Hundreds of years before Phila
condos were built in the city, the area now known as Philadelphia was
inhabited by the Lenape (Delaware) Indians. The Europeans arrived to
the area in the early 1600s, with the very first settlements founded by
the Dutch, British, and Swedish.
As part of a repayment of a debt,
Charles II of England granted William Penn a charter in 1681. This
would later become the Pennsylvania colony. With this colony, Penn
hoped to create a city on the Delaware River that would serve as a port
and place for government. Although Charles II already granted him the
land, Penn still went on to buy the land from the local Lenape tribe in
order to be on good terms with the Native Americans, thereby ensuring
peace for his prized colony. Penn was even known to have made a treaty
of friendship with Lenape chief Tammany under an elm tree at
Shackamaxon, located in what is presently the City of Philadelphia's
Kensington section. Because he was a Quaker, Penn had personally
experienced religious persecution, so he therefore wanted his colony to
be a place where anyone could worship freely despite their religion.
Penn subsequently named the city Philadelphia, which is Greek for
brotherly love (philos, "love' or "friendship," and adelphos,
"brother.")
Penn planned for Philadelphia to be
more like an English rural town instead of a city. The roads were
therefore designed with a grid plan, affirming the idea that houses,
future Philadelphia condominiums,
and businesses would be spread far apart and surrounded by beautiful
gardens and orchards. Although Penn planned for the city to be similar
to an English rural town, the city's inhabitants did not follow these
plans. They crowded by the Delaware River and subdivided and resold
their lots. Before Penn would leave Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for the
last time, he issued the Charter of 1701, establishing Philadelphia as
an actual city.
Following the Charter, the city grew
into a vital trading center. At first, conditions in the city were
poor, but living conditions drastically improved by the 1750s. Benjamin
Franklin helped to significantly improve the City of Philadelphia
services, and he founded new ones, including the American Colonies'
first hospital.
Read more about Philadelphia History.
