East Jersey in the early 1680s
The land and its people
Before European settlement, East Jersey was home to the Lenni Lenape (Lenape), whose name means “the first” or “original people”. By the 1680s, the Lenape population in the wider region, including parts of modern-day New York and the Chesapeake, was estimated at around 6,000. East Jersey itself, covering 4,360 square miles — slightly smaller than northeast Scotland — was only lightly settled.
The Lenape had already sold tracts of land to European settlers, particularly along the coast and riverbanks, in exchange for goods they valued, such as wampum (shell beads used as currency and adornment), clothing, tools, kettles, and hunting firearms. However, their understanding of land ownership differed significantly from that of European settlers. Rather than surrendering land outright, they expected to continue their customary rights — hunting, fishing, planting crops, and establishing seasonal villages —consistent with their communal approach to land use.
Early European settlement
Before the arrival of Scots in the 1680s, East Jersey was home to a diverse settler population. Most were English Puritans from New England or Dutch Calvinists, alongside smaller communities of Baptists, Quakers, Anglicans, Lutherans and Huguenots. These settlers numbered around 3,500 and were concentrated in seven townships.
There were a few Scots already present, though none had recorded links to the new batch of emigrants. One, John “The Scotchman” Smith, was reportedly transported as a prisoner after the Battle of Dunbar (1650) and later became a freeholder in Woodbridge. Another, John Crawford, described as a “gentleman of Ayrshire,” arrived from Barbados in 1676.
European-Lenape relations and land rights
Historical accounts describe peaceful coexistence between the Lenape and settlers in this period, a view supported by recent research. However, tensions existed due to fundamentally different concepts of land ownership. European settlers operated under the ‘Right of Discovery’, a legal and theological doctrine granting sovereignty over lands not already controlled by a Christian monarch. Under English law, all land in East Jersey was considered to be “holden of the King”, with the Proprietors deriving their property rights from a royal charter.
The Proprietors did, however, require that land be purchased from the Lenape before being surveyed or distributed. This policy reflected a Quaker approach to Indigenous relations. William Penn, for instance, referred to Native Americans as “natural Lords of the Soil” who should be treated as “Neighbours and Friends”. The policy was also pragmatic, designed to reduce the risk of conflict. However, colonial attitudes remained steeped in imperial and racial superiority. George Scot of Pitlochie, for example, described Native Americans as “feral” and saw colonisation as a way to propagate Christianity and fulfil a divine mission.
Land and labour in East Jersey
Much of East Jersey was forested, with existing colonial settlements practising a mix of European-style agriculture and Indigenous farming techniques. Crops such as maize were traded with the Lenape, while settlers introduced European grains, vegetables, and livestock farming. For newly arrived emigrants, the challenge of clearing land and preparing it for cultivation fell to family units, indentured servants, and a few enslaved labourers.
Slavery in East Jersey
By 1680, around 120 enslaved Black Africans lived in East Jersey, forming 3% of the settler population. While some were owned by Dutch settlers, many were brought by English planters from Barbados who had begun moving to Bergen County between 1667 and 1670. About half of the enslaved population worked at a Quaker-owned ironworks in Shrewsbury in Monmouth County. Most originated primarily from the Gold Coast, Bight of Benin, and Angola.
Scots did not play a significant role in East Jersey’s early slave trade. Six enslaved Africans arrived with the Scots, imported by London Quaker merchants Gawen Lawrie and William Haige.
