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Maryland Colony History
"Maryland was so called in honor of Henrietta Maria, Queen
of Charles I, in his patent to Lord Baltimore, on June 30, 1632.
Sir George Calvert, whose title was Lord Baltimore, was a
Roman Catholic nobleman. Finding the laws against the Roman Catholics in
England severe, he resolved to emigrate to
Virginia, in the hope of enjoying a liberty of conscience which was not
permitted in England under the reign of James I. But he was
disappointed, as the Virginians proved nearly as intolerant as those he had
left; and he felt compelled to seek another asylum.
This he proposed to find, a territory on both sides of
Chesapeake Bay, then inhabited only by natives; and which having
sufficiently explored, he returned to England, for the purpose of procuring
a patent of it, from Charles I, who succeeded James I. He readily
received a grant of the territory; but he died before the patent was
completed.
It was, however, subsequently made out, in 1632, in favor of
Cecil Calvert, son of Sir George, who inherited his father's title, and who
now came into possession of the country from the Potomac to the fortieth
degree of north latitude. This grant covered the land which had long before
been granted to Virginia, and what was now granted to Lord Baltimore was in
part subsequently given to William Penn. In consequence of these arbitrary
acts of the crown, long and obstinate contentions arose between the
descendants of Penn and Lord Baltimore.
In 1633, Lord Baltimore appointed his brother, Leonard
Calvert, governor of the province, who, with about two hundred planters,
mostly Roman Catholics, left England near the close of this year, and
arriving, in 1634, at the mouth of the river Potomac, purchased from the
Indians Yoamaco, a considerable village, where they formed a settlement by
the name of Saint Mary's.
Several circumstances contributed to the rapid growth and
prosperity of Maryland. Her people were exempted from hostilities from the
Indians, having satisfied them in the purchase of their land; the soil was
fertile, and the seasons mild. But, more than all, their charter conferred
on them more ample privileges than had been conferred in any other colony in
America. It secured to emigrants equality in religious rights, and civil
freedom; and it granted the privilege of passing laws, without any
reservation on the part of the crown to revoke them. Even taxes could not be
imposed upon the inhabitants without their consent.
At first, when few in number, the freemen assembled in
person, and enacted the necessary laws; but, in 1639, it was found expedient
to constitute a "house of assembly." This consisted of representatives
chosen by the people, of others appointed by the proprietor, and, of the
governor and secretary, who sat together. In 1650, the legislative body was
divided into an upper and lower house; the members of the former being
appointed by the proprietor, those of the latter by the people.
Few of the colonies escaped internal troubles, nor did
Maryland form an exception. In 1635, a. rebellion brake out, chiefly caused
by one William Clayborne. This man, under license of the king to trade with
the Indians, had farmed a settlement an the Island of Kent, nearly opposite
Annapolis; and when the grant was made to Lard Baltimore, he refused to
submit to his authority, and attempted to maintain his possession by force
of arms. His followers, however, were taken prisoners, and he himself fled.
The Maryland assembly confiscated his estate, and declared him guilty of
treason.
Early in 1645, Clayborne once mare returned to Maryland,
and, heading a party of insurgents, overthrew the government. Calvert, the
governor, was compelled to take refuge in Virginia. The revolt, however, was
suppressed the following year, and Calvert resumed his office.
In 1649, the assembly of the colony reiterated in solemn
form the original and fundamental principles of religious toleration of Lord
Baltimore, in an act that no one professing faith in Jesus Christ should be
molested on account of such belief, or in the free exercise of their
religion; and, that anyone who should reproach another on account of his
religious creed should pay a fine to the person thus abused. Thus religious
toleration was established by law; and its benign influence was early
perceived. Maryland presented an asylum for all who felt themselves
religiously oppressed; and hither came Puritans from the south, and church
men from the north, and found a welcome reception, and the largest liberty.
In 1651, Parliament, having triumphed over King Charles I,
appointed commissioners, of whom Clayborne, the enemy of Maryland, was one,
"to reduce and govern the colonies within the Bay of Chesapeake." This gave
rise to a civil war in Maryland, between the Catholics, who adhered to the
proprietor, and the Protestants, who sided with Parliament. At first,
Stone, the lieutenant of the proprietor, was removed; but was soon restored,
on his consenting to acknowledge the authority of Parliament. But in 1654,
the commissioners again visited Maryland, and required him to surrender the
government.
The next assembly that convened, which was entirely under the influence of
the Protestant and now victorious party, ordained that no person professing
the Catholic religion was entitled to the protection of the laws. Early the
following year in 1655, civil war commenced. Having organized a military
band, Stone assumed the government, intending to maintain his position by
force; but the Protestant party resisted, and, at length, a battle ensued,
in which the Catholics were defeated, with a loss of fifty killed. Stone was
taken prisoner, and was executed, with four others, men of note from the
province.
At the Restoration in 1660, Lord Baltimore was once more
restored to his rights, and Philip Calvert appointed governor. A general
pardon was extended to all political offenders, and the former mild and
liberal principles of the proprietor once more held sway in Maryland.
Towards the close of the year 1675, Cecil Calvert, the Lord
Baltimore, the founder of Maryland, died; and was succeeded by his son
Charles, both in his honors and estates. For more than forty years, Cecil
Calvert, in presiding over the province as its proprietor, had displayed the
highest regard for the rights and happiness of others. He deserved well of
posterity, and his name will be long honored and revered by the people of
Maryland. In integrity, benevolence and practical wisdom, the son strongly
resembled the father.
On the accession of William and Mary to the throne of
England in 1689, the tranquility of Maryland was again interrupted. A rumor
was fabricated, and industriously circulated, that the Catholics had
combined with the Indians to cut off the Protestants of the colony. This
roused the Catholics in their own defense, and to the assertion of the rights
of the king and queen. The Protestants attempted to subdue the Catholics by
force, and
were compelled to relinquish the government into the hands of the former.
And in their hands it continued until 1691, when the king, in the
exercise of sovereign power, wrested the province from Lord Baltimore, and
erected it into a royal government. And in the further exercise of
sovereignty, the following year, he sent Sir Lionel Copley as royal
governor, "to take charge of the province." Under him religious toleration
was disallowed, and the Church of England's forms of worship were
established and supported by law.
But in 1716 this great wrong was rectified. The heir of Lord Baltimore,
although an infant, was reestablished in his rights; the proprietary form of
government was restored; and thus matters continued until the war of the
Revolution, when the people formed a constitution for themselves, and no
longer recognized the claims of the onetime proprietor to either
jurisdiction or property.
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