The Province of East Jersey, along with the Province of West Jersey, between 1674 and 1702 in accordance with the Quintipartite Deed, are two distinct political divisions of the Province of New Jersey, which becomes the U.S. state of New Jersey.

The two provinces are amalgamated in 1702.

East Jersey's capital is located at Perth Amboy.

Determination of an exact location for a border between West Jersey and East Jersey is often a matter of dispute.

The area comprising East Jersey had been part of New Netherland.

Early settlement (including today's Bergen and Hudson counties) by the Dutch includes Pavonia (1633), Vriessendael (1640) and Achter Col (1642).

These settlements are compromised in Kieft's War (1643–1645) and the Peach Tree War (1655–1660).

Settlers again return  to the western shores of the Hudson River in the 1660 formation of Bergen, New Netherland, which will become the first permanent European settlement in the territory of the modern state of New Jersey.

During the Second Anglo-Dutch War, on August 27, 1664, New Amsterdam surrenders to English forces.

Between 1664 and 1674 most settlement is from other parts of the Americas, especially New England, Long Island, and the West Indies.

Elizabethtown and Newark in particular have a strong Puritan character.

South of the Raritan River the Monmouth Tract is developed primarily by Quakers from Long Island.

In 1675, East Jersey is partitioned into four counties for administrative purposes: Bergen County, Essex County, Middlesex County, and Monmouth County.

There are seven established towns: Shrewsbury, Middleton, Piscataway, Woodbridge, Elizabethtown, Newark, and Bergen.

In a survey taken in 1684 the population is estimated to be 3500 individuals in about 700 families. (African slaves are not included).

Although a number of the East Jersey proprietors in England are Quakers and the governor through most of the 1680s is the leading Quaker Robert Barclay, the Quaker influence on government is not significant.

Even the immigration instigated by Barclay is oriented toward promoting Scottish influence more than Quaker influence.

In 1682 Barclay and the other Scottish proprietors begin the development of Perth Amboy as the capital of the province.

Frequent disputes between the residents and the mostly-absentee proprietors over land ownership and quitrents plague the province until its surrender to Queen Anne's government in 1702.