William penn biography quakers beliefs

  • Where was william penn born
  • What was william penn known for
  • What did william penn do

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    Brief History of William Penn

    Atwater-Kent Museum

    Portrait of Young William Penn in Armor, date and artist unknown.

    William Penn (October 14, 1644–July 30, 1718) founded the Province of Pennsylvania, the British North American colony that became the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The democratic principles that he set forth served as an inspiration for the United States Constitution. Ahead of his time, Penn also published a plan for a United States of Europe, "European Dyet, Parliament or Estates."

    Religious beliefs

    Although born into a distinguished Anglican family and the son of Admiral Sir William Penn, Penn joined the Religious samhälle of Friends or Quakers at the age of 22. The Quakers obeyed their "inner light", which they believed to komma directly from God, refused to bow or take off their hats to any man, and refused to take up arms. Penn was a close friend of George Fox, the founder of the Quakers. These were times of turmoil, just after Cromwell's death, and the Qua

  • william penn biography quakers beliefs

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    Written by: Thomas Kidd, Baylor University

    By the end of this section, you will:

    • Explain how and why various European colonies developed and expanded from 1607 to 1754
    • Explain how and why environmental and other factors shaped the development and expansion of various British colonies that developed and expanded from 1607 to 1754
    • Explain how and why interactions between various European nations and American Indians changed over time
    • Explain how and why the movement of a variety of people and ideas across the Atlantic contributed to the development of American culture over time

    As he disembarked from his ship onto the western shore of the Delaware River in 1682, William Penn surveyed the green country in front of him. The thirty-eight-year-old Englishman could not help contrasting this strange, expansive land with memories of the cramped prison cell he had occupied twenty years earlier back in England.

    Penn was part of a religious sect known as the Society of Friends. Its m

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    Quakers in the World

    William Penn

    1644 – 1718 

    William Penn was born near Tower Hill, in London, on 14th October 1644, in the middle of the Civil War. His father was Vice-Admiral Sir William Penn, a great sea-captain. in the 1650s, during Oliver Cromwell’s Protectorate, Penn senior experienced great success in sea battles with the Dutch, for which he was made an Admiral and granted Shannagarry estate in Ireland. But then he was sent to help colonise the West Indies, which didn't end well for him, so he retreated to Ireland with his family.

    Young William Penn was by now reading widely, and there were many radical political and religious ideas in the air. During this time he heard Quaker missionary Thomas Loe speak, which clearly impressed him. Then, aged 16, he went to Christ Church, Oxford. The Church of England was the only legal form of worship at this time and students were expected to attend services.  Penn found this impossible to accept