First Colonists Arrive in Maryland
The arrival of the first colonists in Maryland on March 25, 1634, marked a significant moment in the establishment of one of the early proprietary colonies in North America. Named after Henrietta Maria, the wife of King Charles I, Maryland was granted to George Calvert, Lord Baltimore, who envisioned it as both a profitable venture and a refuge for Catholics facing persecution in England. The colony's charter allowed Lord Baltimore extensive powers over governance, including lawmaking and land distribution, effectively establishing a feudal system in this new territory.
The initial group of around 200 settlers, which included Anglicans, Jesuits, and Catholic couples, journeyed from England aboard the ships Ark and Dove, reaching Chesapeake Bay after a brief stop in Barbados. They first landed on St. Clements Island, where they held a thanksgiving service before establishing the capital, St. Mary’s. As the colony grew, the influx of Protestant settlers, particularly Puritans from Virginia, led to changes in the religious landscape. In response to challenges in maintaining religious tolerance, Lord Baltimore later promoted the "act concerning Religion," enacted in 1649, which aimed to provide religious freedom to all who believed in Christ's divinity. This act was an early step towards religious tolerance in colonial America, reflecting the complex dynamics of belief and governance in the fledgling colony.
First Colonists Arrive in Maryland
First Colonists Arrive in Maryland
On March 25, 1634, the first colonists arrived in Maryland. This was the first proprietary colony on the American mainland, named after Henrietta Maria, the consort of King Charles I of England.
In 1632, Charles appointed George Calvert, Lord Baltimore, the proprietor of ten million acres of land between 40 degrees north latitude and the south bank of the Potomac River. The king, in return for one-fifth of any gold or silver found there and for the symbolic payment of two arrowheads a year, granted the proprietor almost absolute control over the colony. Lord Baltimore could make laws with the consent of the freeholders, establish courts, levy taxes, control commerce, and grant lands. Maryland was essentially a feudal barony in the wilderness.
Lord Baltimore, who had been a member of the London Company and the Council for New England, was an early leader in the colonization of America. In 1622 he received a grant of part of Newfoundland and established the colony of Avalon there. He visited Newfoundland in 1625 and Virginia in 1629 and, finding the southern climate more to his liking, decided to undertake another settlement in the latter vicinity. As proprietor, Baltimore could garner great profits by renting some lands while retaining the rest until the growth of the colony increased their value. Moreover, religion, as well as economics, interested him in the venture. A convert to Catholicism in 1624, Baltimore envisioned Maryland as a refuge for his fellow Catholics, who suffered much in Anglican England.
Cecilius Calvert, the second Lord Baltimore, received Maryland's charter in June 1632, shortly after his father's death. He spent much of his fortune recruiting some 200 men and women, who set sail for the colony from England on November 22, 1633, on two ships named the Ark and the Dove. These ships sailed the West Indian route across the Atlantic, stopping at Barbados and arriving at Chesapeake Bay on February 27, 1634. Led by their 28-year-old governor, Leonard Calvert, the brother of the second Lord Baltimore, the colonists on March 25 erected a cross on St. Clements Island (also known as Blakiston Island) and held a thanksgiving service. A few days later they established St. Mary's, a few miles north of the Potomac River, as their capital.
The population had a mixed composition from the beginning. Most of the original immigrants were Anglicans, but two Jesuits and 17 Catholic couples were among the group. The Protestant preponderance increased when disaffected Puritans left Anglican Virginia and established Providence (later Annapolis), Maryland. Increasing danger to the colony's religious peace and its character as a haven for Catholics prompted Lord Baltimore to instruct Governor William Stone, a Protestant, to have the legislature pass an “act concerning Religion.” This toleration act, which granted religious liberty to all who affirmed a belief in the divinity of Jesus Christ, marked a limited but significant step forward in 1649.