William Penn: Founder of Pennsylvania

William Penn (1644 - 1718) is a British Quaker best known for founding Pennsylvania and its city, Philadelphia.

Early life

Penn was born on 14 October 1644 in London, England. His father was an admiral in the English navy and a wealthy landowner. While Penn was growing up, England went through the turbulent years of the English Revolution.

As part of a wealthy family, William received an excellent education. He first attended Chigwell School and later had private tutors. At the age of 16, in 1660, William attended Oxford University, where he encountered Quakerism.

Penn became a Quaker when he was 22 and developed a close friendship with its main founder, George Fox. It was not easy for him. He was arrested for attending Quaker meetings, but was often released because of his famous father – apart from one occasion when Penn went on trial in 1670. However, his father was unhappy with his choices and forced him out of the family home. He became homeless and lived with other Quaker families for a time.

Penn also became well known for his religious writings in support of the emerging Quaker faith. He was imprisoned again, this time in the Tower of London, where he continued to write. Around this period, Penn's father became ill. He had grown to respect his son's beliefs and courage, and left Penn a substantial fortune when he died.

Pennsylvania charter

With conditions worsening for Quakers in England, Penn developed a bold plan. He approached the king and proposed that Friends should leave England and establish their own colony in the Americas. The king accepted the idea and granted Penn a charter for a vast tract of land in North America. At first the territory was called Sylvania, meaning “woods”, but it was later named Pennsylvania in honour of William Penn's father.

Philadelphia

In 1682, William Penn and around one hundred Quaker settlers arrived in Pennsylvania. They established the city of Philadelphia, which Penn had carefully planned with streets laid out in a grid. The city and colony soon prospered. Led by Penn, the new constitution protected citizens' rights and maintained peaceful relations with local Native Americans. By 1684, around 4,000 people were living in the colony.

Penn envisioned Pennsylvania not only as a Quaker refuge, but also as a free land. He wanted liberty for people of all religions and a safe place for persecuted minorities to live – an ambition that became known as the Holy Experiment. He also sought peaceful coexistence with Native Americans, hoping they could live together as “neighbours and friends”.

Pennsylvania adopted a constitution called the Frame of Government. The government included a parliament made up of two houses of representatives, responsible for imposing fair taxes and protecting property rights. The constitution guaranteed freedom of worship. Penn's political ideas were widely regarded as an important step towards democracy in America. It was also during this period that Penn explored early proposals for a European Parliament.

Back to England and later years

Penn remained in Pennsylvania for only two years before returning to England in 1684 to resolve a border dispute between Maryland and Pennsylvania with Lord Baltimore. While back in England, Penn encountered serious financial difficulties. At one point he lost control of the Pennsylvania charter and was imprisoned for debt.

In 1699, fifteen years later, Penn returned to Pennsylvania and found a flourishing colony where people worshipped freely. Before long, however, he was forced to return to England again, where he wrote More Fruits of Solitude in 1703. Business troubles continued to trouble him for the remainder of his life.

Death and legacy

Penn died on 30 July 1718 in Berkshire, England, from complications following a stroke. His greatest legacy was the colony he founded, which went on to become one of the most successful of the American colonies. His ideas on religious liberty, education, civil rights and governance helped shape the development of the United States. Philadelphia would later become the site where the Declaration of Independence was signed and the home of the Liberty Bell.

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