One of the original 13 colonies, New Jersey was an important battleground during the American Revolution. New Jersey is located in the heart of the bustling Atlantic corridor, nestled between New York and Pennsylvania, and it has the highest population density of any state.
New Jersey was named for the island of Jersey on the English Channel. Its long and beautiful coastline has long made the state a popular vacation destination, with over 50 seaside resort towns including Asbury Park, Atlantic City and Cape May. Before Giovanni de Verrazano became the first European settler to explore New Jersey in , the Delaware Indians had lived in the region for more than 10, years.
They harvested clams off the Jersey shore and hunted in the woods depending on the season. They also grew squash, beans, sweet potatoes and corn. In exchange for rights to their land, the Delaware Indians were allowed to stay on the reservation and continue hunting and fishing. In , the New Jersey Assembly agreed to sell the reservation and give the proceeds to the approximately 85 remaining tribe members. At that point, remaining members of the tribe moved to join tribes in upstate New York, Wisconsin and Mississippi, while others integrated into local communities in South Jersey.
From there, small trading colonies emerged in towns where Hoboken and Jersey City are now located. Settlers from the Netherlands, Sweden and Finland settled in Bergen, forming the first permanent European settlement in the state. In , the Dutch lost control of New Jersey, which was part of the New Netherlands colony at the time, to the English. The British split the colony and gave control to two proprietors: Control of the east went to Sir George Carteret and control of the west to Lord John Berkley.
Carteret and Berkley later sold the land, but England eventually regained authority of the state. Because of its proximity to the 13 colonies, more battles were fought in New Jersey than in any other state during the Revolutionary War. New Jersey housed several iron mills in areas including West Milford, Wharton and Kinnelon that produced ammunition, armaments and other materials essential to the war effort. Many consider the Battle of Trenton to be a pivotal moment in the war that led the United States to victory.
