William Penn

by Hugo Oertel

The year 1673 brought fresh persecutions to the Quakers through the passage by Parliament of the so-called Test Act, excluding all dissenters from holding office of any kind under the crown, which King Charles had been forced to sign, much against his will, since it also applied to Catholics. As the Quakers were looked upon as among the worst enemies of the established church, not only on account of their extreme candor and boldness, but also for their contempt of all outward forms of worship, their day of trial was not long delayed. George Fox was one of the first victims, and in order to secure his release Penn once more made his appearance at court after an interval of five years. His guardian and protector, the Duke of York, received him most graciously, reproached him for his long absence, and promised to use his influence with the King in Fox’s behalf. He also agreed to do all in his power to put an end to the oppressive persecution of the Friends, and dismissed Penn with the assurance that he would be glad to see him at any time or be of any service to him. The promised intercession, however, was either forgotten or without avail, for the merciless enactments against dissenters of all kinds continued as before and filled all the prisons in the country. Little wonder that their thoughts turned to emigration, in which some of their brethren had already taken refuge. For deep-rooted as is the Englishman’s attachment to his native land, even patriotism must yield to that inborn love of freedom and the higher demand of the spirit for liberty of conscience.

To Penn especially this idea appealed with irresistible force now that he had at last given up hope of ever securing these rights in England. But whither? Not in Holland or Germany was to be found the longed-for freedom. Refugees in those countries were scarcely less oppressed and persecuted than at home. It was across the sea that Penn’s thoughts flew, to the silent primeval forests of the New World, where no tyrannical power yet held sway; where every man was the builder of his own fortune and the master of his destiny, unfettered by iron-bound laws and customs; where a still virgin Nature, adorned with all the charms of a favored clime, invited to direct communion with the Creator of all things and inspired a peace of mind impossible to secure elsewhere. There was the place to found the commonwealth of which he had dreamed. All that as a boy he had heard from his father’s lips of that wondrous new Paradise beyond the seas; all that as a youth with his intense longing for freedom his fancy had painted of such an ideal community; all that as a man he had learned from the letters of emigrants who had already reached this land of promise, all this combined to create an inspiring vision that ever unfolded fresh beauties to his mind. And when, in 1676, Penn was unexpectedly brought into actual contact with this country, no doubt it seemed to him like the finger of God pointing out to him the land of his dreams.

In that year Charles the Second, who had already disposed of various English conquests and possessions in North America, made over to his brother James, Duke of York, the province of New Netherlands, ceded to him by the Dutch after their defeat in 1665. This was that fertile tract of country lying between the Delaware and Connecticut Rivers, where the Dutch West Indian Trading Company had already made some settlements. The Duke of York kept only a part of this territory, however; that which was named for him, New York. The territory between the Hudson and Delaware Rivers he gave in fee to two noblemen, Lord Berkeley and Sir George Carteret, the latter of whom, having been formerly governor of the channel island of Jersey lying off the French coast, called his part New Jersey. Both these provinces granted full freedom of government and of belief to all sects—a matter not so much of principle perhaps as of policy, to attract thither victims of the penal laws in England, for the greater the number of colonists who settled in these still sparsely populated territories, the more their value and their revenues would increase. Nor were these calculations unfounded. Hundreds of Puritans, among whom were many Quakers, took advantage of this opportunity to seek new homes, and their industry and perseverance soon brought the land to a state of most promising productiveness. Finding the care of these distant possessions burdensome, however, Lord Berkeley sold his share for a thousand pounds to one Edward Billing through his agent John Fenwick. Some dispute concerning the matter having arisen between these two men, both of whom were Quakers, Penn was chosen to settle the controversy and decided in favor of Fenwick, who had emigrated with a large party of Friends to the coast of Delaware and founded the town of Salem.

Penn’s connection with the American province did not end here. Billing, having become embarrassed in his affairs, was forced to resign his interest in the territory to his creditors, who at his request appointed Penn as one of the administrators. This office, though not altogether agreeable to him, he felt obliged to accept in the interest of the many Quakers already settled there; but if his model community were to be founded there, he must have a free hand and not be hampered by any regulations or restrictions which might be made by Sir George Carteret as joint owner of the province of New Jersey. He therefore directed his efforts to securing a division of the territory, in which he finally succeeded, Carteret taking the eastern part, while the western, being sold to the highest bidder for the benefit of Billing’s creditors, came into the sole possession of the Quakers.

For this new State of West New Jersey, Penn drew up a constitution, the chief provision of which was the right of free worship and liberty of conscience. The legislative power was placed almost entirely in the hands of the people, to be exercised by chosen representatives, while all matters of law and justice were intrusted to a judiciary the members of which were to serve for a period of not more than two years. Copies of this constitution were printed and widely circulated among the Quakers, together with a full description of the soil, climate, and natural products of the new colony. The result was amazing. Penn’s home, then at Worminghurst in Sussex, was literally besieged by would-be emigrants seeking for information, in spite of the fact that in these published pamphlets he had strongly urged that no one should leave his native land without sufficient cause and not merely from idle curiosity or love of gain. Two companies were now organized to assist in the work of emigration. The first ship carried over two hundred and thirty colonists, and two others soon following, it became necessary to establish at once a provisional government, consisting of Penn himself with three other members chosen from the two companies.

One of the first acts of the settlers, after safe arrival in the New World, was to arrive at an amicable understanding with the native tribes by paying them a good price for the land they had occupied or claimed for their hunting grounds. This was quite a new experience to the Indians, who had hitherto met with only violence and robbery from the white men—treatment for which they had usually taken bloody revenge. They willingly consented, therefore, to bargain with these peaceful strangers, so different from any they had yet seen. “You are our brothers,” they declared in their broken English,” and we will live with you as brothers. There shall be a broad path on which you and we will travel together. If an Englishman falls asleep on this pathway the Indian shall go softly by and say, ‘He sleeps, disturb him not!’ The path shall be made smooth that no foot may stumble upon it.”

It was no small advantage to these early settlers, struggling against hardships and privations to make a home in the wilderness, to be at peace with the natives and have nothing to fear from their enmity. Often indeed, when threatened with want or danger, they were supplied with the necessities of life by the grateful Indians, who knew how to value the friendship and honesty of their new neighbors.

Thus West New Jersey bade fair to develop into a favorable place for Penn to found that ideal Commonwealth of which he had so long dreamed. But in the preoccupations of this new enterprise Penn did not lose sight of the duties that lay nearest to him. Hearing that the Friends he had formerly visited in Holland and Germany were anxious to learn from his own lips of the settlement in New Jersey, he decided to make another journey to those countries, the more so as it was important to secure for the new colony as many as possible of the German artisans, who at that time held a high reputation for skill and industry.

Penn was also especially desirous of making the acquaintance of a noble lady whom Robert Barclay had first interested in the Quakers and whose influence would be of the utmost importance to the members of that persecuted sect in Germany. This was the Princess Elizabeth of the Rhine, daughter of the Elector Palatine Frederick the Fifth, afterward King of Bohemia. She was closely connected with England, her mother having been a daughter of King James the First, and was deeply interested, therefore, in all that concerned that country. At this time she was living at Herford in Westphalia and was distinguished not only for her learning, but still more for the benevolence and sincere piety that made her the friend and protectress of all persecuted Christians of whatever sect. She had learned from Robert Barclay to feel the greatest respect and admiration for the Quaker form of belief, and much was hoped from her protection.

In 1677, therefore, Penn again sailed for Holland with George Fox, Robert Barclay, and George Keith, all prominent members of the Society of Friends, in a vessel the captain of which had served under Admiral Penn. Rotterdam, Leyden, Haarlem, and Amsterdam were visited in succession and large meetings held, there being many Quakers in each of these cities. At Amsterdam George Fox was left behind to attend a general assembly or conclave, where questions of importance to the Society were to be settled, while Penn and his other two companions went on to Herford. They were most kindly received by the Princess Elizabeth, who not only permitted them to hold several public meetings, but also invited them frequently to her own apartments for religious converse, owing to which she finally became a member of the sect herself.