New Jersey Divided into East and West Jersey

From 1674 to 1702, the Province of New Jersey was divided into East Jersey and West Jersey, each with its own governor and constitution. The West Jersey Constitution was established in 1681 and the East Jersey Constitution in 1683.

When this happened

New Jersey Divided into East and West Jersey occurred in From 1674 to 1702, during the colonial period period of American history. The event spanned from 1674 to 1702.

Where this happened

New Jersey Divided into East and West Jersey took place in New Jersey. Explore the full history of New Jersey and primary source records from this era.

European colonization of North America accelerated after 1600, with England, France, Spain, and the Netherlands establishing competing settlements along the Atlantic coast, the St. Lawrence River, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Mississippi Valley. The first permanent English settlement at Jamestown, Virginia (1607) struggled with starvation and conflict; the Plymouth colony (1620) and the Massachusetts Bay Colony (1630) followed. By the mid-1700s, thirteen English colonies stretched along the Atlantic seaboard, governed through a mix of royal charters, proprietary grants, and elected assemblies. The colonial economy depended on tobacco in Virginia and Maryland, rice and indigo in the Carolinas, and maritime trade in New England — all increasingly reliant on enslaved African labor after 1619. Conflict with Indigenous peoples over land was continuous, punctuated by major wars including King Philip's War (1675–1676) in New England and the Yamasee War (1715–1717) in the South. The French and Indian War (1754–1763), part of the global Seven Years' War, ended French power in North America and left Britain deeply in debt — triggering the taxation disputes that would lead to revolution.

Content adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Source: Wikipedia: East and West Jerseys.