78 William Penn

78. William Penn

Among the greatest Englishmen of that time was William Penn . He was a Quaker and was also a friend of Charles II and James , Duke of York . He wished to found a colony in which he and the Quakers could work out their ideas in religious and civil matters . It chanced that Charles owed Penn a large sum of money . As Charles sel - dom had any money , he was very glad to give Penn instead a large tract of land in America . In this way Penn obtained Pennsylvania . James , for his part , gave him Delaware .