Dutch West Indian CompanyLike Delaware, the early European settlement of New Jersey was a contest between the Dutch and the Swedes. The Dutch West India Company worked to stimulate settlement in the area by granting patroonships, land grants in which the grantee was given proprietary and manorial rights over settlers he sponsored.
In 1620, a trading post was established at the site of Bergen, New Jersey, which would later be developed as the first permanent white settlement in the area. Other Dutch enclaves followed at Fort Nassau and at Jersey City. |