Joshua Bennett
Maryland, a colony founded by Cecil Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore, in 1634, was the only colony in the Thirteen Colonies to have been founded by Catholics. Named after England's Catholic queen Henrietta Maria, the colony was founded as a haven for Catholics to escape religious persecution in England. The Maryland Toleration Act of 1649, also known as the Act of Toleration, was one of the first laws to explicitly define tolerance of different religions. It allowed all Christians to worship freely as long as they believed in the Trinity and the divinity of Jesus Christ. However, despite its founding intentions, Maryland eventually attracted more Protestant settlers, and the colony's capital was shifted from St. Mary's City to the Protestant-dominated Anne Arundel Town in 1694.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Name | Maryland |
| Founders | Cecil Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore |
| Year Founded | 1634 |
| Reason for Founding | To create a place for Catholics to escape religious persecution and worship freely |
| Religious Composition | Predominantly Protestant with a Catholic minority |
| Notable Events | Coode's Rebellion, which resulted in the revocation of the Toleration Act and the suppression of Catholic worship |
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What You'll Learn
Maryland: a haven for Catholics
Maryland, officially founded in 1634, was a haven for Catholics seeking religious freedom from persecution in England. The colony was established by Cecil Calvert, the second Lord Baltimore, who was granted a charter for the land by King Charles I in 1632. Maryland was intended to be a place where Catholics could worship freely and escape the restrictions and persecution they faced in England.
England had a long history of Catholic persecution, particularly under Queen Elizabeth I, who passed laws prohibiting Catholics from holding public office and allowing their imprisonment and execution. This continued under Queen Anne, who instructed that liberty of conscience be permitted to all except "papists". As a result, many Catholics left England during this period, seeking more tolerant lands.
The Calverts envisioned Maryland as a Catholic colony, but it ended up attracting a diverse group of settlers, including Protestants and members of the Church of England. The colony's founders were disappointed to find that relatively few English Catholics made the journey, and the colony held greater appeal for Protestant dissenters, such as Quakers and Puritans. Despite this, the Act Concerning Religion, or the Maryland Toleration Act of 1649, ensured religious freedom for all Christians in the colony, demonstrating Maryland's commitment to religious tolerance.
However, this religious harmony was not to last. By the 1660s, the Protestant majority in Maryland began to resent the colony's Roman Catholic leadership in St. Mary's City, and the capital was eventually moved to the Protestant-dominated Anne Arundel Town (now Annapolis) in 1694. The Toleration Act was revoked, Catholic worship was banned, and Catholics were barred from voting. Maryland's Catholics had extended religious freedom to Protestants in 1649, but they would not enjoy the same freedom again until the time of the American Revolution.
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George Calvert: founder of Maryland
George Calvert, the 1st Baron Baltimore, was an English politician who founded the colony of Maryland. He was born in 1580 and achieved domestic political success as a member of parliament and later Secretary of State under King James I. However, he lost much of his political power after supporting a failed marriage alliance between Prince Charles and the Spanish House of Habsburg royal family. As a result, he resigned from all his political offices in 1625, except for his position on the Privy Council, and declared his Catholicism publicly.
Calvert had envisioned creating a refuge for persecuted Irish and English Catholics in the New World. In 1627, he received a royal charter from King Charles I to establish a colony in the region that would become the state of Maryland. However, he was discouraged by the cold and sometimes inhospitable climate and the sufferings of the settlers. He sought a more suitable spot further south and worked to obtain a new charter to settle in that region. Unfortunately, Calvert died in 1632, just five weeks before the new charter was sealed, leaving the settlement of the Maryland colony to his son, Cecil Calvert.
Cecil Calvert, the second Lord Baltimore, became the proprietor of the colony and carried out his father's vision of creating a place where Catholics could worship freely. The colony was named Maryland after England's Catholic queen, Henrietta Maria. Despite the Calverts' intentions, relatively few English Catholics made the journey to the new colony. Instead, Maryland attracted a mix of religious groups, including Protestants, Quakers, and Puritans who disagreed with the Church of England.
The Maryland Toleration Act, passed in 1649, was a landmark bill that granted religious freedom to all Christians in the colony. It allowed for the religious diversity of the colonists, ensuring that all Christians could worship freely. However, the religious strife was not completely avoided, and within a decade, Protestants swept the Catholics out of the legislature, leading to a wave of repressive anti-Catholic measures. Despite these challenges, Maryland remained a place of religious freedom and tolerance, with the Act of Toleration being put back into practice after the restoration of King Charles II to his throne. The colony was controlled by descendants of Lord George Calvert until the American Revolution, when the freedom of self-rule was given directly to the colonies.
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Religious freedom in Maryland
Maryland, originally known as Terra Maria, was founded as a Catholic colony by Cecil Calvert, the second Lord Baltimore, in 1632. It was named after England's Catholic Queen Henrietta Maria. The colony was established as a place where Catholics could escape religious persecution and worship freely. However, despite its founding intentions, Maryland attracted more Protestant settlers, including Quakers and Puritans who disagreed with the Church of England. This religious diversity posed a challenge for the colony, leading to the passage of the Maryland Toleration Act in 1649.
The Maryland Toleration Act, also known as the "Act Concerning Religion," was a landmark piece of legislation that guaranteed religious freedom for Christian settlers of diverse persuasions. It was one of the first laws in America to specifically address "the free exercise" of religion. The Act allowed freedom of worship for Trinitarian Christians but imposed severe penalties for blasphemy and prohibited disparaging remarks about other religions. It also mandated the observance of the Sabbath.
The Act was revoked in 1654 by William Claiborne, a Puritan sympathizer who was hostile to Catholicism. During this period, Maryland experienced religious strife, and Catholics faced persecution once again. The Act was reinstated when the Calvert family regained control of the colony, but it was permanently repealed in 1692 following the Glorious Revolution. After this, the colony established the Church of England as its official religion, and Catholics were barred from voting in 1718.
It wasn't until the era of the American Revolution that religious tolerance and freedom were once again practiced in Maryland. The influence of the Maryland Toleration Act extended beyond the colony, shaping future laws concerning religious freedom, including the First Amendment to the American Bill of Rights. Thus, Maryland played a significant role in the evolution of religious freedom in America, contributing to the eventual enshrinement of religious liberty as a fundamental guarantee.
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Catholics in colonial America
Maryland, founded in 1634, was the only colony in colonial America where Catholics could live in relative religious freedom. It was established by Cecil Calvert, the second Lord Baltimore, as a place for Catholics to worship freely. However, the colony ended up attracting more Protestants than Catholics, and the Catholics soon found themselves in the minority. This religious diversity led to the passage of the Maryland Toleration Act in 1649, which granted religious freedom to all Christians.
The history of Catholicism in colonial America includes not only the English colonies but also the French and Spanish colonies, which later became part of the United States. Catholicism first came to what is now the United States through Spanish colonists in the 16th century and French colonists in the 17th century. The Spanish colonies included Puerto Rico, Florida, and parts of the Southwest, while the French established settlements along the Mississippi River and the Gulf Coast.
In the English colonies, the presence of Catholicism was shaped by the religious conflicts in England. After King Henry VIII's split from the Catholic Church, England became predominantly Protestant, and there was strong anti-Catholic sentiment. This led many English Catholics, such as George Calvert, to seek religious freedom in the New World. Despite Maryland's founding as a Catholic colony, Catholics there faced periods of repression, particularly during times of political upheaval in England, such as the civil war in the mid-17th century.
By the mid-18th century, Catholics in Maryland were once again permitted to practice their faith openly. The population of Catholics in Maryland and other colonies grew over time, and by the end of the American Revolutionary War in 1783, there were approximately 24,000 to 25,000 Catholics in the United States. Maryland's legacy of religious tolerance and pluralism, as well as its role as a haven for Catholics, is an important part of the colonial history of religious freedom in America.
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Anti-Catholic sentiment in the colonies
The colony of Terra Maria, better known as Maryland, was founded as a place for Catholics to worship freely. However, anti-Catholic sentiment was prevalent in the colonies, and Maryland's Catholic experiment was doomed from the start.
In the colony of Virginia, English colonists were nervous about the prospect of having Roman Catholic neighbors to the north. Religion and politics were closely linked, and England had committed itself to Protestantism since the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. Despite this, King Charles I granted a charter to Cecil Calvert, the second Lord Baltimore, to begin a Catholic colony in the Chesapeake Bay, right next to Virginia.
The Virginia colony was not alone in its anti-Catholic sentiments. In 1642, the English colony of Virginia enacted a law prohibiting the entry of Catholic settlers. Similar statutes were enacted in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1647 and in the Province of Maryland, where an Act of Toleration was passed in 1649, allowing religious freedom for all Christians. However, this act was repealed in 1654, and Catholics were once again outlawed.
The dominant political ideology of the colonists, known as "Country Whig," was also very anti-Catholic, with roots in the Commonwealth teachings of Cromwell. Additionally, the Puritan settlers in Massachusetts and the Anglican settlers in Virginia were united in their hatred of Catholics, despite their many other disagreements.
The anti-Catholic sentiment in the colonies was not just legal but was also reflected in the printed materials of the time, with sermons being the most frequently printed materials in colonial America. The arrival of Catholic immigrants from Ireland, Italy, Poland, and other countries in the late 19th century further fueled anti-Catholic sentiment, with issues such as education becoming a source of conflict.
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Frequently asked questions
Maryland.
George Calvert, the first Lord Baltimore, was a Catholic convert who sought to establish a haven for English Catholics in the New World. The charter for Maryland was granted to his son, Cecil Calvert, the second Lord Baltimore, in 1632.
The Calverts played a crucial role in establishing Maryland as a place where Catholics could worship freely and peacefully coexist with Protestants. They recruited settlers from both Catholic and Protestant backgrounds, offering generous land grants and religious tolerance.
Maryland experienced religious strife among Anglicans, Puritans, Catholics, and Quakers. Catholics in Maryland faced persecution and anti-Catholic laws enacted by neighbouring colonies. The colony also underwent political upheaval, such as Coode's Rebellion, which removed Lord Baltimore, a Catholic, from power in 1689.
Yes, Rhode Island, under the leadership of Roger Williams, was known for its religious tolerance and freedom for all faiths upon its founding.
