The written history of New Jersey began with the exploration of the Jersey Coast by Giovanni a Verrazzano in 1524, though the region had been settled for millennia by Native Americans. At the time of European contact, the area was populated by many tribes of the Lenape. The New Jersey region soon came under the control of the Swedes and the Dutch resulting in a struggle in which the Dutch were victorious. However, the Dutch colony of New Netherland was seized by the English in 1664. New Jersey was one of the original 13 colonies that joined the American Revolutionary War in 1776. It signed the Articles of Confederation in 1779 with Princeton acting as the nation's capital for four months in 1783. New Jersey became independent after the American Revolutionary War, in which several crucial battles were fought in New Jersey resulting in American victories. In 1787, New Jersey was the third state to ratify the newly drafted United States Constitution.