Christianity: The Life of George Fox, Founder of the Quaker Movement
George Fox was born into the Church of England in 17th-century England. As a young man, Fox believed that he had received a divine call, and began going from place to place preaching his ideas on religion. Fox grew up to have a powerful and magnetic personality and revolutionary ideas about religion. The religious group that he founded, the Society of Friends, grew rapidly, largely as a result of Fox’s efforts. Fox made missionary journeys through Ireland, Scotland, the West Indies, North America, and the Netherlands, and attracted many followers. Because they refused to honor officials, to take oaths, or to pay taxes, Friends were often arrested and imprisoned, gaining their nickname, “Quakers,” from the comment of one judge who described them as “quaking in fear.” Fox himself was imprisoned several times for his teachings. Fox was not the only important figure in the early Quaker movement. His wife, Margaret Fell, played an active role from before the time of their marriage, and William Penn (see 10.21) was a leading figure in the North American Quaker movement.
EVENTS IN THE LIFE OF GEORGE FOX
• 1624 Born in Leicestershire, England • c1643 Rebels against the established Church • c1646 Experiences a divine revelation and goes on to found the Society of Friends • 1649–73 Fox is jailed eight times in this period • 1654 Fox and 70 followers bring his message to the south of England • by 1660 There are around 300,000 Quakers. The monarchy is restored. Laws against the Quakers are passed • 1669 The widow Margaret Fell marries Fox • 1671–72 With Wlliam Penn and others, Fox travels to the Netherlands • 1687 Fox visits the Caribbean and North America • 1689 The Toleration Act gives greater religious freedom to the Quakers • 1691 Fox dies George Fox
Swarthmoor Hall Margaret Fell Fox was not the only important figure in the founding of the Quakers. Shown here is Swarthmoor Hall, the home of Margaret Askew Fell, who joined the Quakers in 1652. In 1669, after raising nine children and being a widow for eleven years, she married Fox. According to Fell, men and women were equal in the eyes of God. Her feminist essay, Women's Speaking Justified (1667), presented her radical ideas on the role of women in the church. Swarthmoor Hall was a center of the Quakers’ spiritual network as well as a major administrative and communications focal point. 1620 1630 1640 1650 1660 1670 1680 1690