Quakers in the Seventeenth Century
Quakers have their roots in seventeenth century England. This was a time of religious and political turmoil. At the outset, monarchs believed they ruled by divine authority, and by the end of the century, they shared their roles with Parliament. In between was the Civil War between King and Parliament, culminating in the execution of Charles 1 in 1649. Oliver Cromwell governed as Lord Protector until he died, and the monarchy was restored in 1660. There were many ideas in circulation about the nature of government, the relation between church and state, and the source of religious authority. For a while everything seemed possible. Many sects and ‘prophets’ emerged – the Diggers, the Ranters, the Levellers, the Seekers, the Quakers and others and there was a ferment of religious excitement. Many thought the end of the world was nigh.
George Fox (1624–1691), the founder of Quakers, was deeply engaged in this ferment. He travelled the country as a young man, searching for understanding, and came to the Lake District in 1652. By then he seems to have been clear that the way forward was to recapture the essence of Christ’s teachings, and to recognise that everyone could connect with this essence, or Light, if they opened themselves to it. And if they did, they could share their experience of the Light with everyone. No priests were needed to mediate, nobody need be excluded. And all should try and live their lives in accordance with the Light, and seek it in others. This was a message for everyone in the world.
He shared this message with a large crowd who came to hear him preach on Firbank Fell. From then onwards, Quakerism took root in the Lake District. An early convert was Margaret Fell, whose home at Swarthmoor Hall in Ulverston became the hub of Quakerism.
George Fox and a large group of missionaries, The Valiant Sixty, travelled all over the country spreading the message, and inspired many to become Quakers. Many of these were women. They all faced great risks of persecution and imprisonment, as they were a great challenge to the established authorities. George Fox spent much time in jail, as did many others.
They did not call themselves Quakers to begin with. They described themselves as Children of Light. One story has it that Quaker is a reference to quaking/trembling at the word of God. Another is that it originates in the fact that many speakers in meetings for worship shook/quaked with the power of the message they were communicating, as if possessed by the Holy Spirit. Whatever the origin, the name Quaker came to be the usual term. Friends of the Truth was another term, and ‘Friends’ is often used instead of Quakers.
Quaker missionaries travelled outside England to the rest of the British Isles, and then further afield to continental Europe and America.
In parallel with the ferment in England, colonists in America were tussling with similar concerns, and Quaker ideas travelled across the Atlantic. Rhode Island and New Jersey had substantial communities of Quakers very early on, and there were communities in Maryland and Virginia too. When William Penn founded Pennsylvania on Quaker principles in 1682, many more Quakers came to join him. A substantial Quaker community also developed in the Caribbean, especially in Barbados and Jamaica.
George Fox travelled extensively and visited many Quaker communities in America and in Europe. He saw the need for an organisational framework, and set up a framework of local and regional meetings which is still the basis of Quaker organisation today. As the Society grew, the need to codify some principles became evident. Quaker testimonies, notably the peace testimony, began to emerge.
Finally, 3 years before George Fox died, freedom of religion in England was granted by the 1689 Act of Toleration. By then Quakers had an organisation and a developing set of testimonies, and a second generation was taking over. Quakers were soon to enter quieter times.
