Before Europeans came to the area, Philadelphia was home to the Lenape people. The first Europeans to come were the Dutch, who built towns and a fort in the area. The English took over the city in 1664. In 1681, Charles II of England gave a large piece of land to William Penn, to pay back some money he owed to Penn's father. William Penn had a dream of a land where people would be free to live and work no matter what religion they were. He built a city in the new land called Philadelphia.