Maryland

Maryland’s coastline was first explored by Europeans in the 16th century. Prior to that, it was inhabited by several Native American tribes, mostly the Algonquian peoples.^[13] As one of the original Thirteen Colonies, Maryland was founded by George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore, a Catholic convert^[14][15] who sought to provide a religious haven for Catholics persecuted in England.^[16] In 1632, Charles I of England granted Lord Baltimore a colonial charter, naming the colony after his wife, Henrietta Maria.^[17] In 1649, the Maryland General Assembly passed an Act Concerning Religion, which enshrined the principle of toleration.^[18] Religious strife was common in Maryland’s early years, and Catholics remained a minority, albeit in greater numbers than in any other English colony. Maryland’s early settlements and population centers clustered around waterways that empty into the Chesapeake Bay. Its economy was heavily plantation-based and centered mostly on the cultivation of tobacco. Demand for cheap labor from Maryland colonists led to the importation of numerous indentured servants and enslaved Africans. In 1760, Maryland’s current boundaries took form following the settlement of a long-running border dispute with Pennsylvania. Many of its citizens played key political and military roles in the American Revolutionary War. Although it was a slave state, Maryland remained in the Union during the American Civil War, and its proximity to Washington D.C. and Virginia made it a significant strategic location. After the Civil War ended, Maryland took part in the Industrial Revolution, driven by its seaports, railroad networks, and mass immigration from Europe.