A man named George Calvert wanted to make a colony as both a real estate venture and a retreat for English Catholics who felt oppressed by their Anglican establishment.

Since he died before he could receive a charter, his son, Cecilius, received a charter in 1632 that granted him parts of present-day Pennsylvania, Delaware, Virginia, and Maryland and him and his heirs the absolute right to govern the land.

In March 1634, two ships carrying a total of two hundred to three hundred passengers populated a village called St. Mary’s. The neighboring natives, who were more concerned with their native rivalries than the Europeans, sold the arrivals land, and gave them corn and temporary shelter.

To populate their new colony, the “Calverts”, as the settlers were called, encouraged the immigration of both Protestants and Catholics from England. The persistence of the presence of a Catholic minority, however, resulted in a policy of religious toleration. This didn’t last for long, as tensions broke out and eventually, in 1655, a civil war temporarily replaced the government with one dominated by Protestants.

As a result of a labor shortage by 1640, Maryland adopted a headright system. Maryland then followed Jamestown’s lead by starting tobacco production and eventually importing slaves from Africa.

Adapted from Brinkley, Alan. 2014. American History: Connecting With the Past, AP Edition. E-book. 15th ed. McGraw-Hill Education. Pages 39–40