Q 01/05

William Penn's charter set the yearly rent for Pennsylvania at two of which items, delivered to Windsor Castle?

A) Wild turkeys

B) Beaver skins

C) Deer antlers

D) Tobacco barrels

Answer · why

B) Beaver skins

Beaver skins were due at the castle every New Year's Day, along with a fifth of any gold or silver found, a token price for about 45,000 square miles.

Q 02/05

Which English king granted William Penn the charter for Pennsylvania in 1681 to clear a debt owed to Penn's father?

A) James II

B) Charles I

C) William III

D) Charles II

Answer · why

D) Charles II

Charles II owed the late Admiral Penn £16,000 and settled the bill with American land instead of cash, making the son a vast landowner overnight.

Q 03/05

William Penn named Pennsylvania's capital Philadelphia; what do the Greek roots of that name mean?

A) Brotherly love

B) City of peace

C) Peaceful gathering

D) Promised land

Answer · why

A) Brotherly love

Brotherly love joins the Greek philos, dear, and adelphos, brother, a fitting name for a town Penn planned as a refuge for the persecuted.

Q 04/05

The 'sylvania' in the name Pennsylvania comes from a Latin word with which meaning?

A) Hills

B) Rivers

C) Woods

D) Freedom

Answer · why

C) Woods

Woods, or forests, is what the Latin means; Penn wanted plain Sylvania, but the king put Penn in front to honour the founder's admiral father.

Q 05/05

Which Philadelphia icon, ordered from London by Pennsylvania's Assembly in the 1750s, cracked on its first test strike?

A) Liberty Bell

B) Justice Bell

C) Centennial Bell

D) Bicentennial Bell

Answer · why

A) Liberty Bell

The Liberty Bell was recast twice by two local workmen, and it still spells the colony's name 'Pensylvania', an accepted spelling at the time.