The Chautauquan, Vol. 04, April 1884, No. 7Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle
Religion
The Chautauquan, Vol. 04, April 1884, No. 7
Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle
Chautauqua Institution -- Periodicals; Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle -- Periodicals
Before the proprietor’s arrival, with three shiploads of Quaker
colonists, his deputy, as instructed, had respected the rights of all
the settlers, of whatever nationality or religious faith, and had been
specially careful to cultivate friendly relations, and form treaties
with the Indian tribes located in or near the territory. The offers
of friendship, honestly made, were received in the same kindly spirit
that prompted them, and neither fraud nor violence was feared. Not long
after Penn came, a general council was called of the chiefs and sachems,
anxious to see him of whom they had heard, and whose promises, reported
to them, they had believed. He met them, with a few friends, unarmed as
they all were, and spoke kind words by an interpreter.
It was not his object to purchase lands, or to lay down rules to govern
them in trading, but honestly to assure the untutored children of the
forest of his friendly purposes and brotherly affection.
The covenant then made, not written with ink, nor confirmed by any oath,
was sacredly kept. No deed of violence or injustice ever marred the peace
or interrupted the friendly relations of the parties. For more than
seventy years, during which time the province remained under the control
of the Friends, the peace was unbroken. Not a war-whoop was heard, nor
any hostile demonstration witnessed in Pennsylvania.
In December, 1682, a convention was held of three days’ continuance, and
all needful provision made for territorial legislation.
The generous concessions of the proprietor harmonized the views of the
assembly, and the results of the convention were eminently satisfactory.
After a month’s absence, during which there was a visit to the
Chesapeake, and an amicable conference with Lord Baltimore, about the
boundaries of their respective provinces, Penn returned, and busied
himself in locating and making a plot of his proposed capital. The
beautiful neck between the Schuylkill and Delaware was wisely chosen; the
land purchased of the Swedes, who had begun a settlement there, and map
of the city provided. Three or four cabins were the only dwellings on the
site, and the lines of the streets were indicated by marks on the trees.
Thus in the woods was founded Philadelphia, the City of Brotherly Love.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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