John Bellers facts for kids

John Bellers (born 1654 – died 1725) was an English thinker and a Quaker. He wrote many important ideas about how society could be better.

He is famous for his book Proposals for Raising a College of Industry of All Useful Trades and Husbandry (1695).

His Life Story

John Bellers was born in London. His parents, Francis and Mary Bellers, were Quakers. Because of his religion, John could not go to a university or join certain jobs. Instead, he learned to be a cloth merchant.

He quickly became very active in the Quaker community. In 1685, he bought a large area of land in Pennsylvania. This land was meant for Huguenot refugees and other people who needed a new home. William Penn, who founded Pennsylvania, was a close friend of John Bellers.

In 1686, John married Frances Fettiplace, who was also a Quaker. They had six children.

From 1695 until he passed away in 1725, John Bellers wrote many new ideas. He wrote about important social issues like education, healthcare, and helping people in need. He also thought about how to care for refugees. He even suggested a plan for a peaceful Europe.

One of his most important ideas was to stop capital punishment. This means he wanted to end the death penalty. He was one of the first people in Europe to speak out against it. In 1719, he became a Fellow of the Royal Society, which is a group of important scientists.

John Bellers died in London in 1725. He was buried in the Quaker Burying Ground in Bunhill Fields. His son, Fettiplace Bellers, became a writer.

His Idea for a College of Industry

In 1695, John Bellers published his famous essay, Proposals for Raising a College of Industry of All Useful Trades and Husbandry. In this book, he suggested creating a "College of Industry." This would be a special place where poor people could live and work together. It would be self-sufficient, meaning it could produce everything it needed.

Bellers believed that rich people had a duty to help the poor and make sure they received an education.

He first shared his ideas with other Quakers. Many important Quakers, including William Penn, supported his plan. They even signed a letter asking for money to start the college. Later, he presented his ideas to the English Parliament. Because of his efforts, the Quaker Workhouse was started in Clerkenwell in 1702.

Bellers thought that if people worked together in farming and making things, they could become self-sufficient. He even believed they could make a profit. He argued that if all the "idle hands" (people not working) in England were put to work, it would make the country as rich as Spain was from its gold mines.

His ideas for educating children at the college were very modern for his time. He believed that learning by doing and through experience was more important than just listening to lessons. He combined learning with work to keep people busy and productive.

Even famous thinkers like Karl Marx later mentioned Bellers' ideas. Marx quoted Bellers, saying that "the labour of the poor is the mines of the rich."

Later, in 1817, Robert Owen read Bellers' proposals. Owen was creating his own community at New Lanark. He saw how similar Bellers' ideas were to his own. He even had 1,000 copies of Bellers' book reprinted. Another thinker, Eduard Bernstein, saw Bellers as an early supporter of socialism. This is because Bellers believed that goods should be valued by the work put into them, not just by money.

Ideas for Better Healthcare

In 1714, Bellers published another important essay called About the Improvement of Physick. In this work, he suggested creating a national system of hospitals. These hospitals would treat poor people and also train new doctors. Eduard Bernstein thought that this idea was an early vision of a national health service, which provides healthcare for everyone.

His Writings

Here are some of the books and essays John Bellers wrote:

• Proposals for Raising a College of Industry of All Useful Trades and Husbandry (1696)
• Essays about the poor, Manufactures, Trade, Plantations and Immorality, and of the Excellency and Divinity of Inward Light (1699)
• Some Reasons for an European State proposed to the Powers of Europe... (1710)
• An Essay towards the Ease of Elections of Members of Parliament (1712)
• About the Improvement of Physick (1714)
• An Essay for Employing the Poor to Profit (1723)
• An Epistle to Friends of the Yearly, Quarterly, and Monthly Meetings (1724)
• An abstract of George Fox's Advice and Warning To the Magistrates of London in the year 1657... (1724)