Britain Yearly Meeting

In 1660 was a meeting which was attended by representatives from Friends from the whole of Britain. At this meeting it was decided that an annual "General Assembly of the Brethren" be held in London annually, the first being held in Fifth Month (May) 1661. For various reasons, this meeting was not held every year, although there has been a national annual meeting of some sort in Britain every year since 1668. At the "General Meeting of Friends for the Nation" in 1672, it was decided that there would be a: <blockquote>Generall Meeting of friends held in London once a yeare in the week called Whisun week to consist of six friends for the Citty of London, three for the Citty of Bristoll, two…

Under James II of England persecution practically ceased. James issued a Declaration of Indulgence in 1687 and 1688, and it was widely held that William Penn had been its author. In 1689 the Toleration Act was passed. It allowed for freedom of conscience and prevented persecution by making it illegal to disturb anybody else from worship. Thus British Quakerism became tolerated though still not widely understood or accepted and were instead identified in English and Welsh law as a dissenting group. <blockquote>From almost the very beginning of the movement in the middle seventeenth century, Quakers became notable in the popular imagination not merely for their radical religious ideas and…