什么是彭威廉

Penn, William

英国贵格会领导人、宾夕法尼亚州创立人。他因自己的新教信仰而被驱逐出牛津大学，被派到爱尔兰管理家族产业，1667年在那里加入了公谊会。他曾因出书、小册子以及公开支持贵格会教义而四次遭囚禁，其中一次监禁成为「布歇尔案」的先例，建立了独立的司法制度。在《良心自由的大问题》（1670）一书中，他支持宗教上的宽容并设想了一个建立在宗教和政治自由基础上的殖民地。在其父去世後，他继承了父亲的遗产，并影响查理二世，查理二世赐予他德拉瓦河旁一大片土地以抵偿他父亲的债务。他在1682年到达宾夕法尼亚州，起草了一个政府草案，建立了信仰自由，规画了费城城市蓝图，并同印第安人建立和平关系。1684年返回英国针对近邻马里兰提出的要求而扞卫其利益。在他的朋友约克公爵詹姆斯二世继承王位後，他释放了所有被关押的贵格会教徒并发表「信教自由声明」（1687），对宗教采取宽容政策。彭威廉後来返回宾夕法尼亚州（1699～1701），写了「权利宪章」，批准议会更大的自治权。之後又返回英国，後来碰上经济困难。

1644～1718年

Penn, William

English Quaker leader and founder of Pennsylvania. Expelled from Oxford for his Puritan beliefs, he was sent to manage the family estates in Ireland, where he joined the Society of Friends in 1667. He was imprisoned four times for publishing books and pamphlets and speaking in support of Quaker doctrines; one of his trials resulted in the precedent-setting Bushell's Case, which established the independence of juries. In The great Case of Liberty of Conscience (1670) Penn advocated religious toleration and envisioned a colony based on religious and political freedom. On his father's death, he inherited his estates and influence with Charles II, who granted him a vast province on the Delaware River in payment for debts owed his father. He arrived in Pennsylvania in 1682. He drafted a Frame of Government that established freedom of worship, laid out the city of Philadelphia, and established peaceful relations with the Indians. In 1684 he returned to England to defend his interests against claims by neighboring Maryland. With the accession of his friend the duke of York as James II, he effected the release of imprisoned Quakers and the Declaration of Indulgence (1687), which permitted religious toleration. He returned to Pennsylvania (1699-1701) and wrote the Charter of Privileges, which allowed the assembly greater autonomy. He returned to England, where he later faced financial problems.