Set above their mill by Penn and two partners in 1699, to show which way the wind might blow
The king pays an old debt
Penn's Woods
56. The Founding of Pennsylvania. King Charles II owed Penn's father about eighty thousand dollars. William Penn asked him to pay it in American land. Charles was only too glad to grant this request of the son of his old sea captain. The land he gave to Penn is the present great state of Pennsylvania. Penn wanted the colony called Sylvania, meaning woodland, but the king declared it should be called Pennsylvania in memory of Admiral Penn.
By means of letters and pamphlets Penn sent word to the Quakers throughout England, Scotland, and Ireland. He told them of Quaker homes across the sea, where jails would not trouble them.
There was great rejoicing among them over Penn's "Holy Experiment," as his plan was called.
A QUAKER
Penn invited all persecuted people
Penn even visited Europe, especially the country along the Rhine, and told the persecuted and oppressed about the new colony where every sort of Christian was to find a hearty welcome, and where no one was to be punished for religion's sake.