Lord Baltimore's Charter.
5. Before the patent could receive the seal of state, Sir George Calvert died. His title descended to his son Cecil; and the charter was issued to him on the 20th of June, 1632. In honor of Henrietta Maria, wife of Charles I., the name of Maryland was conferred on the new province. In the fall of 1633 a colony numbering two hundred persons was collected. Leonard Calvert, a brother of Cecil, was appointed to accompany the colonists to America.
Cecil Calvert, Lord Baltimore.
6. In March of 1634 the immigrants arrived at Old Point Comfort. They proceeded up the bay and ascended the Potomac. Finding a half-deserted Indian village at the mouth of the St. Mary's, the English moved into the vacant huts. The rest of the town was purchased; and the name of St. Mary's was given to the colony. Friendly relations were established with the natives. The Indian women taught the wives of the English how to make cornbread, and the warriors instructed the colonists in the art of hunting. There was neither anxiety nor want in the colony. Within six months the settlement had grown into greater prosperity than Jamestown had reached in as many years.
7. In 1639 a representative government was established in Maryland. Hitherto a system of democracy had prevailed; each freeman had been allowed a vote in determining the laws. When the new delegates came together, a declaration of rights was adopted. All the liberal principles of the colonial patent were reaffirmed. The rights of citizenship were declared to be the same as those of the people of England.
8. In 1642 Indian hostilities were begun on the Potomac. But the settlements of Maryland were compact, and no great suffering was occasioned. In 1644 the savages agreed to bury the hatchet and to renew the pledges of friendship.
9. In 1650 the legislature of Maryland was divided into two branches. The rights of Lord Baltimore were defined by law. An act was passed declaring that no taxes should be levied without the consent of the assembly. Such was the condition of affairs in the colony of Maryland when the Commonwealth was established in England.
Conflict with Parliament.