| Philip Carteret (1639 - 1682) was appointed governor at the age of 25 in 1665. He was the cousin of Sir George Carteret, who with Lord John Berkeley, were the the two proprietors of New Jersey on the basis of the grant of lands given them by James, the Duke of York (later to become King James II), in June 1664, which the grant instrument stated were "...hereafter to be called by the name or names of New Caeserea or New Jersey". Berkeley and Carteret had gained Royal favor in appreciation of their support of the Royal cause during the English Civil War, with Carteret, a prominent Naval officer who had been appointed lieutenant governor of his native Isle of Jersey, providing refuge on the island for members of the Royal family during the conflict. Philip Carteret was also a native of the Isle of Jersey, and the son of the attorney general of the Isle. Until his appointment, New Jersey had been governed by Governor Richard Nicolls as part of New York. Prior to Philip Carteret's arrival in New Jersey in August 1665 as the leader of an expedition of 30 colonists from the Isle of Jersey, Sir George Carteret and Lord Berkeley executed the Concessions and Agreement, a document intended to encourage settlement by providing New Jersey colonists with certain guarantees of self-government and other incentives, including freedom of religion and grants of land. The Concessions provided for an elected assembly with legislative power and a council appointed by the governor.
During Carteret's governorship, the first towns were settled in New Jersey. Carteret made Elizabethtown the capital of New Jersey, named after the wife of Sir George Carteret. He issued many grants of lands to settlers and landowners to increase the worth of the colony, but soon faced disputes over confused land titles and rebellion by tenant farmers against quitrents (fixed rents). In 1668, the first Assembly broke up after disputes over Governor Carteret's attempts to collect quitrents, and the refusal of representatives of other settlements such as Middletown and Shrewsbury to participate on the basis that thir land titles were derived from grants from Governor Nicolls and thus not subject to the payment of quitrents.
In the summer of 1671, Philip Carteret faced further resistance to his authority when Captain James Carteret, who some claimed was an illegitimate son of Sir George Carteret, arrived in the colony. Rebellious settlers seized the opportunity created by James Carteret's arrival to convene an unauthorized assembly and elect him in Philip Carteret's place as governor. Faced with the challenge to his continuation as governor by this so-called "Rebellion of 1672", Philip Carteret returned to England in May of that year to consult with his patron Sir George Carteret, successfully gaining the support of Sir George for his return as the governor of New Jersey. While in England, Sir George also issued several "Declarations" with support of the King that sought to punish the rebellious settlers by rejecting all land claims filed under the old Nicolls patents; mandating that all settlers secure land titles from the proprietors and pay up amounts due for quitrents; and rescinding powers previously granted the Assembly under the "Concessions and Agreements" to distribute land, charter towns and make appointments. The Declarations also strengthened the governor's role by giving the governor and council veto power over actions of the Assembly, authorizing the governor to appoint justices and also directing that the Assembly adopt measures to finance the costs incurred by the governor and his appointees. When Philip Carteret returned to New Jersey in March 1674, his formal legal role as governor was restored and augmented, but the informal relationship of the governor with the colonists had moved toward tension and confrontation, a conflict that would outlast Carteret's tenure as governor.
When Carteret returned as governor in March 1674, the geographic scope of his authority was sharply cut back by the partition of New Jersey resulting from the sale of Lord Berkeley's interest to a group of Quakers. The sale split the colony into the provinces of East and West Jersey, with Sir George Carteret retaining East Jersey, which included all inhabited settlements to that point, and the Quakers gaining control over the frontier of West Jersey; the location of the boundary between the provinces--which would be a subject of dispute for many years--proceeded diagonally from the northwest corner of what is now the Delaware Water Gap to a point on the coast north of what is now Atlantic City.
Philp Carteret's attempt to resume his role as governor was complicated further by conflicts with Sir Edmund Andros, who had been appointed governor of New York in July 1674 by the Duke of York and who later gained the Duke's backing to assert his rule also over New Jersey. Andros ordered that all vessels heading for East Jersey dock in New York to pay customs duties, an order repudiated by Governor Carteret, who contended that his authority over the province was established under royal command. The death of Sir George Carteret in January 1680 further weakened Philp Carteret's position. Andros dispatched a militia to East Jersey, where they seized, assaulted and imprisoned Carteret in the spring of 1680. Carteret was tried by a special court of assize appointed by Andros; while Carteret was acquitted by a jury, the court also ordered that--if he returned to East Jersey--he would not be allowed to resume his role as governor. Andros then sought to assert his control over East Jersey by travelling to Elizabethtown to meet with the assembly, but he rejected their claims that he recognize the prior rights granted under the Concessions and Agreements. In October 1680, however, the Duke of York, who at the time was an exile in Scotland, was persuaded to repudiate and recall Andros as governor, with a new indenture executed recognizing the minor son of Sir George Carteret, also named George, as the proprietor of East Jersey. In March 1681, Philp Carteret issued a proclamation announcing that he was resuming his position as governor of the province of East Jersey. He would soon face renewed conflicts with the settlers, ordering in November 1681 that the assembly be dissolved after it had issued demands that the original privileges of the Concessions and Agreements be recognized and that the Declarations of 1672 be rescinded.
In February 1682, the widow of Sir George Carteret sold her interest in East Jersey at auction for 3,400 pounds to a group of twelve people, eleven of whom were members of the Society of Friends. One of the eleven Quaker proprietors was William Penn, and after expanding to include twelve more partners to a total of 24 proprietors, the group elected Robert Barclay to be the governor. Following the sale, Philip Carteret's health deteriorated, and he died in December 1682 in Elizabethtown. Two years after his death, his heirs disposed of his New Jersey holdings to Penn and other Quakers.
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