Province of Maryland
The
Province of Maryland was one of the
Thirteen colonies that went on to establish the
United States.
The charter for
Maryland Colony, an
English territory in
North America, was granted to
Cæcilius Calvert, 2nd
Baron Baltimore, on
June 20,
1632. Some historians view this as a form of compensation for his father's being stripped of his title of
Secretary of State upon announcing his
Roman Catholicism in 1625. The charter had originally been granted first to Calvert's father,
George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore, but the father had died before it could be executed. The charter of the
Province of Maryland was signed by
Charles I and was named after his Queen Consort,
Henrietta Maria[1].
 |
The Maryland Toleration Act |
Lord Baltimore was a convert to
Catholicism, which was extremely stigmatic for a nobleman in 17th century
England, where Roman Catholics were considered enemies of the crown and traitors to their country. Baltimore's two goals were to create a haven for British Catholics but at the same time turn a profit. Without Protestant settlers to provide the backbone of the colony's population, it would most likely fail. For this reason, Lord Baltimore instructed his brother
Leonard Calvert, who was to be the colony's
governor, to keep the religion of the Catholic settlers quiet to avoid dissent. The first settlers landed at
St. Clement's Island on
March 25,
1634 aboard the
Ark and Dove. About 150 settlers survived the voyage. Land was quickly purchased from the
Yaocomico Indians, and
St. Mary's City was founded.
The foundational charter of Maryland created a state, one ruled by the
Palatine lord, Lord Baltimore. As ruler, he owned directly all of the land granted in the charter (almost 6,000,000
acres (24,000 km²) possessing absolute authority over his domain and requiring settlers to swear allegiance to him, and not the
King of England). The charter created an upper aristocracy of
lords of the manor, which bought 6,000 acres (24 km²) from Baltimore and held legal and social privileges over the common settlers.
Maryland colony is described as one of the
Southern Colonies.
Maryland was one of the Thirteen Colonies that
declared independence from
Britain in 1776.
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Colonial history of Maryland
