Pennsylvania

              Province of Pennsylvania

      During the seventeenth century a new religion was introduced to England. The followers of the new religious faith were the Religious Society of Friends; however, they were also known as the Quakers. In 1660, sixteen-year-old William Penn, son of Admiral Sir William Penn and Margaret Jasper, was greatly intrigued by the Quaker faith. Despite his father’s disapproval as well as criticism from his society, William decided to allow the Quaker faith to be a part of his life. Penn soon came to the realization that Quakers were undergoing mistreatment by society. He was also aware that in the past, Quakers had traveled to the New World was a refuge.
      King Charles II, was the king of England from 1650 to 1685 and on March 4^th of 1681, he granted William Penn land in the New World. The king owed Admiral sir william Penn, William Penn’s father, an immense amount of money and that is why he named the land Pennsylvania which meant “Penn’s Woodland”. Before the English settlers arrived in Pennsylvania, the land was occupied by several Native tribes including: the Delaware, Susquehannok, Iroquas, Erie, Shawnee, among others.
       Pennsylvania was based on religious tolerance which attracted Dutch and Swedish settlers. In addition to that, William Penn handed out pamphlets in four different languages, determined to attract more and more people. The pamphlet was in English, Dutch and French. Penn was successful and unintentionally attracted settlers which had previously settled in the South, which resulted in the need for Slaves in such areas. Even though William Penn was accepting of slavery the Quakers disapproved; furthermore, the Quakers and Germans were some of the first to dare speak against slavery.