Max Fowler, age 14, of Asbury Park, N.J., for his question:
WHO FIRST SETTLED NEW JERSEY?
About 8,000 years ago, Indians belonging to the Delaware tribe of the Algonkian Indian family lived in what is now the state of New Jersey. The Indians spent most of their time hunting, but they also raised maize, beans, squash and other crops.
Giovanni da Verrazano, an Italian navigator in the service of France, was probably the first white man to explore the New Jersey coast. He reached the coast in 1524. Then Henry Hudson, an English sea captain employed by The Netherlands, explored the Sandy Hook Bay area in 1609. Many Dutch trading ships visited the New Jersey area during the 1600s.
The Dutch and the Swedes were the first white settlers in New Jersey.
The Dutch founded an outpost in Pavonia, which is now part of Jersey City, about 1630. Indian uprisings prevented permanent settlement until 1660. That year, the Dutch built the fortified town of Bergen. It was New Jersey's first permanent white settlement.
Traders and settlers from Sweden arrived in southern New Jersey in 1638. The Dutch settlers, fearing competition in the fur trade, forced the Swedes out of the area in 1655.
English armies won control of New Jersey and other Dutch North American possessions in 1664. King Charles II of England gave the New Jersey area to his brother James, Duke of York. James, in turn, gave it to two of his friends, Lord John Berkeley and Sir George Carteret.
Berkeley and Carteret offered to sell the land in New Jersey to colonists at low prices. They also allowed settlers to have political and religious freedom. These policies attracted many settlers.
In 1674, a group of Quakers headed by Edward Byllynge bought Berkeley's share of New Jersey. Then two years later, the colony was divided into two sections: West Jersey and East Jersey. Byliynge and his associates made West Jersey the first Quaker colony in America.
Another group of Quakers, called the Twenty Four Proprietors, bought East Jersey in 1682.
During the late 1600s, the owners of East and West Jersey became unpopular with the colonists. Land grants made many years earlier caused disputes over property rights. The colonists also objected to paying rent to the owners.
Many colonists rioted during the 1690s. The owners gave up East and West Jersey in 1702. England then united the two colonies as a single royal colony.
New Jersey had twin capitals from 1703 to 1775: Perth Amboy, the former capital of East Jersey, and Burlington, the former capital of West Jersey.
By the 1760s, the colony had about 100,000 persons. The English king appointed the colonial governor and a 12 member council. The people elected a colonial assembly.
The Revolutionary War began in Massachusetts in 1775. Hundreds of New Jersey men joined the patriots in their fight for independence. Because New Jersey was located between New York City and Philadelphia, it made New Jersey a major battleground during the war. The Americans and British fought nearly 100 engagements in New Jersey.
New Jersey declared its independence from Great Britain in 1776 and ratified the Articles of Confederation in 1778. New Jersey became a state Dec. 18, 1778, when it ratified the U.S. Constitution. It was the third state to do so.