William+Penn

=//**William Penn**//=

**Died: July 30, 1718 Berkshire, England**
=//English statesman and philosopher//=

==While supervising his father's Irish estates, Penn was drawn into the Quaker world. His conversion to Quakerism was inspired by the simple piety (religious devotion) of their religion and the need to provide relief for victims of persecution. At the age of twenty-two, against his father's wishes, Penn became a Quaker advocate, or supporter. His marriage in 1672 to Gulielma Maria Springett, of a well-known Quaker family, completed his religious commitment.==

==Penn's background and political connections were important resources for the persecuted Quakers. A major theme of his many writings was the unfairness of persecution. One remarkable achievement during this period was Penn's handling of the "Bushell Case." Penn managed to convince a jury not to imprison a Quaker only for his faith. When the judge demanded that the jury change its verdict (decision), Penn maintained successfully that a jury must not be influenced by the bench (the judge). This landmark case established the freedom of English juries.==

=**//Founding Pennsylvania//**= ==Religious persecution and colonization (settling new lands) went hand in hand as the Quakers looked to America for a new home with personal liberties (freedoms), especially religious toleration and trial by jury, which the Quakers were unable to receive in England. This laid the foundation for William Penn's ideas that Pennsylvania would be a "Holy Experiment." In addition, Penn thought the colony could become a profitable enterprise (business) to be inherited by his family.==

==Penn and his people were given control over the land and thorough powers of government. The grant, or document, reflected the period in which it was written: in keeping with new imperial regulations (British rule), Penn was made personally responsible for the enforcement of the Navigation Acts, a series of laws intended to increase English shipping. He also had to keep an agent in London and was required to send laws to England for royal approval.==

==In several ways Pennsylvania was the most successful English colony. Penn's first treaties (peace agreements) with the Indians, signed in 1683 and 1684, were based on an acceptance of Indian equality and resulted in an era of peace. Penn also wrote promotional papers for Pennsylvania and arranged circulation of these materials overseas. The response was one of the largest and most varied migrations in the history of colonization. Moreover, Pennsylvania's economic beginnings were unusually successful. A fertile country (able to produce crops), the commercial advantages of Philadelphia, and substantial investments by Quaker businesspeople produced rapid economic growth.==

==In 1689, Penn and his family went to live in Pennsylvania. Arriving in 1699, he reestablished friendly contacts with the Indians and worked hard to heal a religious schism (separation) among the Quakers. He also fought piracy (robbing at sea) and tried to secure financial backing for colonial self-defense, demanded by the Crown but resisted by the Quakers.==

==Penn's major achievement was the new charter of 1701. Under its terms, Pennsylvania became the only colony governed by a single legislature of elected representatives. Penn returned to England late in 1701 to fight a proposal in Parliament which would have voided all proprietary grants. He never saw Pennsylvania again.==

=**//Final years//**= ==Penn's last years were filled with disappointment. After the death of his first wife in 1694, Penn married Hannah Callowhill in 1696. Hampered by debts, and the general poor relationship with the King's ministers toward private colonies, Penn's financial responsibility in the founding of Pennsylvania led to his imprisonment for debt, a humiliating blow==