
James, Duke of York James VII and II (14 October 1633 16 September 1701) was King of England and King of Ireland as James II, and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II, on 6 February 1685. He was deposed in the Glorious ...
,
Richard Nicolls Richard Nicolls (sometimes written as Nichols, 1624 – 28 May 1672) was the first English colonial governor of New York province. Early life Nicolls was born in 1624 in Ampthill in Bedfordshire, England. He was the son of Francis Nicolls ( ...
assumed the position as Deputy-Governor of New Netherland (including Dutch settlements in New Jersey).Schuyler Van Rensselaer. ''History of the City of New York in the Seventeenth Century: New Amsterdam'' (New York: Macmillan, 1909), 527.Smith, Samuel. ''The History of the Colony of Nova Cæsarea, Or New Jersey: Containing, an Account of Its First Settlement, Progressive Improvements, the Original and Present Constitution, and Other Events to the Year 1721. With Some Particulars Since and a Short View of Its Present State''. (Burlington, New Jersey: James Parker, 1765). His first acts were to guarantee the Dutch colonists their
property rights The right to property, or the right to own property (cf. ownership) is often classified as a human right for natural persons regarding their possessions. A general recognition of a right to private property is found more rarely and is typically ...
and
religious freedom Freedom of religion or religious liberty is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance. It also includes the freedom ...
. Nicolls implemented the
English common law English law is the common law legal system of England and Wales, comprising mainly criminal law and civil law, each branch having its own courts and procedures. Principal elements of English law Although the common law has, historically, bee ...
and a legal code. Nicholls would remain governor until 1668, but the Duke of York granted part of the New Netherland territory (that between the
Hudson Hudson may refer to: People * Hudson (given name) * Hudson (surname) * Henry Hudson, English explorer * Hudson (footballer, born 1986), Hudson Fernando Tobias de Carvalho, Brazilian football right-back * Hudson (footballer, born 1988), Hudso ...
and Delaware River, Delaware rivers, present day New Jersey), to Sir George Carteret and John Berkeley for their devoted service to the Duke of York and his brother Charles II of England, Charles II during the
English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I (" Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of r ...
. This territory would be called the Province of New Caesaria, or New Jersey after Jersey in the English Channel—one of the last strongholds of the Cavalier, Royalist forces in the English Civil War. (see ''Name of Jersey'') As a result of this grant, Carteret and Berkeley became the two English Lords Proprietor of New Jersey. By the 1665 ''Concession and Agreement'', the Lords Proprietor outlined the distribution of power in the province, offered religious freedom to all inhabitants, and established a system of quit-rents, annual fees paid by settlers in return for land. The two Lords Proprietor selected Carteret's brother Philip as the province's first governor.


Restoration of New Netherland (1673–74)

In 1673, during the Third Anglo-Dutch War, the Dutch were able to recapture New Amsterdam (renamed "New York" by the British) under Admiral Cornelis Evertsen the Youngest and Captain Anthony Colve. Evertsen had renamed the city "New Amsterdam, New Orange". Evertsen returned to the Netherlands in July 1674, and was accused of disobeying his orders. Evertsen had been instructed not to retake New Amsterdam, but instead, to conquer the British colonies of Saint Helena and Cayenne (now French Guiana). In 1674, the Dutch were compelled to relinquish New Amsterdam to the British under the terms of the Treaty of Westminster (1674), Second Treaty of Westminster.


East and West Jerseys (1674–1702)

After the British regained New Jersey and New York, New Jersey was restored as a proprietary colony and was divided into two provinces—East Jersey and West Jersey. In 1674, Berkeley sold his interest in West Jersey to Edward Byllynge and John Fenwick (Quaker), John Fenwick (1618–83). Fenwick rushed to the colony to establish a settlement, Fenwick's Colony, that would become Salem. Due to Byllynge's financial difficulties encountered in his attempts to assert his title to the colony, he sought investment from William Penn, and others. Title issues were settled in 1676 with the negotiation of the Quintipartite Deed between Carteret, Penn, Byllynge, Nicholas Lucas, and Gawen Lawrie dividing the colony into East and West Jersey. West Jersey was largely a
Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abili ...
venture focused on the settlement of the lower Delaware River area, and was associated with William Penn and prominent figures in the colonization of the Pennsylvania. After Carteret's death, his heirs sold his interest in East Jersey to twelve investors, eleven of whom were members of the Quakers, Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), who asked the Quaker apologist
Robert Barclay Robert Barclay (23 December 16483 October 1690) was a Scottish Quaker, one of the most eminent writers belonging to the Religious Society of Friends and a member of the Clan Barclay. He was a son of Col. David Barclay, Laird of Urie, and his ...
to serve as governor.DesBrisay, Gordon
"Barclay, Robert, of Ury (1648–90)"
in ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004). Retrieved 15 June 2013.
The settlement of East Jersey, and its commercial and political development was chiefly connected to New England and New York. This arrangement lasted for approximately thirty years, but because of issues of administration, the proprietors of both colonies surrendered their right to government to Queen Anne. On 17 April 1702, New Jersey was transformed into a crown colony. The proprietors would retain their land rights until the East Jersey proprietors dissolved their corporation (then New Jersey's oldest) in 1998.New Jersey Law Revision Commission.
Final Report relating to Fair Resolution of Proprietary Title Claims Act, June 1999
' (Newark, NJ). Retrieved 29 April 2013.
The West Jersey Proprietors, currently the second oldest corporation in North America, continues as an activity entity based in Burlington, New Jersey. For a brief period beginning in 1688, New York, East Jersey and West Jersey came under the short-lived Dominion of New England. New York and New Jersey were largely overseen by a Lieutenant Governor and army captain, Francis Nicholson. The Proprietors of East Jersey were angered by the revocation of their charters, but retained their property and petitioned Edmund Andros, Andros, the governor of the dominion, for manorialism, manorial rights.Lovejoy, David. ''The Glorious Revolution in America''. (Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press, 1987). The colony proved too large for a single governor to administer, and Andros was highly unpopular. After news of the Glorious Revolution in England reached Boston in 1689, the Anti-Catholicism in the United States, anti-Catholic Puritans in New England, and Dutch Calvinists in New York launched a revolt against Andros, arresting him and his officers out of fear that Andros sought to impose Papist, popery on the colony.Webb, Stephen Saunders. ''Lord Churchill's Coup: The Anglo-American Empire and the Glorious Revolution Reconsidered''. (Syracuse, New York: Syracuse University Press, 1998), 202, 522–523. Leisler's Rebellion in New York City deposed Nicholson in what amounted to an ethnic war between English newcomers and the Dutch who were old settlers. After these events, the colonies reverted to their previous forms of governance until 1702.


Governors of East Jersey (1674–1702)


Governors of West Jersey (1680–1702)


As a British Crown colony (1702–76)


Governors of New York and New Jersey (1702–38)

Shortly after ascending to the British throne, Queen Anne (1665–1714) reunited East Jersey and West Jersey as a royal colony and appointed her cousin Edward Hyde, 3rd Earl of Clarendon, Edward Hyde, Viscount Cornbury, as the province's first Royal Governor. In 1702, the governments of the two proprietary colonies had surrendered their authority to the Crown which reorganized New Jersey into a crown colony with a government that consisted of a governor and New Jersey Provincial Council, twelve-member council appointed by the British monarch, and a twenty-four-member assembly whose members were elected by colonists who were qualified to vote by owning at least 1,000 acres of land. For the next four decades, New Jersey and New York shared one royal governor. Because the crown's representatives were generally incompetent or corrupt, and the royal governor often ignored New Jersey and its affairs, the colonists had substantial autonomy, and the proprietors continued to wield considerable power through the retained control of land titles and sales. The relationship between many of the Royal Governors and the provincial assembly was often hostile. The assembly would simply respond to disagreements over legislation by using its appropriation power to withhold the governor's salary. Several historians point towards a factionalism which defined the colonial government, but the factions have been described as inchoate and characterized by shifting alliances between the colony's various ethnic, religious, proprietary, and landowning groups. During this period, the population of the colony began to expand, from 14,000 in 1700 to nearly 52,000 by 1740. It was a diverse colony, as Queen Anne and Royal Governor Hunter began to important German Palatines, Palatine Germans into New York's Hudson Valley in a plan to produce naval stores. Many of these German families eventually settled in New Jersey.For a history of Palatine emigration, see: Knittle, Walter Allen. ''Early Eighteenth Century Palatine Emigration: A British Government Redemptioner Project to Manufacture Naval Stores''. (Philadelphia: Dorrance, 1937); Statt, Daniel. ''Foreigners and Englishmen: The Controversy over Immigration and Population, 1660–1760''. (Newark, Delaware: University of Delaware Press, 1995); Chambers, Theodore Frelinghuysen (Rev.). ''The Early Germans of New Jersey: their History, Churches and Genealogies.'' (Dover, New Jersey: Dover Printing Company, 1895); Otterness, Philip. ''Becoming German: The 1709 Palatine Migration to New York''. (Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press, 2006). West Jersey's colonists included Irish, English, Welsh and Scottish Quakers and the descendants of Swedish and Finnish colonists from the former New Sweden colony. Dutch and Huguenot families from New York settled in the valleys of the
Raritan River Raritan River is a major river of New Jersey. Its watershed drains much of the mountainous area of the central part of the state, emptying into the Raritan Bay on the Atlantic Ocean. History Geologists assert that the lower Raritan provided t ...
and Hackensack River, and in the northwestern New Jersey's Minisink region. New Englanders from Connecticut and Long Island, and English planters from Barbados arrived with History of slavery in New Jersey, African slaves.Lurie, Maxine N. and Veit, Richard F. ''New Jersey: A History of the Garden State''. (New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 2012). Because of its liberal grant of religious freedom, the colony's diversity was also reflected in its religious plurality, with a strong presence of Dutch Reformed Church, Dutch Reformed, Lutheranism, Lutheran, Huguenots, Huguenot, Quaker, Puritan, Congregational church, Congregationalist, Presbyterianism, Presbyterian, Baptists, Baptist, and Anglicanism, Anglican churches.


Governors of New Jersey (1738–76)

After tensions were provoked with the Penn's Walking Purchase in 1737, relations between colonists and the region's Native Americans in the United States, Native American tribes became increasingly hostile.Harper, Steven Craig. ''Promised Land: Penn's Holy Experiment, The Walking Purchase, and the Dispossession of the Delawares, 1600–1763''. (Cranbury, New Jersey: Rosemont Publishing, 2008). During these years, colonists left the seacoast cities and settled the colony's northwestern wilderness. Much of the provincial government's actions during this time was organizing the wilderness into townships often named after English and colonial political figures. By the 1750s, violent raids against these settlers, and fears that the French were supporting these hostilities led to the French and Indian War.Nelson, William (editor).
Documents Relating to the Colonial History of the State of New Jersey: Extracts from American Newspapers, Relating to New Jersey, Volume IV. 1756–61
'. Archives of the State of New Jersey, First Series, Volume 20. (Newark, New Jersey: New Jersey Historical Society, 1898), passim.
During this time, the colonial government provided generous Bounty (reward), monetary rewards to colonists who killed Indians, established a line of fortifications in the Minisink (i.e., the upper valley of the Delaware River), and mustered military units (the New Jersey Frontier Guard and 1st New Jersey Regiment) to defend this frontier and carry out punitive raids on Indian villages.Larrabee, Edward Conyers McMillan. "New Jersey and the Fortified Frontier System of the 1750s." PhD Dissertation, Columbia University, 1970. Hostilities began to subside with the Treaty of Easton in October 1758, negotiated by New Jersey Royal Governor Sir Francis Bernard, 1st Baronet, Francis Bernard, Pennsylvania Attorney-General Benjamin Chew, and chiefs of 13 Native American nations, led by Teedyuscung. New Jersey was the only province to have two Colonial colleges, colleges established during the colonial period, and the colony's governors were influential in their establishment. Governors John Hamilton, John Reading, and Jonathan Belcher aided the establishment of The College of New Jersey (now Princeton University) which was founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey#History, Elizabethtown by a group of First Great Awakening, Great Awakening "Old Side–New Side Controversy, New Lighters" that included Jonathan Dickinson, Aaron Burr Sr., Aaron Burr, Sr. and Peter Van Brugh Livingston. In 1756, the school moved to Princeton.Oberdorfer, Don. ''Princeton University: The First 250 Years''. (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1995), passim. In 1766, Governor William Franklin issued the charters to establish Queens College (now Rutgers University) in New Brunswick, New Jersey, New Brunswick to "educate the youth in language, liberal, the divinity, and useful arts and sciences" and for the training of future ministers for the Dutch Reformed Church. Franklin issued a second charter in 1770 after the college's trustees requested amendments.McCormick, Richard P. ''Rutgers: A Bicentennial History''. (New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 1966), passim. In the last year of
William Franklin William Franklin (22 February 1730 – 17 November 1813) was an American-born attorney, soldier, politician, and colonial administrator. He was the acknowledged illegitimate son of Benjamin Franklin. William Franklin was the last colonial Go ...
's tenure, his power was diminished and he became marginalized by the rebellious sentiment rising in the colony's residents. The province was being run ''
de facto ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with '' de jure'' ("by l ...
'' by the
Provincial Congress of New Jersey 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 then-thirteen counties, to superse ...
(1775–76). While colonial militia had put Franklin under house arrest in January 1776, he would not be formally deposed until June 1776 when the colony's Provincial Congress had him imprisoned. Franklin considered the Provincial Congress to be an "illegal assembly."Skemp, Sheila L. ''William Franklin: Son of a Patriot, Servant of a King''. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1990), 211. Under the direction of its president Samuel Tucker (politician), Samuel Tucker (1721–89), the Provincial Congress proceeded to adopt a state constitution and reorganize the province into an independent state.Schuyler, Hamilton
"Chapter II: Trenton and Trentonians in the Revolutionary Era"
in ''A History of Trenton, 1679–1929: Two Hundred and Fifty Years of a Notable Town with Links in Four Centuries''. (Trenton, New Jersey: Trenton Historical Society, 1929).
The newly formed State of New Jersey elected William Livingston as its first governor on 31 August 1776.McCormick, Richard P. (1964, 1970). ''New Jersey from Colony to State, 1609–1789''. (1st Ed – Princeton: Van Nostrand, 1964; 2nd Ed. — New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 1970).


See also

* For post-independence governors (1776–present), see List of governors of New Jersey. * British colonization of the Americas * Dutch colonization of the Americas * Dutch Empire * English colonial empire * European colonization of the Americas * Jersey Dutch * Keith Line * Lawrence Line * New York-New Jersey Line War * Swedish colonial empire * Swedish emigration to North America * Thornton Line


References


Notes


Further reading

* Black, Frederick R. ''The Last Lords Proprietors: The West Jersey Society, 1692–1703''. PhD Dissertation, Rutgers University, 1964, Rutgers University Library, Special Collections (New Brunswick, New Jersey). * Brodhead, John Romeyn. ''The Government of Sir Edmund Andros over New England, in 1688 and 1689''. (Morrisania, N.Y: Bradstreet Press, 1867). * Craven, Wesley Frank. ''New Jersey and the English Colonization of North America''. (Princeton: Van Nostrand, 1964). * Cunningham, John. ''East of Jersey: A History of the General Board of Proprietors for the Eastern Division of New Jersey''. (Newark, New Jersey: New Jersey Historical Society, 1995). * McConville, Brendan. ''These Daring Disturbers of the Public Peace: The Struggle for Property and Power in Early New Jersey.'' (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1999). * McCreary, John Roger. "Ambition, Interest and Faction: Politics in New Jersey, 1702–38." PhD dissertation, University of Nebraska, 1971. * Myers, Albert Cook. ''Narratives of Early Pennsylvania West New Jersey and Delaware: 1630–1707''. (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1912). * Pomfret, John Edwin. ''The New Jersey Proprietors and Their Lands''. New Jersey Historical Series, Volume 9. (Princeton: D. Van Nostrand Co., Inc., 1964). * Pomfret, John Edwin. ''Colonial New Jersey, A History''. (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1973). * Schmidt, George P. ''Princeton and Rutgers: The Two Colonial Colleges of New Jersey''. (Princeton, D. Van Nostrand, 1964). * Tanner, Edwin Platt. ''The Province of New Jersey, 1664–1738''. (New York: s.n. 1908).


External links


West Jersey Proprietors Deposit
at the New Jersey State Archives.
West Jersey History Project
{{DEFAULTSORT:Colonial Governors of New Jersey, List Of Colonial governors of New Jersey, Pre-statehood history of New Jersey, Colonial governors New Netherland Lists of American colonial governors, New Netherland People of New Netherland Lists of people from New Jersey