Granting of the Pennsylvania Charter

Timeline

1. 1680–1681London · LondonPenn requested land west of New Jersey and north of Maryland on which to found a colony. This tract had formerly belonged to James, Duke of York, seized from the Dutch. The Crown owed the late Admiral Penn some £16,000, and granting land in settlement of the debt while resettling the Quakers became an acceptable arrangement for both sides.
2. 1681Westminster · LondonThe charter confirmed Penn and his heirs as "true and absolute proprietors" with the right to legislate, appoint officials, and recruit settlers, provided laws did not contravene English law and an in-kind quitrent was paid to the king. Charles II changed "Sylvania" to Pennsylvania in honor of Admiral Penn. The next day Penn wrote that the land would become "a seed of a nation."
3. 1681–1682Delaware Valley · Delaware ValleyPenn printed the "Account of the Province of Pennsylvania" to attract immigrants and sent Markham ahead as deputy governor. In 1682 he himself traveled up the Delaware River, laid out Philadelphia with a grid street plan, and issued the Frame of Government, guaranteeing freedom of worship for all who believe in God and the right to trial by jury, while negotiating land purchases from the Lenape. Thus the charter became the political system of the middle colonies in practice.