Editing New Jersey (section)

===Colonial era===
{{Main|Colonial history of New Jersey|New Netherland|New Sweden|Province of New Jersey|East Jersey|West Jersey|Dominion of New England}}
[[File:Nieuw Nederland and Nya Sverige.svg|thumb|upright|A map of [[New Netherland]] and [[New Sweden]] in present-day New Jersey during the [[Colonial history of New Jersey|colonial era]]]]
The [[Netherlands|Dutch]] were the first [[Ethnic groups in Europe|Europeans]] to lay claim to geographic territory in New Jersey. The Dutch colony of [[New Netherland]] consisted of parts of the modern [[Mid-Atlantic (United States)|Mid-Atlantic]] states. Although the European principle of [[land ownership]] was not recognized by the [[Lenape]], [[Dutch West India Company]] policy required its colonists to purchase land that they settled. The first to do so was [[Michiel Reyniersz Pauw|Michiel Pauw]], who established a patron ship called [[Pavonia, New Netherland|Pavonia]] in 1630 along [[North River (Hudson River)|North River]], that eventually became [[Bergen, New Netherland|Bergen]]. [[Peter Minuit]]'s purchase of lands along the [[Delaware River]] established the colony of [[New Sweden]], that lasted until the Dutch conquered it in 1655. Then the entire region became a territory of [[Kingdom of England|England]] on June 24, 1664, after an English fleet under command of Colonel [[Richard Nicolls]] sailed into what is now [[New York Harbor]] and took control of [[Fort Amsterdam]], annexing the entire province.

During the [[English Civil War]], the [[Channel Islands|Channel Island]] of [[Jersey]] remained loyal to the British Crown and gave sanctuary to the [[King of England|King]]. In the Royal Square in [[St Helier]], [[Charles II of England]] was proclaimed King in 1649, following the execution of his father, [[Charles I of England|Charles I]]. North American lands were divided by [[Charles II of England|Charles II]], who gave his brother, the Duke of York (later [[James II of England|King James II]]), the region between [[New England]] and [[Maryland]] as a [[proprietary colony]] (as opposed to a [[royal colony]]). James then granted land between the [[Hudson River]] and the [[Delaware River]] (the land that would become New Jersey) to two friends who had remained loyal through the [[English Civil War]]: [[George Carteret|Sir George Carteret]] and [[John Berkeley, 1st Baron Berkeley of Stratton|Lord Berkeley of Stratton]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mrnussbaum.com/readingcomp/njcolony.htm|title=New Jersey Colony Reading Comprehension|publisher=MrNussbaum.com|access-date=September 10, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121024222527/http://www.mrnussbaum.com/readingcomp/njcolony.htm|archive-date=October 24, 2012|url-status=live}}</ref> The area was named the [[Province of New Jersey]].

Since its inception, New Jersey has been characterized by [[multiculturalism|ethnic and religious diversity]]. New England [[Congregationalists]] settled alongside [[Scots' Church, Melbourne|Scots Presbyterians]] and [[Dutch Reformed]] migrants. While the majority of residents lived in towns with individual [[landowner|landholdings]] of {{convert|100|acre|ha|0}}, a few rich proprietors owned vast estates. English [[Quakers]] and [[Anglicans]] owned large landholdings. Unlike [[Plymouth Colony]], [[Jamestown, Virginia|Jamestown]] and other colonies, New Jersey was populated by a secondary wave of immigrants who came from other colonies instead of those who migrated directly from Europe. New Jersey remained agrarian and rural throughout the colonial era, and [[commercial agriculture|commercial farming]] developed sporadically. Some townships, such as [[Burlington, New Jersey|Burlington]] on the Delaware River and [[Perth Amboy]], emerged as important ports for shipping to New York City and Philadelphia. The colony's fertile lands and [[toleration|tolerant religious policy]] drew more settlers, and New Jersey's population had increased to 120,000 by 1775.

Settlement for the first ten years of English rule took place along the [[Hackensack River]] and [[Arthur Kill]]. Settlers came primarily from New York and New England. On March 18, 1673, Berkeley sold his half of the colony to [[Religious Society of Friends|Quakers]] in England, who settled the [[Delaware Valley]] region as a Quaker colony, with [[William Penn]] acting as [[trustee]] for the lands for a time. New Jersey was governed as two distinct provinces, [[East Jersey|East]] and [[West Jersey]], for 28 years between 1674 and 1702, which were part of the [[Dominion of New England]] from 1686 to 1689.

In 1702, the two provinces were reunited under a [[Royal Governor of New Jersey|royal governor]] rather than a [[Proprietary governor|proprietary one]]. [[Edward Hyde, 3rd Earl of Clarendon|Edward Hyde]], titled Lord Cornbury, became the first governor of the royal colony. Britain believed that he was an ineffective and corrupt ruler, taking bribes and speculating on land. 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 these governors of favoritism to New York. [[Lewis Morris (governor)|Judge Lewis Morris]] led the case for a separate governor, and was appointed governor by [[George II of Great Britain|King George II]] in 1738.<ref>Streissguth pp. 30–36</ref>