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The present city of Baltimore dates from July 30, 1729, and is named after Cęcilius Calvert,
Lord Baltimore, who was the first Proprietary Governor of the Province of Maryland. Like many early U.S. cities, this name
originated from Europe.
Cęcilius Calvert was a son of George Calvert. George was awarded the Barony of Baltimore in County Cork
Ireland in 1625 by King James I of England. George Calvert hence became the first Lord Baltimore.
The name "Baltimore" is derived from the County Longford, Ireland manor of the Calvert family, the Lords Baltimore,
who founded Maryland in 1634. Of course it is not the only place in the state to have received its name through various associations
with the Calverts: Cecil, Calvert, Harford, Ann Arundel Counties, and Leonardtown are other examples. Cecil Calvert, second
Lord Baltimore (1606-1675) named the colony for Queen Henrietta Maria, consort of the then king of England, Charles l, who
granted the charter for the colony in 1632.
The colony of Maryland had its origins with Calvert's father, George, the first Lord Baltimore. George, a Secretary
of State to James I, was rewarded by the king with title to land in Newfoundland for a colony the Yorkshire landowner dubbed
"Avalon." After he and his colonists froze their butts off up in Newfoundland, George thought better of the venture and petitioned
James I's son, Charles I, for title to land north of the existing English colony of Virginia.
In June 1632, two months after George Calvert's death, the king signed the final charter for Maryland, with title
for the grant going to George's eldest son and heir, Cecil. The St. Paul Street statue, erected November 21, 1908, under the
auspices of the Society of Colonial Wars of the State of Maryland, celebrates the fact that Cecil "established in ... Maryland
for the first time in the English-speaking world freedom of religious worship ... [of] any Christian form and separation of
church and state."
In 1634, when Maryland was born, people lived in a very intolerant time. The Thirty Years War (1618 -1648) was raging
in Europe between Catholic and Protestant forces. The Calverts entered on a perilous path in 1625 when George Calvert left
public life and declared himself a Catholic. Thus, when the newly-created Baron of Baltimore visited Jamestown before his
death, he was treated with suspicion by the leaders of Virginia because of his "Romish" religion and the fact that he would
be taking lands the Virginians claimed to be theirs.
In 1631, three years before Cecil Calvert's band of settlers arrived at the Chesapeake, William Claiborne, Secretary
of State of Virginia, had already established a trading post on Kent Island. Jesuit priest Andrew White, chronicler of the
Maryland settlement, wrote that the Virginia council desired nothing more than the colonists' "ruine." He said that Claiborne
had apparently stirred up the local Indians against the Maryland colonists. Indeed, he said, the settlers learned that the
"Indians were all in armes to resist us," having been told that the Spanish were coming to destroy them all. White attributed
this rumor to Claiborne, who was actively trying to undermine the new colony. Fortunately, relations with the Indians proved
friendly in the vicinity of the new settlement of St. Mary's City, where Cecil's brother Philip Calvert established the strong
point for the Maryland colony.
The same could not be said for Claiborne who, although first tolerated by the Calverts, was shortly to be declared
an outlaw after his men fought a battle with the Marylanders at the Pocomoke River in 1635. The Marylanders seized Kent Island,
displacing the Virginians.
Although the Calverts successfully established the Maryland colony, Calvert rule would continue to be rocky. This
rockiness was partly the result of less than consistent rule by the Calverts themselves and also a result of the Maryland
economy being solely based on tobacco. During the English Civil War of 1641-1645, Claiborne once more seized Kent Island for
a brief period starting in fall 1644. Then Richard Ingle, a supporter of Parliament, captured and plundered St. Mary's City
in February 1645. Philip Calvert retook St. Mary's late in 1646. In 1689, however, Protestant rebels overthrew the government
of the third Lord Baltimore. A series of Royal governors held the reigns of state until 1715. One of them, Francis Nichlolson,
relocated the state's capital from St. Mary's City to Annapolis, in part to break the Catholic stranglehold on the colony.
After Lord Baltimore's reinstatement to rule, Governor Charles Calvert tried to assure the assembly in 1722 that
Baltimore stood to them "as a bountyfull Indulgent Father toward a dutiful Deserving son." But Baltimore's veto of acts passed
by the assembly, and attempts to reassert his rights such as taxing exports of tobacco, alienated the colonists. Baltimore
tried to improve matters by changing governors but unhappiness with his policies persisted. In November, 1732, Charles, the
fifth Lord Baltimore, arrived in Annapolis for a six-month visit. He consented to an act establishing paper money, backed
by tobacco export, in an effort to improve the economy. But he persisted in reviving the system of collecting rents and in
maintaining fees to office-holders. When Frederick, the sixth Lord Baltimore, died in 1771, his will proclaimed the new proprietor
to be his illegitimate son, Henry Harford. Harford was proprietor when the last governor, Robert Eden, was overthrown in 1775
at the Start of the American Revolution. Ironically, it was a descendant of another Calvert who would have an influence into
modern times, while Lord Baltimore's old feudal line dissolved.
Charles Benedict Calvert was a Congressman at the time of the Civil War and the owner of Riverdale mansion in Prince
George's County. He was also a pioneer in modern agricultural practices. Congressman Calvert introduced legislation establishing
the U.S. Department of Agriculture. He also provided the land for the Maryland Agricultural College, which is now the University
of Maryland.
Sources: Christopher T. George, Baltimore Close Up (Arcadia
Publishing), September 3, 1998; Alexander D. Mitchell IV, Baltimore Then and Now (Then & Now) (Thunder Bay Press), May
1, 2002.
Recommended Reading: Maryland: A History of its People
(Hardcover). Reviews: "Beautifully illustrated with maps, tables, graphs, photos
and drawings... Should serve as a handy quick-reference book in offices and libraries. The index is excellent... Anyone interested
in what's happened in this beautiful and historic state over the centuries should find it worth reading." -- Annapolis Capital. "A well-written
state history... The book sharply focuses on politics; and black history has not been slighted in the discussion of the Free State's cultural heritage... The bibliography is a reference-seeker's
delight." -- Maryland Magazine
Related Studies:
(Temperance is grand-niece of Lord Baltimore and mother of Cherokee Chief
William Holland Thomas)
Recommended Reading: Maryland, A Middle Temperament: 1634-1980 (Maryland Paperback Bookshelf) (864 pages) (The Johns Hopkins University
Press). Review From Library Journal: A history of the third original colony with
350 years of tobacco culture, slavery, industrial revolution, civil war, and civil rights is a daunting task met by Brugger
in his highly readable standard history of the state. Brugger not only covers the pageant of centuries but also finds a theme
of moderation and balance in a not-quite Southern but not-quite Northern realm where both cool heads and Union
occupation prevented secession. Continued below...
Writing over the last three years, Brugger recognizes the findings of younger historians who have wrung
fresh insights about colonial living from statistics and archaeology. He is not reticent about long-denied civil rights, old
political machines, and fairly recent corruption. Independent Review: Maryland:
A Middle Temperament explores the ironies, contradictions, and compromises that give "America's oldest border state" its special
character. Extensively illustrated and accompanied by bibliography, maps, charts, and tables, Robert Brugger's vivid account
of the state's political, economic, social, and cultural heritage, including: Who was the Founder of Maryland? Cecil
Calvert's Expedition to the opening of Baltimore's Harborplace, and an exhaustive history of the nation's third original
colony. This splendid book is rich in the issues and personalities that comprise Maryland's story and explain its "middle
temperament."
Recommended Reading: Frommer's
Maryland & Delaware (Frommer's Complete). Description:
Brought to you by America’s #1 bestselling travel series... Written by more
than 175 outspoken travelers around the globe, Frommer’s Complete Guides help travelers experience places the way locals
do.
• More annually updated guides than any other series
• 16-page color section and foldout map in all annual guides
• Outspoken opinions, exact prices, and suggested itineraries
• Dozens of detailed maps in an easy-to-read, two-color design
Continued below...
You'll never fall into the tourist traps when you travel with Frommer's.
It's like having a friend show you around, taking you to the places locals like best. Our expert authors have already gone
everywhere you might go--they've done the legwork for you, and they're not afraid to tell it like it is, saving
you time and money. No other series offers candid reviews of so many hotels and restaurants in all price ranges.
Every Frommer's Travel Guide is up-to-date, with exact prices for everything, dozens of color maps, and exciting coverage
of sports, shopping, and nightlife. You'd be lost without us! From Civil
War battlefields to Baltimore's National Aquarium, these two states offer a wealth of sightseeing and activities. Frommer's
is on top of it all, with complete coverage of the best beaches, Oriole Park at Camden Yards, the world-renowned Longwood
Gardens, the Winterthur Museum, scenic Chesapeake Bay, beautiful, mountainous Western Maryland, the best crab houses and brewpubs,
outdoor adventures, antiquing, and much more. It's all at your fingertips, in true Frommer's style, with dozens of accurate
maps, the best hotels and restaurant s in all price ranges, detailed practical tips, and more. Frommer's Maryland & Delaware
offers a wealth of sightseeing, sports, strolls, and special moments--from highlights for the first-time visitor to off-the-beaten-track
discoveries that will impress even the most seasoned traveler.
Lord Baltimore Founder of Maryland, Who is the Founder of Maryland, When did Maryland become a state,
Lord Baltimore The Founder of Maryland, When was Maryland founded, History of Maryland, Pictures, Photo
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