The Province of West Jersey is an English colony in North America that existed in 1676-1702.
| Former UK Private Colony | ||
 Province of western jersey | ||
|---|---|---|
| English Province of east jersey | ||
| Anthem : God save the Queen! Motto : God and My Right | ||
| A country |  Great Britain | |
| Capital of the colony | Burlington | |
| Official language | English | |
| Language composition | English | |
| Educated | 1676 | |
| Abolished | 1702 | |
| Predecessor | New jersey | |
| Successor | New jersey | |
| Currency | GBP | |
West and East Jersey | ||
| Is now part |  USA | |
| ||
In 1665, the Duke of York received a royal charter for a colony, the territory of which included the former New Netherlands and the lands of the modern state of Maine. In exchange for assistance with debt, the Duke of York transferred part of the colonial land between the Delaware and Hudson Rivers to George Carteret ; these lands were named New Jersey in honor of the island of Jersey , from which the mother of Carteret was born. Another part of the future province of New Jersey was sold by the Duke of York to his close friend, Lord . The owners continued to live in England, and both private colonies were governed by a single governor.
In 1673, during the third Anglo-Dutch war, the region was again captured by the Dutch, but in 1674 it again returned to the hands of the British. Having financial difficulties, Berkeley sold his colony to two English Quakers - John Fenwick and Edward Billing. In 1676, an agreement was reached between Carteret and the Quakers on the separate management of the colonies - this is how East and West Jersey appeared.
Billing was in financial difficulties, and therefore, as a result of negotiations with William Penn, he and Fenwick sold part of their rights to other people, resulting in the formation of a company of West Jersey owners. Although Billing was the formal governor of West Jersey, he himself had never been there in his life, and the colony was controlled by his deputies.
In 1686, the Dominion New England was formed, led by Edmund Endros . In 1688, both Jersey were included in the Dominon. Due to their considerable remoteness from Boston, where Endros established his residence, Lieutenant Governor began to manage these territories from New York . In the summer of 1688, Endros toured first New York and then Jersey. Management in Jersey was complicated by the fact that landowners whose charters were revoked retained their property and filed a petition with Endros regarding traditional manor rights.
In 1688, the “ Glorious Revolution ” took place in England, and William III of Orange and Mary II sat on the English throne. After rumors of events in England reached America, a Boston uprising took place and Dominion officials, including Endros, Randolph and Dudley, were arrested and the local authorities of each of the former colonies returned to their previous forms of government.
While these disturbances were going on, Billing passed away in 1687, and his rights were bought from his heirs by the court physician Daniel Cox. Although he was also formally appointed governor, he also never went to the colonies, although he invested in overseas enterprises (in particular, it was he who opened the first pottery factory in New Jersey that produced goods on an industrial scale).
In 1692, became governor of both Jerseys, during whose administration the first colonial postal service was created. However, in 1696, the English Parliament passed the Navigation Act , according to which only natives of England could hold public office, and Hamilton, who was born in Scotland, was removed. However, Jeremiah Basset, who replaced him, was so incompetent that in 1699 Hamilton again became the governor of both Jerseys (by then it was decided that the Navigation Act did not apply to the natives of Scotland).
In the late 1690s, the owners of the colonies, seeing their poor management, sold their rights to both Jersey to the government. In 1702, Queen Anne , ascending the throne, united East and West Jersey into a single colony, and made it a crown colony .