Province of Pennsylvania

Province of Pennsylvania
1681–1776
Flag Coat of arms
Map of the Province of Pennsylvania
Status	Colony of England (1681–1707) Colony of Great Britain (1707–1776)
Capital	Philadelphia
Official languages	English and Pennsylvania Dutch
Government	Proprietary Colony
Proprietor
• 1681–1718	William Penn (first)
• 1775-1776	John Penn (last)
Governor
• 1681-1682	William Markham (first)
• 1773-1776	John Penn (last)
Legislature	(1683-1776) Provincial Assembly (1776) Provincial Conference
• Upper house	Provincial Council
• Lower house	General Assembly
History
• Land grant by Charles II of England to William Penn	March 4, 1681
• Declaration of Independence	July 4, 1776
Currency	Pennsylvania pound
Preceded by Succeeded by New Netherland Pennsylvania  Delaware
Today part of	United States

The Province of Pennsylvania, also known as the Pennsylvania Colony, was a British North American colony founded by William Penn, who received the land through a grant from Charles II of England in 1681. The name Pennsylvania was derived from "Penn's Woods", referring to William Penn's father Admiral Sir William Penn.

The Province of Pennsylvania was one of the two major Restoration colonies. The proprietary colony's charter remained in the Penn family until they were later ousted following the American Revolution and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania was established as one of the original thirteen states. The lower counties on Delaware, a separate colony within the Pennsylvania Province, broke away during the American Revolution and was established as the Delaware State and also became one of the original thirteen states.

The colony attracted English Quakers, Germans, and Scot-Irish frontiersmen. The Lenape Indian tribe promoted peace with the Quakers. However, after William Penn and Tamanend, who both supported peaceful coexistence, died, wars eventually broke out. The Quakers demonized Lenape mythology even though the Quakers were strong proponents of religious freedom.^[1]

Philadelphia, the capital of the Province of Pennsylvania, emerged as a major port and commercial city and central location for the thinking, writings, and planning that ultimately inspired the American Revolution. In the 18th century, Philadelphia emerged as the second-largest city in the British Empire, after London. Following the American Revolutionary War, Philadelphia served as the nation's capital until 1800, when a new capital city in Washington, D.C. was constructed at the direction of the young nation's Founding Fathers.^[2]