Geography, Environment, and Peopling 1608–1754 - AP U.S. History

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The British North American colonies were settled for many reasons. The King granted charters to venturing proprietors and joint stock companies to settle the colonies with the goal of making an economic profit for the British Crown. In addition, for many years Britain viewed North America as a base for piracy and harassment of the Spanish. But by the end of the 16th century the British Crown began to think of it as a place for colonization, trade and as a buffer zone. Thus, North America would be a market for British goods, a source of raw materials and commodities such as furs and would also serve as a safeguard against Spain’s Catholic settlements. The British Crown viewed North American as a perfect opportunity for the British government to obtain raw materials, maintain the colonies as a captive market for finished products from Britain and to settle Britain’s poor citizens to ensure they would contribute to the nation’s wealth by their work in the colonies. The Middle Colonies in particular were well situated to serve as distribution centers for the English mercantilism system and also became a crossroads for new ideas in the colonies. In addition to the profit motive, many individuals came to North America to establish colonies for religious freedom. The new settlers encountered the Native populations as well as French and Spanish settlers. These encounters led to many unique and unfortunate histories for the early colonies such as Roanoke and Jamestown. However, Pennsylvania stood out as a remarkable colonial success. Unlike its sister colonies, it did not engage in violent encounters with the Native population. The Pennsylvania settlers traded with the Native peoples and with other countries such as the West Indies. This success may have been the result of the unique method of acquisition of the land by William Penn.

William Penn acquired the land called Pennsylvania, Penn’s Woods, through what means?

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Answer

King Charles owed a large debt of $80,000.00 to William Penn’s father. Upon the death of William Penn's father, the King saw the opportunity to settle the debt with the family and establish a colony for religious and political outsiders and dissidents. William Penn saw this as an opportunity to settle in the New World and establish a colony that was based on human freedoms, with emphasis on religious freedom. He set in motion a democratic system of life in Pennsylvania. Though Penn was born into the Anglican faith, he felt drawn to the Quaker faith. After seeing the prosecution of the Quakers in England, he decided that his new land could become a refuge for the Quakers, some of whom had already settled in the area and welcomed Penn. Penn settled in the new land with the ideas of tolerance, common sense and what he called “the Holy Experiment”. While King Charles did not object to this and did have an interest in using the colonies as a profit making experience, it was not his primary intent in granting the land to Penn. The settlement of the debt was the primary motive for granting the land to Penn. Penn never lived in the Massachusetts Bay Colony; his sights were always set on Pennsylvania.

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