It has been noted by historians that the colony of Maryland made more progress in its first six months of existence than Virginia had made in its first 6 years of existence. Probably the main reason for the quick progress of Maryland was that it had the advantage of being the first American colony that was established as a proprietorship. This means that the form and structure of Maryland government was modeled after British Government.
Leonard Calvert, brother of Cecil Calvert, was named Maryland's first governor. Upon arrival in the Chesapeake region, Leonard Calvert purchased a village from the Yaocomoco Indians in exchange for gifts, trading assurances, and promises to help defend them against attacks from their enemies, the Susquehannock and Iroquois Indians. This settlement, established by the English in 1634, was named St. Mary's. By6 1685 St. Mary's became the first official city in Maryland.
Problems
Resentment of Maryland motivated Virginia to attempt to retake their former territory from the newcomers. Battles and skirmishes ensued between the colonies. Maryland endured these military incursions before repulsing them. Upon the unsatisfactory result of military conflict, Virginia sued Maryland to try to regain land lost, but that course of action also failed.
Everyday Life in the Colony
Maryland went from being a settlement to a solid destination when families, or more precisely, women, congregated to Maryland. Young women served an indentured servitude for an average of about 5 years in order to pay for the expensive passage from England. If she was lucky, she would be employed by a well-to-do family where she could work indoors, cooking and cleaning. If she was employed by a less well-off employer, she might have to help her employer work in the fields all day. Back in England, women of a similar age never were subjected to outdoor manual labor.
While all of this may seem as if colonial women were oppressed, the truth is quite different. These indentured servants worked hard, yes, but they also benefited from a much greater social power than they had back in England. Marriageable men far outnumbered marriageable women in Maryland, thus these women had a greater number of choices than women of the same age in England.
Growth of Maryland
Literature and pamphlets were distributed throughout England trumpeting Maryland's opportunities and lifestyle. Emigrants were given land on which to settle. Much of the work on the land was done by indentured servants, almost all of whom were white. Black slavery did not exist in significant numbers in Maryland until after the start of the 1700s.
Sources:
Maryland, the First Proprietary Colony
http://colonialancestors.com/md/proprietary.htm>
American Origins and Regional Institutions: The Seventeenth-Century Chesapeake
Robert D. Mitchell
Source: Annals of the Association of American Geographers, Vol. 73, No. 3 (Sep., 1983), pp.
404-420
Published by: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. on behalf of the Association of American
Geographers
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2562729
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