How East & West Jersey Unified: Quakers, Governors & Royal Surrender

New Jersey's split personality (1674–1702) ended when both proprietary colonies surrendered to the Crown.

The Split (1674)

• 1664: Duke of York grants New Caesarea (New Jersey) to Berkeley & Carteret
• 1674: Berkeley sells west half to Quakers (Penn, Byllynge) → West Jersey
• Carteret keeps east half → East Jersey
• Boundary: Keith Line (NW-SE) — surveyed 1687, still appears in property deeds

West Jersey: Quaker Laboratory

• Proprietors sell land cheap → rapid settlement
• Revenue crash: No quitrents → no government funding
• Weak central authority — local courts, informal governance

East Jersey: Proprietary Overreach

• 1682: Proprietors grant broad powers to Governor Robert Barclay
• Barclay passes unpopular laws (taxes, land fees, religious tests)
• Proprietors reassume control — but credibility shattered

Unification (1702)

• 1702: Proprietors of both East & West Jersey surrender charters to Queen Anne
• Crown creates Royal Colony of New Jersey — single governor, assembly, council
• First royal governor: Lord Cornbury (notorious for corruption)

Why It Mattered

• Ended proprietary confusion (two governments, two courts, two tax systems)
• Created unified defense against French/Indian threats
• Set stage for revolutionary politics — NJ becomes "Crossroads of the Revolution"

Two proprietary experiments failed; royal government brought coherence—at the cost of local autonomy.