As I've been reading about the formation of Philadelphia, I am becoming more and more fascinated by William Penn. What I know of him thus far is just two simple paragraphs in my two travel books from the library, but the subtext tells a story that I am so intrigued to know more about.
What I do know, from reading, is that Philadelphia was given by the King of England to William Penn through a charter (I'm unsure what that means). One of William Penn's first initiatives as a Quaker who lived by non-violence, was to reach out to the Delawares (the Native tribe in the area) and reach an agreement. I read in another book that the tribe leaders sold the land to Penn; both parties were pacifists. Treaties with the Native Americans were formed, and there were enduring friendships. This is so so radical to me. There was communication between these two radically different cultures.
I find myself wanting to sit down with William Penn and ask him about this experience. Heck, I even want to sit down with the Delaware tribe and ask them about this experience.
Delawares, William Penn, how did you do it? How were you able to communicate and work out conflict towards peace in the midst of such large cultural differences? How did you trust one another? What was your respect for one another based upon? Did you have respect for one another or was it your commitment to peace what was able to help you communicate? When did this peace break down? Was that difficult? How did you navigate that conflict, Delawares? And William Penn, why did you move back to England?
In essence, what I find myself asking is this: How were these two people groups able to respectfully communicate with one another in pursuit of a larger goal--peace? (And what IS peace?)
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