King Charles II of England grants a royal land charter on March 4,1681, to Quaker leader William Penn for over 45,000 square miles of land in North America as a settlement for a £16,000 debt owed to Penn's late father.
The charter made Penn the proprietor of the territory, giving him authority to govern and establish laws. It granted land west of New Jersey, north of Maryland, and south of New York, making Penn one of the world's largest private landowners. More