Editing William Penn (section)

== Relations with the Lenape ==

Penn's approach to the [[Lenape People|Lenape]] and other indigenous peoples distinguished his colony from many other European settlements. Believing that the land belonged to its original inhabitants, Penn insisted on purchasing territory from the Lenape through negotiated agreements rather than simply claiming it by right of discovery or conquest. He learned the Lenape language, participated in their councils, and sought to establish relationships of mutual respect. The legendary [[Treaty of Shackamaxon]], said to have been concluded under a great elm tree in what is now [[Fishtown]]'s [[Penn Treaty Park]], symbolized Penn's commitment to peaceful coexistence—though the historical details of this meeting remain debated by scholars.<ref name="harper">{{cite book |last=Harper |first=Steven Craig |title=Promised Land: Penn's Holy Experiment, the Walking Purchase, and the Dispossession of Delawares, 1600-1763 |year=2006 |publisher=Lehigh University Press}}</ref>

Penn's native policies were genuine in their intent but ultimately could not prevent the dispossession of the Lenape. The very success of Pennsylvania attracted waves of settlers who needed land, creating pressure for territorial expansion that exceeded what Penn had originally acquired. After Penn's death, his sons orchestrated the infamous Walking Purchase of 1737, which defrauded the Lenape of approximately 1,200 square miles through deception—a betrayal of the trust Penn had worked to establish. Despite this tragic outcome, Penn's initial approach represented a more humane alternative to the violence that characterized many colonial encounters, and his memory is honored by the Lenape even today.<ref name="soderlund"/>