Concessions to the Province of Pennsylvania (1681)

Introduction

Signed on July 11, 1681, the Concessions to the Province of Pennsylvania outlined the terms under which William Penn would distribute land and organize settlement in his newly chartered colony. The document emphasized urban planning, religious liberty, and responsible colonization, forming the foundation of Penn’s “Holy Experiment.”

Core Provisions

• Planned a large town with wide roads and regulated streets
• Distributed land proportionally, with limits on large holdings
• Required settlement within three years or forfeiture
• Allowed group townships near rivers and harbors
• Provided for appeals to the Governor in disputes

Impact and Legacy

The concessions attracted diverse settlers and shaped Pennsylvania’s identity as a colony of liberty, order, and tolerance. They laid the groundwork for Penn’s later Frame of Government and the development of Philadelphia.

Sources:
Teaching American History – Concessions
Avalon Project – Yale Law School
Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia – First Purchasers

Full Text

Concessions to the Province of Pennsylvania

Agreed upon by William Penn, Proprietary and Governor, and the adventurers and purchasers in the same province
July 11, 1681

I.

That as soon as it pleaseth God that the abovesaid persons arrive there, a certain quantity of land, or ground plat, shall be laid out for a large town or city, in the most convenient place upon the river, for health and navigation; and every purchaser and adventurer shall, by lot, have so much land therein as will answer to the proportion which he hath bought or taken up upon rent.

Surveyors shall consider what roads or highways will be necessary to the cities, towns, or through the lands. Great roads from city to city shall not be less than forty feet in breadth and shall be declared highways before the dividend of acres is laid out. The same observation shall be had for streets in towns and cities, that convenient roads and streets be preserved and not encroached upon by any planter or builder.

II.

That the land in the town be laid out together after the proportion of ten thousand acres of the whole country—that is, two hundred acres, if the place will bear it. The proportion shall be by lot and entire, so that those who desire to be together, especially those catalogued together, may be so laid together both in town and country.

III.

That when the country lots are laid out, every purchaser from one thousand to ten thousand acres or more shall not have above one thousand acres together, unless in three years they plant a family upon every thousand acres. All such as purchase together shall lie together, and if as many comply with this condition, the whole shall be laid out together.

IV.

That where any number of purchasers, more or less, whose number of acres amounts to five or ten thousand acres, desire to sit together in a lot or township, they shall have their lot or township cast together in such places as have convenient harbors or navigable rivers attending it, if such can be found.

If any one or more purchasers plant not according to agreement, to the prejudice of others of the same township, upon complaint to the Governor or his Deputy, they may award (if they see cause) that the complaining purchaser may, paying the survey money, purchase money, and interest thereof, be entitled, enrolled, and lawfully invested in the lands so not seated.

V.

That the land shall be surveyed and laid out at the charge of the purchasers, and that the purchasers shall pay to the Governor for the use of the province two shillings yearly for every hundred acres.

VI.

That the purchasers shall have liberty to transport or carry with them any servants or commodities, provided they be not prohibited by the laws of England.

VII.

That the purchasers shall have liberty to build and plant upon their lots or townships, and to improve the same for their best advantage.

VIII.

That liberty of conscience shall be allowed in the province to all persons professing faith in God by Jesus Christ.

IX.

That no person shall be molested or prejudiced for his religious persuasion or practice in matters of faith and worship.

X.

That all trials shall be by twelve men, and as near as may be, peers and equals of the person concerned.

XI.

That no buying and selling, be it with an Indian or among settlers, of goods to be exported, shall be performed except in public markets, when such places are set apart or erected.

XII.

That the Indians shall have liberty to improve their ground and provide sustenance for their families, as any of the planters shall enjoy.

XIII.

That the laws as to slanders, drunkenness, swearing, cursing, pride in apparel, trespasses, weights, and measures shall be the same as in England, until altered by law in this province.

XIV.

That all planters and purchasers shall be subject to the laws and government of the province, and to the judgment of the Governor and his Council.

XV.

That these concessions shall be recorded and published in the province, and observed as the foundation of civil order and liberty.