Cecilius Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore
Encyclopedia
Cecilius Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore, 1st Proprietor and 1st Proprietary Governor
of Maryland
, 9th Proprietary Governor of Newfoundland (August 8, 1605 – November 30, 1675), was an English
peer
who was the first proprietor
of the Province of Maryland
. He received the proprietorship after the death of his father, George Calvert, the 1st Lord Baltimore
, for whom it was intended. Cecil Calvert (as he was known) established and managed Maryland from his home in England; as a Catholic
, he continued the legacy of his father by promoting religious tolerance in the colony.
Maryland became known as a haven for Catholics in the New World, particularly important at a time of religious persecution in England. Calvert governed Maryland for forty-two years. He also served as Governor of Newfoundland. He died in England on November 30, 1675, aged 70 years.
, England
to George Calvert, the 1st Lord Baltimore
and Anne Mynne (or Mayne). He was generally known as Cecil Calvert, and was the first of several sons of the couple. At the time, his father was under pressure for conformity, and all ten children were baptized as Anglican (Protestant).
Calvert entered Trinity College
at the University of Oxford
in 1621. His mother died the following year. She was buried in a Protestant cemetery. His father converted to Catholicism in 1625, and it is likely that his children followed him; at least his sons did.
On August 8, 1633, Calvert was admitted to Gray's Inn
as a barrister.
, daughter of the 1st Baron Arundell of Wardour
, in 1627 or 1628. They had nine children. Of the nine, only three, including Charles Calvert, 3rd Baron Baltimore
, survived to adulthood.
for the new colony of Maryland
, named for the Queen Consort Henrietta Maria. This was shortly after the death of his father, the 1st Baron Baltimore
, who had long sought the charter to found a colony in the mid-Atlantic area to serve as a refuge for English Catholics. The original grant would have included the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay
as far south as the Potomac River
and the entirety of the eastern shore. When the Crown realized that settlers from Virginia
had already crossed the bay to begin settling the southern tip of the eastern shore, the grant was revised to include the eastern shore only as far south as a line drawn east from the Potomac River. Once that alteration was made, the final charter was confirmed on June 20, 1632.
Baltimore's fee for the charter, which was legally a rental of the land from the King, was one-fifth of all gold and silver found and the delivery of two Native American arrows to the royal castle at Windsor
every Easter
. The charter established Maryland as a palatinate
, giving Baltimore and his descendants rights nearly equal to those of an independent state, including the rights to wage war, collect taxes, and establish a colonial nobility. In questions of interpretation of rights, the charter would be interpreted in favor of the proprietor. Supporters in England of the Virginia colony opposed the charter, as they had little interest in having a competing colony to the north. Rather than going to the colony, Baltimore stayed behind in England to deal with the political threat and sent his next younger brother Leonard
in his stead. He never traveled to Maryland.
While the expedition was being prepared, Baltimore was kept busy in England defending the charter from former members of the Virginia Company; they were trying to regain their charter, including the entirety of the Maryland colony, which had previously been a part of Virginia. They had informally tried to thwart the founding of another colony for years, but their first formal complaint was lodged with the Lords of Foreign Plantations in July 1633. The complaint claimed that Maryland had not truly been unsettled, as stated in its charter, because William Claiborne
had run a trading station on Kent Island
. It also claimed that the charter was so broad as to constitute a violation of the liberties of the colony's citizens; at this point there were few Marylanders in residence.
The first expedition consisted of two ships that had formerly belonged to Baltimore's father, The Ark
and The Dove
. They departed Gravesend
with 128 settlers on board; they were chased and forced to return by the British navy so that the settlers could take an oath of allegiance to the King as required by law. They sailed in October 1632 for the Isle of Wight
to pick up more settlers. There two Jesuit priests and nearly 200 more settlers boarded before the ships set out across the Atlantic.
Baltimore sent detailed instructions for the governance of the colony. He directed his brothers to seek information about those who had tried to thwart the colony and to contact Claiborne to determine his intentions for the trading station on Kent Island. He also emphasized the importance of religious toleration among the colonists, who numbered nearly equally Catholic and Protestant. With these last instructions, the expedition crossed the Atlantic and founded the first settlement at St. Mary's
in 1634 on land purchased from the native Yaocomico
. From England, Baltimore tried to manage the political relations with the Crown and other parts of government. William Claiborne, the trader on Kent Island, resisted the new settlement and conducted some naval skirmishes against it.
Lord Baltimore attempted to stay closely involved in the governance of the colony, though he never visited it. During his long tenure, he governed through deputies, the last being his only son Charles
. Calvert appointed his younger brother, Leonard Calvert
(1606–1647), as the first Governor
of the Province of Maryland
. He was the second son.
and governed for the next eleven years without consultation from a representative body. The Church of England
, led by the Star Chamber
, intensified its campaign against both Puritans and Catholics. The former left England for the Netherlands and then a colony in New England colony
. Catholics began to see Maryland as their sole English-speaking place of refuge.
Lord Baltimore, a Catholic
, struggled to maintain possession of Maryland during the English Civil War
by trying to convince Parliament of his loyalty; he appointed a Protestant, William Stone, as his governor. It's accepted he did this exclusively to maintain possession of the colony during the civil war, as his loyalties were with King Charles.
In 1649 Maryland passed the Maryland Toleration Act
, also known as the Act Concerning Religion, a law mandating religious tolerance for Trinitarian Christians only (excluding Nontrinitarian faiths). Passed on September 21, 1649 by the assembly of the Maryland colony, it was the first law establishing religious tolerance in the British North American colonies. The Calvert family sought enactment of the law to protect Catholic settlers and Nonconformist Protestants who did not conform to the established state Church of England
of Britain and her colonies.
, Baltimore lost control of the colony for a brief period due to Puritan
pressure during the rule of Oliver Cromwell
. Despite that, the Assembly passed an act for religious toleration in 1649.
Baltimore regained the colony in 1657 after signing a treaty with Virginia Governor Richard Bennet. The by then primarily Protestant assembly in Maryland retained powers until April 27, 1658, when proprietorship was restored to Lord Baltimore. He ensured religious freedom and agreed to a general amnesty
related to the years of political unrest. Lord Baltimore had retained his lands and powers, and avoided the deaths met by many of his Catholic contemporaries in England during this time. For Josias Fendall
's loyalty during the Battle of the Severn
, Baltimore appointed to succeed Stone as governor.
Governor Fendall soon had a falling out with Lord Baltimore and led a bloodless revolution in 1659. He and William Fuller reorganized Maryland's government to resemble that of the Commonwealth of Virginia. In 1660, the Restoration
of Charles II
forced Fendall into exile and restored Baltimore's proprietorship.
and the Province of Avalon
in Newfoundland. He administered the colony between 1629 and 1632 when he left for Maryland. In 1637, however, Sir David Kirke
acquired a charter giving him title to the entire island of Newfoundland superseding the charter granted to his father, the 1st Baron. Baltimore fought against the new charter. Although in 1661, he gained official recognition of the old Charter of Avalon, he never attempted to retake the colony.
Cecilius Calvert died in Middlesex
, England
on November 30, 1675. He was succeeded to the Baronetcy of Baltimore and to his other titles by his son and heir, Charles Calvert, 3rd Baron Baltimore
.
, Calvert
, Cecil
, Charles
, and Frederick
.
Cities include Baltimore City, Leonardtown
, and St. Leonard
. Calvert Cliffs
was named in their honor. Anne Arundell's name survives in that of Anne Arundel County
, Maryland
.
Street names include Cecil Avenue, Calvert Street, and Charles Street
in Baltimore; Calvert Street in Washington, DC, and Baltimore Street in Cumberland, Maryland
.
Harford County
is named for Henry Harford
, the illegitimate son of Frederick Calvert, 6th Baron Baltimore
. Although precluded by his status from inheriting the peerage, he inherited the Lord Proprietorship, only to lose it during the American Revolution
.
Proprietary Governor
Proprietary Governors were individuals authorized to govern proprietary colonies. Under the proprietary system, individuals or companies were granted commercial charters by the King of England to establish colonies. These proprietors then selected the governors and other officials in the colony....
of Maryland
Province of Maryland
The Province of Maryland was an English and later British colony in North America that existed from 1632 until 1776, when it joined the other twelve of the Thirteen Colonies in rebellion against Great Britain and became the U.S...
, 9th Proprietary Governor of Newfoundland (August 8, 1605 – November 30, 1675), was an English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
peer
Peer
Peer may refer to:*People who are equal in such respects as age, education or social class etc., as in peer group*A member of the peerage, a system of honours or nobility in various countries*A variant of Peter in Scandinavic and Dutch languages...
who was the first proprietor
Proprietary colony
A proprietary colony was a colony in which one or more individuals, usually land owners, remaining subject to their parent state's sanctions, retained rights that are today regarded as the privilege of the state, and in all cases eventually became so....
of the Province of Maryland
Province of Maryland
The Province of Maryland was an English and later British colony in North America that existed from 1632 until 1776, when it joined the other twelve of the Thirteen Colonies in rebellion against Great Britain and became the U.S...
. He received the proprietorship after the death of his father, George Calvert, the 1st Lord Baltimore
George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore
Sir George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore, 8th Proprietary Governor of Newfoundland was an English politician and colonizer. He achieved domestic political success as a Member of Parliament and later Secretary of State under King James I...
, for whom it was intended. Cecil Calvert (as he was known) established and managed Maryland from his home in England; as a Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
, he continued the legacy of his father by promoting religious tolerance in the colony.
Maryland became known as a haven for Catholics in the New World, particularly important at a time of religious persecution in England. Calvert governed Maryland for forty-two years. He also served as Governor of Newfoundland. He died in England on November 30, 1675, aged 70 years.
Early life and education
Cecilius Calvert, whose first name was sometimes spelled Cæcilius, or Caecilius, was born on August 8, 1605, in KentKent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
to George Calvert, the 1st Lord Baltimore
George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore
Sir George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore, 8th Proprietary Governor of Newfoundland was an English politician and colonizer. He achieved domestic political success as a Member of Parliament and later Secretary of State under King James I...
and Anne Mynne (or Mayne). He was generally known as Cecil Calvert, and was the first of several sons of the couple. At the time, his father was under pressure for conformity, and all ten children were baptized as Anglican (Protestant).
Calvert entered Trinity College
Trinity College, Oxford
The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity in the University of Oxford, of the foundation of Sir Thomas Pope , or Trinity College for short, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It stands on Broad Street, next door to Balliol College and Blackwells bookshop,...
at the University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
in 1621. His mother died the following year. She was buried in a Protestant cemetery. His father converted to Catholicism in 1625, and it is likely that his children followed him; at least his sons did.
On August 8, 1633, Calvert was admitted to Gray's Inn
Gray's Inn
The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court in London. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wales, an individual must belong to one of these Inns...
as a barrister.
Marriage and family
He married Anne ArundellAnne Arundell
Anne Calvert, Baroness Baltimore was an English noblewoman, daughter of Thomas Arundell, 1st Baron Arundell of Wardour by second wife Anne Philipson, and wife of Lord Baltimore, who founded the Province of Maryland colony. Anne Arundel County in Maryland, USA, was named for her...
, daughter of the 1st Baron Arundell of Wardour
Thomas Arundell, 1st Baron Arundell of Wardour
Sir Thomas Arundell, 1st Baron Arundell of Wardour was the eldest son of Sir Matthew Arundell of Wardour Castle in Wiltshire , and Margaret Willoughby, the daughter of Sir Henry Willoughby, of Wollaton, Nottinghamshire...
, in 1627 or 1628. They had nine children. Of the nine, only three, including Charles Calvert, 3rd Baron Baltimore
Charles Calvert, 3rd Baron Baltimore
Charles Calvert, 3rd Baron Baltimore, 2nd Proprietor and 6th and 9th Proprietary Governor of Maryland , inherited the colony in 1675 upon the death of his father, Cecilius Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore. He had been his father's Deputy Governor since 1661 when he arrived in the colony at the age of 24...
, survived to adulthood.
Maryland Charter
Calvert received a charter from Charles I of EnglandCharles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
for the new colony of Maryland
Province of Maryland
The Province of Maryland was an English and later British colony in North America that existed from 1632 until 1776, when it joined the other twelve of the Thirteen Colonies in rebellion against Great Britain and became the U.S...
, named for the Queen Consort Henrietta Maria. This was shortly after the death of his father, the 1st Baron Baltimore
George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore
Sir George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore, 8th Proprietary Governor of Newfoundland was an English politician and colonizer. He achieved domestic political success as a Member of Parliament and later Secretary of State under King James I...
, who had long sought the charter to found a colony in the mid-Atlantic area to serve as a refuge for English Catholics. The original grant would have included the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay
Chesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. It lies off the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by Maryland and Virginia. The Chesapeake Bay's drainage basin covers in the District of Columbia and parts of six states: New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West...
as far south as the Potomac River
Potomac River
The Potomac River flows into the Chesapeake Bay, located along the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States. The river is approximately long, with a drainage area of about 14,700 square miles...
and the entirety of the eastern shore. When the Crown realized that settlers from Virginia
Colony and Dominion of Virginia
The Colony of Virginia was the English colony in North America that existed briefly during the 16th century, and then continuously from 1607 until the American Revolution...
had already crossed the bay to begin settling the southern tip of the eastern shore, the grant was revised to include the eastern shore only as far south as a line drawn east from the Potomac River. Once that alteration was made, the final charter was confirmed on June 20, 1632.
Baltimore's fee for the charter, which was legally a rental of the land from the King, was one-fifth of all gold and silver found and the delivery of two Native American arrows to the royal castle at Windsor
Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle is a medieval castle and royal residence in Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, notable for its long association with the British royal family and its architecture. The original castle was built after the Norman invasion by William the Conqueror. Since the time of Henry I it...
every Easter
Easter
Easter is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...
. The charter established Maryland as a palatinate
County palatine
A county palatine or palatinate is an area ruled by an hereditary nobleman possessing special authority and autonomy from the rest of a kingdom or empire. The name derives from the Latin adjective palatinus, "relating to the palace", from the noun palatium, "palace"...
, giving Baltimore and his descendants rights nearly equal to those of an independent state, including the rights to wage war, collect taxes, and establish a colonial nobility. In questions of interpretation of rights, the charter would be interpreted in favor of the proprietor. Supporters in England of the Virginia colony opposed the charter, as they had little interest in having a competing colony to the north. Rather than going to the colony, Baltimore stayed behind in England to deal with the political threat and sent his next younger brother Leonard
Leonard Calvert
Leonard Calvert was the 1st Proprietary Governor of Maryland. He was the second son of George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore, the first proprietary of the Province of Maryland...
in his stead. He never traveled to Maryland.
While the expedition was being prepared, Baltimore was kept busy in England defending the charter from former members of the Virginia Company; they were trying to regain their charter, including the entirety of the Maryland colony, which had previously been a part of Virginia. They had informally tried to thwart the founding of another colony for years, but their first formal complaint was lodged with the Lords of Foreign Plantations in July 1633. The complaint claimed that Maryland had not truly been unsettled, as stated in its charter, because William Claiborne
William Claiborne
William Claiborne was an English pioneer, surveyor, and an early settler in Virginia and Maryland. Claiborne became a wealthy planter, a trader, and a major figure in the politics of the colony...
had run a trading station on Kent Island
Kent Island, Maryland
Kent Island is the largest island in the Chesapeake Bay, and a historic place in Maryland. To the east, a narrow channel known as the Kent Narrows barely separates the island from the Delmarva Peninsula, and on the other side, the island is separated from Sandy Point, an area near Annapolis, by...
. It also claimed that the charter was so broad as to constitute a violation of the liberties of the colony's citizens; at this point there were few Marylanders in residence.
The Ark and The Dove
The Ark (ship)
The Ark was a 17th century ship which carried passengers bound for the Maryland colony during the pioneering 1634 expedition. The settlers began a permanent settlement in a shared Indian village south of St. Clement's Island and named it St. Mary's...
and The Dove
Maryland Dove
The Maryland Dove is a re-creation of a late 17th-century trading ship. She was designed by the naval architect and naval historian William A. Baker....
. They departed Gravesend
Gravesend, Kent
Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, on the south bank of the Thames, opposite Tilbury in Essex. It is the administrative town of the Borough of Gravesham and, because of its geographical position, has always had an important role to play in the history and communications of this part of...
with 128 settlers on board; they were chased and forced to return by the British navy so that the settlers could take an oath of allegiance to the King as required by law. They sailed in October 1632 for the Isle of Wight
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...
to pick up more settlers. There two Jesuit priests and nearly 200 more settlers boarded before the ships set out across the Atlantic.
Baltimore sent detailed instructions for the governance of the colony. He directed his brothers to seek information about those who had tried to thwart the colony and to contact Claiborne to determine his intentions for the trading station on Kent Island. He also emphasized the importance of religious toleration among the colonists, who numbered nearly equally Catholic and Protestant. With these last instructions, the expedition crossed the Atlantic and founded the first settlement at St. Mary's
St. Mary's City, Maryland
St. Mary's City, in St. Mary's County, Maryland, is a small unincorporated community near the southernmost end of the state on the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay. It is located on the eastern shore of the St. Mary's River, a tributary of the Potomac. St. Mary's City is the fourth oldest...
in 1634 on land purchased from the native Yaocomico
Yaocomico
The Yaocomico, or Yaocomaco, were an Algonquian-speaking Native American group who lived along the north bank of the Potomac River near its confluence with the Chesapeake Bay in the 17th century...
. From England, Baltimore tried to manage the political relations with the Crown and other parts of government. William Claiborne, the trader on Kent Island, resisted the new settlement and conducted some naval skirmishes against it.
Lord Baltimore attempted to stay closely involved in the governance of the colony, though he never visited it. During his long tenure, he governed through deputies, the last being his only son Charles
Charles Calvert, 3rd Baron Baltimore
Charles Calvert, 3rd Baron Baltimore, 2nd Proprietor and 6th and 9th Proprietary Governor of Maryland , inherited the colony in 1675 upon the death of his father, Cecilius Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore. He had been his father's Deputy Governor since 1661 when he arrived in the colony at the age of 24...
. Calvert appointed his younger brother, Leonard Calvert
Leonard Calvert
Leonard Calvert was the 1st Proprietary Governor of Maryland. He was the second son of George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore, the first proprietary of the Province of Maryland...
(1606–1647), as the first Governor
Governor of Maryland
The Governor of Maryland heads the executive branch of the government of Maryland, and he is the commander-in-chief of the state's National Guard units. The Governor is the highest-ranking official in the state, and he has a broad range of appointive powers in both the State and local governments,...
of the Province of Maryland
Province of Maryland
The Province of Maryland was an English and later British colony in North America that existed from 1632 until 1776, when it joined the other twelve of the Thirteen Colonies in rebellion against Great Britain and became the U.S...
. He was the second son.
Crisis during the English civil war
The enterprise took place in the context of serious unrest in England. In 1629, King Charles had dissolved ParliamentParliament of England
The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England. In 1066, William of Normandy introduced a feudal system, by which he sought the advice of a council of tenants-in-chief and ecclesiastics before making laws...
and governed for the next eleven years without consultation from a representative body. The Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
, led by the Star Chamber
Star Chamber
The Star Chamber was an English court of law that sat at the royal Palace of Westminster until 1641. It was made up of Privy Counsellors, as well as common-law judges and supplemented the activities of the common-law and equity courts in both civil and criminal matters...
, intensified its campaign against both Puritans and Catholics. The former left England for the Netherlands and then a colony in New England colony
Massachusetts Bay Colony
The Massachusetts Bay Colony was an English settlement on the east coast of North America in the 17th century, in New England, situated around the present-day cities of Salem and Boston. The territory administered by the colony included much of present-day central New England, including portions...
. Catholics began to see Maryland as their sole English-speaking place of refuge.
Lord Baltimore, a Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
, struggled to maintain possession of Maryland during the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
by trying to convince Parliament of his loyalty; he appointed a Protestant, William Stone, as his governor. It's accepted he did this exclusively to maintain possession of the colony during the civil war, as his loyalties were with King Charles.
Religious toleration
In 1649 Maryland passed the Maryland Toleration Act
Maryland Toleration Act
The Maryland Toleration Act, also known as the Act Concerning Religion, was a law mandating religious tolerance for trinitarian Christians. Passed on April 21, 1649 by the assembly of the Maryland colony, it was the second law requiring religious tolerance in the British North American colonies and...
, also known as the Act Concerning Religion, a law mandating religious tolerance for Trinitarian Christians only (excluding Nontrinitarian faiths). Passed on September 21, 1649 by the assembly of the Maryland colony, it was the first law establishing religious tolerance in the British North American colonies. The Calvert family sought enactment of the law to protect Catholic settlers and Nonconformist Protestants who did not conform to the established state Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
of Britain and her colonies.
Regaining the colony
After the Battle of the SevernBattle of the Severn
The Battle of the Severn was a skirmish fought on March 25, 1655, on the Severn River at Horn Point, across Spa Creek from Annapolis, Maryland, in what at that time was referred to as "Providence", in what is now the neighborhood of Eastport. Following the battle, Providence changed its name to...
, Baltimore lost control of the colony for a brief period due to Puritan
Puritan
The Puritans were a significant grouping of English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries. Puritanism in this sense was founded by some Marian exiles from the clergy shortly after the accession of Elizabeth I of England in 1558, as an activist movement within the Church of England...
pressure during the rule of Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....
. Despite that, the Assembly passed an act for religious toleration in 1649.
Baltimore regained the colony in 1657 after signing a treaty with Virginia Governor Richard Bennet. The by then primarily Protestant assembly in Maryland retained powers until April 27, 1658, when proprietorship was restored to Lord Baltimore. He ensured religious freedom and agreed to a general amnesty
Amnesty
Amnesty is a legislative or executive act by which a state restores those who may have been guilty of an offense against it to the positions of innocent people, without changing the laws defining the offense. It includes more than pardon, in as much as it obliterates all legal remembrance of the...
related to the years of political unrest. Lord Baltimore had retained his lands and powers, and avoided the deaths met by many of his Catholic contemporaries in England during this time. For Josias Fendall
Josias Fendall
Lieutenant-General Josias Fendall, Esq. , was the 4th Proprietary Governor of Maryland. He was born in England, and came to the Province of Maryland. He was the progenitor of the Fendall family in America....
's loyalty during the Battle of the Severn
Battle of the Severn
The Battle of the Severn was a skirmish fought on March 25, 1655, on the Severn River at Horn Point, across Spa Creek from Annapolis, Maryland, in what at that time was referred to as "Providence", in what is now the neighborhood of Eastport. Following the battle, Providence changed its name to...
, Baltimore appointed to succeed Stone as governor.
Governor Fendall soon had a falling out with Lord Baltimore and led a bloodless revolution in 1659. He and William Fuller reorganized Maryland's government to resemble that of the Commonwealth of Virginia. In 1660, the Restoration
English Restoration
The Restoration of the English monarchy began in 1660 when the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were all restored under Charles II after the Interregnum that followed the Wars of the Three Kingdoms...
of Charles II
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
forced Fendall into exile and restored Baltimore's proprietorship.
Baltimore's colony in Newfoundland
Lord Baltimore's family also had title to FerrylandFerryland
Ferryland is a town in Newfoundland and Labrador on the Avalon Peninsula. According to the 2006 Statistics Canada census, its population is 529. Addresses in Ferryland use the alphanumerically lowest postal codes in Canada, starting with A0A....
and the Province of Avalon
Province of Avalon
Province of Avalon was the area around the settlement of Ferryland, Newfoundland and Labrador, in the 17th century, which upon the success of the colony grew to include the land held by Sir William Vaughan and all the land that lay between Ferryland and Petty Harbour.Sir George Calvert had acquired...
in Newfoundland. He administered the colony between 1629 and 1632 when he left for Maryland. In 1637, however, Sir David Kirke
David Kirke
Sir David Kirke was an adventurer, colonizer and governor for the king of England. Kirke was the son of Gervase Kirke, a wealthy London-based Scottish merchant, who had married a Huguenot woman, Elizabeth Goudon, and was raised in Dieppe, in Normandy.In 1627 Kirke's father and several London...
acquired a charter giving him title to the entire island of Newfoundland superseding the charter granted to his father, the 1st Baron. Baltimore fought against the new charter. Although in 1661, he gained official recognition of the old Charter of Avalon, he never attempted to retake the colony.
Death
Middlesex
Middlesex is one of the historic counties of England and the second smallest by area. The low-lying county contained the wealthy and politically independent City of London on its southern boundary and was dominated by it from a very early time...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
on November 30, 1675. He was succeeded to the Baronetcy of Baltimore and to his other titles by his son and heir, Charles Calvert, 3rd Baron Baltimore
Charles Calvert, 3rd Baron Baltimore
Charles Calvert, 3rd Baron Baltimore, 2nd Proprietor and 6th and 9th Proprietary Governor of Maryland , inherited the colony in 1675 upon the death of his father, Cecilius Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore. He had been his father's Deputy Governor since 1661 when he arrived in the colony at the age of 24...
.
Maryland
Numerous place names honor the Barons Baltimore, including the counties of BaltimoreBaltimore County, Maryland
Baltimore County is a county located in the northern part of the US state of Maryland. In 2010, its population was 805,029. It is part of the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area. Its county seat is Towson. The name of the county was derived from the barony of the Proprietor of the Maryland...
, Calvert
Calvert County, Maryland
Calvert County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland. It occupies the Calvert Peninsula which is bordered on the east by the Chesapeake Bay and on the west by the Patuxent River. Calvert County is part of the Southern Maryland region. Calvert County's residents are among the highest...
, Cecil
Cecil County, Maryland
Cecil County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland. It is part of the Delaware Valley. It was named for Cæcilius Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore , who was the first Proprietary Governor of the colony of Maryland from 1632 until his death in 1675. The county seat is Elkton. The newspaper...
, Charles
Charles County, Maryland
Charles County is a county in the south central portion of the U.S. state of Maryland.As of 2010, the population was 146,551. Its county seat is La Plata. This county was named for Charles Calvert , third Baron Baltimore....
, and Frederick
Frederick County, Maryland
Frederick County is a county located in the western part of the U.S. state of Maryland, bordering the southern border of Pennsylvania and the northeastern border of Virginia. As of the 2010 Census, the population was 233,385....
.
Cities include Baltimore City, Leonardtown
Leonardtown, Maryland
Leonardtown is a town in and the county seat of St. Mary's County, Maryland, United States. The population was 1,896 at the 2000 census. Leonardtown is perhaps most famous for the national oyster-shucking championship that occurs annually at the St...
, and St. Leonard
St. Leonard, Maryland
St. Leonard is a census-designated place in Calvert County, Maryland, United States. The population was officially 536 at the 2000 census, although residents of the Calvert Beach-Long Beach, Maryland community also use the St. Leonard zip code designation, making it in fact a much larger community...
. Calvert Cliffs
Calvert Cliffs State Park
Calvert Cliffs State Park is a state park in Calvert County, Maryland, USA, situated on the Chesapeake Bay. On the 1612 John Smith map, the site is called "Rickard's Cliffes"...
was named in their honor. Anne Arundell's name survives in that of Anne Arundel County
Anne Arundel County, Maryland
Anne Arundel County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland. It is named for Anne Arundell , a member of the ancient family of Arundells in Cornwall, England and the wife of Cæcilius Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore. Its county seat is Annapolis, which is also the capital of the state...
, Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
.
Street names include Cecil Avenue, Calvert Street, and Charles Street
Maryland Route 139
Maryland Route 139, known locally for most of its existence as North Charles Street, runs through Baltimore City and through the Towson area of Baltimore County. On the north end it terminates at a traffic circle with Bellona Avenue near Interstate 695 and at the south end it terminates in Federal...
in Baltimore; Calvert Street in Washington, DC, and Baltimore Street in Cumberland, Maryland
Cumberland, Maryland
Cumberland is a city in the far western, Appalachian portion of Maryland, United States. It is the county seat of Allegany County, and the primary city of the Cumberland, MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the 2010 census, the city had a population of 20,859, and the metropolitan area had a...
.
Harford County
Harford County, Maryland
Harford County is a county in the U.S. state of Maryland. In 2010, its population was 244,826. Its county seat is Bel Air. Harford County forms part of the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area.-History:...
is named for Henry Harford
Henry Harford
Henry Harford, 5th Proprietor of Maryland was the last proprietary owner of the British colony of Maryland. He was born in 1758 the eldest but illegitimate son of Frederick Calvert 6th Baron Baltimore, and his mistress Hester Whelan...
, the illegitimate son of Frederick Calvert, 6th Baron Baltimore
Frederick Calvert, 6th Baron Baltimore
Frederick Calvert, 6th Baron Baltimore, 4th Proprietor of Maryland was an English nobleman and last in the line of Barons Baltimore...
. Although precluded by his status from inheriting the peerage, he inherited the Lord Proprietorship, only to lose it during the American Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
.
Newfoundland
- On the Avalon Peninsula in Newfoundland is the settlement of CalvertCalvert, Newfoundland and LabradorCalvert is an unincorporated Canadian settlement in the Ferryland District of Newfoundland and Labrador, on the Irish loop, 72 kilometres south of the provincial capital St. John's. It is 7 kilometres south of Cape Broyle, and 3 kilometres north of Ferryland...
- Baltimore School is in nearby FerrylandFerryland, Newfoundland and LabradorFerryland is a town in Newfoundland and Labrador on the Avalon Peninsula. According to the 2006 Statistics Canada census, its population is 529. Addresses in Ferryland use the alphanumerically lowest postal codes in Canada, starting with A0A....
.
See also
- Baron BaltimoreBaron BaltimoreBaron Baltimore, of Baltimore Manor in County Longford, was a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1625 for George Calvert and became extinct on the death of the sixth Baron in 1771. The title was held by several members of the Calvert family who were proprietors of the palatinates...
- List of colonial governors of Maryland
- Province of MarylandProvince of MarylandThe Province of Maryland was an English and later British colony in North America that existed from 1632 until 1776, when it joined the other twelve of the Thirteen Colonies in rebellion against Great Britain and became the U.S...
Sources
- Browne, William Hand (1890). George Calvert and Cecilius Calvert: Barons Baltimore of Baltimore. New York: Dodd, Mead, and Company.
- Krugler, John D. (2004). English and Catholic: The Lords Baltimore in the 17th Century. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 0-8018-7963-9