In 1608, Capt. John Smith explored
Chesapeake Bay. Charles I granted a royal charter
for Maryland to Cecil Calvert, Lord Baltimore, in
1632, and English settlers, many of whom were Roman
Catholic, landed on St. Clement's (now Blakistone)
Island in 1634. Religious freedom, granted all
Christians in the Toleration Act passed by the
Maryland assembly in 1649, was ended by a Puritan
revolt, 1654–1658.
From 1763 to 1767, Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon
surveyed Maryland's northern boundary line with
Pennsylvania. In 1791, Maryland ceded land to form
the District of Columbia.
In 1814, during the British attempt to capture
Baltimore, the bombardment of Fort McHenry inspired
Francis Scott Key to write the words to “The
Star-Spangled Banner.” During the Civil War,
Maryland was a slave state but remained in the
Union. Consequently, Marylanders fought on both
sides and many families were divided.
Maryland's Eastern Shore and Western Shore embrace
the Chesapeake Bay, and the many estuaries and
rivers create one of the longest waterfronts of any
state. The Bay produces more seafood—oysters, crabs,
clams, fin fish—than any comparable body of water.
Important agricultural products are greenhouse and
nursery products, chickens, dairy products, eggs,
and soybeans. Stone, coal, sand, gravel, cement, and
clay are the chief mineral products.
Manufacturing industries include food products,
chemicals, computer and electronic products,
transportation equipment, and primary metals.
Baltimore, home of the Johns Hopkins University and
Hospital, ranks as the nation's second port in
foreign tonnage. The capital, Annapolis, is the site
of the U.S. Naval Academy.
Among the popular attractions in Maryland are the
Fort McHenry National Monument; Harpers Ferry and
Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historic Parks;
Antietam National Battlefield; National Aquarium,
USS Constellation, and Maryland Science Center at
Baltimore's Inner Harbor; Historic St. Mary's City;
Jefferson Patterson Historical Park and Museum at
St. Leonard; U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis;
Goddard Space Flight Center at Greenbelt; Assateague
Island National Park Seashore; Ocean City beach
resort; and Catoctin Mountain, Fort Frederick, and
Piscataway parks. |
