Colonial history of New Jersey

European colonization of New Jersey started soon after the 1609 exploration of its coast and bays by Henry Hudson. Dutch and Swedish colonists settled parts of the present-day state as New Netherland and New Sweden.

In 1664, the entire area, surrendered by the Dutch to England, gained its current name. With the Treaty of Westminster in 1674, London formally gained control of the region; it retained that control until the American Revolution.