William Penn

William Penn

Charles Louis reigned over the Palatinate from 1649 until his death in 1680.  During that time the Palatinate was relatively peaceful. The territory was focused on rebuilding after a very costly war.  In June 1677, there was a noteworthy visitor to the Palatinate.
William Penn was a prominent figure in the movement known as the Religious Society of Friends, or more commonly known as the Quakers. He was born in London in 1644. However he spent much of his early years in County Cork in Ireland where his father had estates. Penn was raised in the state Anglican religion, but converted to the Quaker movement, finally declaring at the age of 22.  It is a curious coincidence for the palatines that Penn's conversion began in Ireland.
In the 1670's the growing number of Quakers in England was becoming a serious problem for the Charles II the English King. Penn proposed a solution to this problem.  He suggested a mass emigration of Quakers to the colonies. In 1677 Penn along with other prominent Quakers purchased the province of West Jersey (modern day New Jersey). Their intention was to create a territory where freedom of religion could be guaranteed for all.
In the same year as he purchased land to create a haven for religious tolerance, Penn went on a missionary journey through Holland and Germany preaching the Quaker philosophy and telling people of the new lands in the colonies. Penn kept a journal of his travels that was eventually published as William Penn's Journal of his travel's in Holland and Germany.
Penn's journal provides a fascinating insight both to his travels and his beliefs.  It contains both accounts of his travels and letters he wrote to important people in the region. Chapter IV of the journal provides an account of his journey through the Palatinate. It also contains letters to Charles Louis, the Elector Palatine and to Louis Charles daughter, Princess Elizabeth (who was also sister in law to Louis XIV of France). Penn arrived in the Palatinate on the 23rd June 1677. His route took him to Krisheim, Manheim, Worms, Frankfort, Mentz, Cologne, and on to Duysburg. At Manheim, Penn had hoped to meet with the Elector Palatine, however Charles Louis had just left for Heidelberg. In place of a meeting, Penn wrote a letter to the Elector (dated 25th June).  The main theme of the letter is of religious tolerance which he describes as a "natural, prudent and Christian thing".
Penn's travels in Germany were quite successful. In fact the earliest German Quaker emigrants arrived in the colonies as soon as 1681 founding the area known as Germantown in Pennsylvania. The idea of leaving the Palatinate because of religious beliefs had begun.
Charles Louis died in 1680 and he was succeeded as Elector Palatine by his son Charles II. Although it was not apparent at the time, the death of Charles Louis would mark the end of peace time in the Palatinate and it would not be long before the region was once more caught up in a war not of their making.