St. Mary's College of Maryland Preservation Master Plan

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St. Mary’s College of MarylandPreservation Master PlanHistoric St. Mary’s City February 2008Calvert was forced to attract investors to make the venturea success. He drew up Conditions of Plantation to specifywhat colonists would be granted in return for their effortsto bring workers and families into the colony. Potentialcolonists were also given a letter of instruction, designedto ensure peace in the colony and diplomatic relations withother colonies. On November 22, 1633, two ships, the Arkand the Dove, sailed toward the New World. Cecil Calvertdispatched his younger brother, Leonard, to accompanythe colonists and serve as the first Governor (Hammett1990:3-5; Miller 2003:225).Detail, George Alsop map of Maryland, ca. 1666 (Fausz 1990:13).The new Maryland colony was a promising site, featuringfields already planted with corn by the Indians and barklonghouses for shelter. Two bays, a good water supply,and a defensible high bluff were desirable geographicfeatures. The Yaocomicoes relocated to Pagan Pointnearby, and the friendly relations between the colonists andthe local tribes begun by Henry Fleet endured for years tocome. The mutual respect shown by these seventeenthcenturyMarylanders and the Piscataways was an early andsignificant example of enlightened liberal thought and openmindedness,and reflected the principles of tolerance desiredby George Calvert. The deliberately nonsectarian colonyat St. Mary’s was a daring attempt to create a society thatPage 2-3
St. Mary’s College of MarylandPreservation Master PlanHistoric St. Mary’s City February 2008Page 2-4separated church from state, given that most of the westernworld believed that governments should dictate religiousbeliefs. Although Maryland was conceived as a sanctuaryfor Catholics, Protestants were also welcome, and indeedmade up over 80% of the first arrivals. The two groups wereinstructed in Calvert’s letter to refrain from imposing theirbeliefs unduly upon one another through public worship orproselytizing (Fausz 1990:12-14; Miller 2003:225-227).The settlers at St. Mary’s City initially inhabited the dwellingsleft by the Yaocomicoes as they constructed a large fort toprotect themselves from hostile Indian tribes and Virginiansopposed to the Maryland colony. This fort provided shelterfor the first three years while the colonists farmed thesurrounding land. By late 1636, things were more stableand the colonists left the fort and developed dispersedfarm plantations raising tobacco. Lord Baltimore initiallyattempted to develop the colony on a hierarchical manormodel, with major investors receiving large tracts and thetitle of manor lords, while those of lesser means were theirtenants. Though there is some evidence that this patternwas followed briefly, conditions in Maryland did not favorsuch development and a more flexible, less stratified societyarose (Miller 2003:225-228).Unfortunately, the colony was soon plagued by hostilitiesfrom further afield. A rival of Henry Fleet, Captain WilliamClaiborne, Secretary of State of Virginia, had establisheda beaver pelt trading operation at Kent Island in 1631. Heattempted to disrupt Fleet’s trading activities before theCalvert colonists arrived, and beginning soon after theirarrival, he battled with Gov. Calvert over control of KentIsland and key beaver territories to the north. Claiborne wasallied with the Susquehannocks and the Protestants, andinitiated a decade-long war against the Maryland colony,beginning in 1642 (Fausz 1990:12,14). England’s CivilWars (1642-1649) only exacerbated the instability of thecolony, and though Gov. Calvert regained some control in1646 with assistance from Virginia mercenaries, he died in1647 before full order was achieved. His death heightenedtensions once again. In the wake of his death, his executrixMargaret Brent, a wealthy colonist who had patented over1,000 acres, made a memorable attempt to restore calm tothe colony by appearing at the General Assembly in January1648, requesting an Assembly seat and a vote as LordBaltimore’s attorney. Although her request was denied, shetook matters into her own hands, selling Calvert’s cattle topay off and thus disperse lingering mercenary troops, andearning grudging respect from the Assemblymen for herefforts to bring peace to the colony (Fausz 1990:14).
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St. Mary's College of Maryland Preservation Master Plan

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