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More than 5000 entries on the history, culture and life of Britain (published in 1993 by Macmillan, now out of print)
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William Penn
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(1644–1718) English *Quaker and the founder of Pennsylvania. He was one of the first members of the upper class to throw in his lot with the Society of Friends; he was imprisoned in 1667 for attending a meeting in Ireland. In 1681 *Charles II granted Penn extensive lands in North America, in compensation for a debt to his late father which had remained unpaid. There Penn established the 'holy experiment' of *Pennsylvania, a name meaning Penn's woodland. The colony was committed by its first code of law to religious toleration, and for many years it was a haven for religious dissidents persecuted elsewhere.
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