Lord proprietor
A lord proprietor is a person granted a royal charter for the establishment and government of an English colony in the 17th century. The plural of the term is "lords proprietors" or "lords proprietary".
Origin[edit]
In the beginning of the European colonial era, trade companies such as the East India Company were the most common method used to settle new land.[1] That changed after Maryland's Royal Grant in 1632, when King Charles I granted George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore, proprietary rights to an area east of the Potomac River in exchange for a share of the income derived there.[2][3] Proprietary colonies later became the most common way to settle areas with British subjects. The land was licensed or granted to a proprietor who held expanse power. The powers were commonly written into the land charters by using the "Bishop of Durham clause," which recreated the powers and responsibilities once given to the County Palatine of Durham in England.[4][2] That clause gave the lord proprietor the power to create courts and laws, establish governing bodies and churches, and appoint all governing officials.[2]
Governance of proprietary colonies[edit]
Each proprietary colony had a unique system of governance reflecting the geographic challenges of the area as well as the personality of the lord proprietor. The colonies of Maryland and New York, based on English law and administration practices, were run effectively. However, other colonies such as Carolina were mismanaged.[5] The colonies of West and East Jersey, as well as Pennsylvania, were distinct in their diversion from the traditional monarchial system, which ruled most colonies of the time[5] because of the large number of Quakers in those areas who shared many views with the lords proprietary.[5]
Effective governance of proprietary colonies relied on the appointment of a governor. The lord proprietor made the governor the head of the province's military, judicial, and administrative functions. This was typically conducted using a commission established by the lord proprietor. The lord proprietor typically instructed the governor what to do.[6] Only through those instructions could legislation be made.[5]
In 1664, the English gained control of New Jersey from the Dutch. King Charles II granted the country to his brother, the Duke of York, who in turn sold the colony to two of his friends, Lord Berkeley and Sir George Carteret (who were both already Lords Proprietors of Carolina). The area was named "New Jersey" after Carteret's home island of Jersey in the English Channel.[20] The grant, unique among other proprietary grants in the Americas, did not explicitly give the lord proprietors the power of government in the colony.[21]
Nonetheless, Berkeley and Carteret, established a constitution and gave freemen the right to elect an Assembly. A tax could not be levied without the Assembly's approval. The Governor was appointed by the Lords Proprietors and was allowed to select his own Council, which constituted the upper branch of the Legislature. The new colony attracted many settlers because Berkeley and Sir George Carteret sold the land to the colonists at low prices and allowed them political and religious freedoms.
The Dutch re-conquered the area in 1673 but then surrendered to the English in 1674. The new documents governing the lands still did not mention the lord proprietor's governing rights which led to continued confusion with colonial officials in New York.[21] Two of New Jersey's governors during the area's time as a proprietary colony were arrested and imprisoned in New York for governing without the authority to do so.[21]
Berkeley sold his half of New Jersey to Edward Byllynge and John Fenwick. In 1676, Carteret and Fenwick negotiated a division of the province into two sections: East Jersey which was held by Carteret and West Jersey which was held by Fenwick. Sir George Carteret died in 1680. His property was left to Trustees who put East Jersey up for sale in a public auction. In 1682, the property was sold to William Penn and eleven associates who each sold half of their share to twelve others, forming an association of twenty-four proprietors.[22] This body became known as the Board of Proprietors of East Jersey. This board exercised government control, which eventually led to many conflicts within the colony. In 1702, East and West Jersey surrendered the right to government to the English Crown under Queen Anne following the Glorious Revolution.[23]
In the Province of New Jersey, there were two proprietary lordships:
Lords Proprietary of East Jersey:
Lords Proprietary of West Jersey: