William Penn

William Penn (1644-1718) was the English Quaker who founded Pennsylvania.

He left a greater mark on British North America than any other single individual in the colonial era.

Voltaire described him as sovereign of his colony. This new Profile in Power assesses both his religious and political significance in Britain and America.

While Penn's relations with the Society of Friends and his imprisonment for his liberal religious beliefs are well known, his role in English politics and court power are less well known.

Politically ambitious, he drew on a wide body dissenters, not just friends in order to further his national and moral aims.

Addressing the themes of:* Persecution and toleration* Utopianism and reality* Relations with native Americans* Slavery* Rebellion* Independencethe life of Penn makes a fascinating point of entry to the history of early colonisation in America and to the English political upheavals of the late seventeenth century, including the Glorious Revolution.

This book throws light on two very different worlds at a key moment of development.