East Jersey

The Province of East Jersey was one of the two proprietorial colonies created when the Province of New Jersey was divided in 1674 under the Quintipartite Deed. East Jersey occupied the northern part of the territory, with its capital at Perth Amboy, while West Jersey lay to the south and west. The boundary between the two provinces along the Raritan and Delaware rivers was long disputed, and settlers often ignored it. In 1675 East Jersey was divided into Bergen, Essex, Middlesex and Monmouth counties, and its principal towns included Shrewsbury, Woodbridge, Elizabethtown, Newark and Bergen. Many inhabitants were Puritans from New England and Long Island, and Quakers were prominent south of the Raritan. A 1684 survey estimated the population at about 3,500, a figure that grew steadily through immigration and the expansion of farming and trade. The proprietors struggled to collect rents and defend their claims, and in 1702 East and West Jersey were reunited as the royal Province of New Jersey under Queen Anne.