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Yarnall Genealogy |
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William Penn's Evolution While attending Oxford, he opposed a rule that everyone must attend the Church of England. He believed in the right of individuals to worship as they pleased. Penn was expelled from school. His father (Sir William born 23 April 1621 – died 16 September 1670) was an admiral and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1660 to 1670. He sent William to France and Italy, hoping that the fashionable life there would make the boy less zealous about his religious beliefs. After two years of travel and study, the signs of his religious zeal were less. His father, glad for this change, sent him to study law in London. When Penn went to Ireland in 1666 to manage his father's estates he met Thomas Loe, a Quaker preacher who convinced him to join the Quaker faith. Penn was about 22 years old. His father was very unhappy. Religious Persecutions Quakers were scorned, ridiculed, imprisoned, and sometimes banished. Penn was imprisoned several times for writing and preaching about Quakerism. When he was imprisoned in the Tower of London, his father managed to have him released after 8 months. During that imprisonment, Penn wrote "No Cross, No Crown" (1668). A synopsis of it is on a webpage that summarizes what Penn wrote. He felt strongly that people with an extreme amount of pride were basically evil. Excerpt from his book's preface. Those seeking wealth and luxury were not praised in his writings. In 1670, he was arrested at a Quaker meeting and accused of planning with another Quaker to start a riot. A jury found Penn not guilty of any crime. The judge threatened to fine or imprison the jurors unless they changed their verdict. When they refused to do so, the jurors were imprisoned. On appeal, England's highest judges prohibited the penalizing of jurors. This event helped establish a principle of the independence of juries. Religious Freedom In 1677, Penn went to the Netherlands and Germany with George Fox and other Quaker leaders. In these countries, Penn met other Quakers who were eager to settle in the new world. He also met many people in England who also wanted to settle where they could worship in their own way without reprisals. He petitioned for a tract of land west of the Delaware River in America, belonging he believed to neither the Lord Baltimore nor the Duke of York. He wanted it to be a great settlement for people eager for freedom of religion. 1680 request by Penn King Charles II owed Penn's father a debt of about 16,000 pounds for unpaid wages as Admiral of the King's Navy. Penn (at age 36) asked the king to repay the debt with land in America. On March 4, 1681, a charter was granted, giving Penn some territory "west of the Delaware River" between New York and Maryland. The charter gave Penn almost unlimited ruling power over it. The king's council added Penn to the suggested name of Sylvania, so Pennsylvania, which means Penn's Woods, was created. There were some interesting events leading to the establishment and development of Penn's land. Highlights of Penn's life. |
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