The history of Pennsylvania is as varied as any in the American experience and reflects the salad bowl vision of the United States. Before Pennsylvania was settled by Europeans, the area was home to the Delaware (also known as Lenni Lenape), Susquehannock, Iroquois, Erie, Shawnee and other Native American tribes. Most of these tribes were driven off or reduced to remnants as a result of the European colonization.
It was colonized by Dutch and Swedish settlers; and the former especially brought slaves into the colony. In 1664 the English took over the colony, following its taking control of New Netherland. William Penn established a colony based on religious tolerance; it and its chief city, Philadelphia, were settled by many Quakers. In the mid-eighteenth century, the colony attracted many German and Scots-Irish immigrants; the latter were the largest ethnic group from the British Isles before the American Revolutionary War.
Read more about History Of Pennsylvania: Dutch and Swedish Influence, British Colonial Period, French and Indian War, American Revolution, Statehood and Constitutional Government, Westward Expansion and Land Speculation, Antebellum and Civil War, Industrial Power, 1865-1900, Ethnicity and Labor 1865-1945, Depression and World War II, 1929-1950, Decline of Manufacturing and Mining: 1950-75, Service State: 1975-present
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