What does «cuáqueros» mean in Spanish?
- Religious sect characterized by mystical devotion, the abandonment of rites and formalisms, the use of silence in worship, the repudiation of violence and war, and strong support for humanitarian and charitable causes. Quakerism was founded in England by George Fox (1624-91), who repudiated the creeds, ceremonies and clergy of all churches to stick exclusively to the Holy Scriptures as a source of information about the teachings of Jesus and the beliefs and practices of the early Church. He held that spiritual people are guided by the "inner light" or inspiration of the Holy Spirit. One of his followers, William Penn, received extensive land grants in Pennsylvania (USA) in payment of a debt contracted by the Crown with his father, Admiral Penn. It was not long before his persecuted European colleagues arrived there. With them he founded Philadelphia (1682), which became the focus of American Quakerism. The American Friends Service Committee, together with the British Society of Friends, both affectionate to the sect, were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1947.