Question

Identify the statements that describe Lord Calvert and his vision for Maryland.

Answer 1

Lord Calvert envisioned Maryland as a haven for Catholics and a tobacco-producing colony, pioneering religious freedom and fair treatment of Native Americans, though tensions with the Protestant majority led to conflicts.

Step-by-step explanation:

The vision of Lord Calvert, also known as George Calvert, the first Baron Baltimore, for Maryland was for it to be a proprietary colony that served as a safe haven for Catholics amidst the persecution they faced following the Protestant Reformation in England. The Calvert family, including George's son Cecilius and his grandson Leonard, who became Maryland's first governor, were instrumental in establishing an economy based on the cash crop of tobacco. This operation required a labor force, which started with indentured servants and, by 1664, evolved to include enslaved Africans due to the need for permanent workers.

The religious vision for Maryland was marked by a groundbreaking level of tolerance. This vision attracted various Christian denominations and was evident in the colony's governance, which guaranteed religious freedom to all Christians and saw the Calverts striving to treat Native American Indians fairly, including compensating them for their land. Despite religious tolerance being a founding principle, tensions inevitably arose due to a Protestant majority being led by the Catholic minority of the Calverts, leading to upsets and rebellion—such as the one that occurred in 1689, causing the family to lose their charter temporarily.

Answer 2

1. Lord Calvert was the son of one of King Charles I's favorites and wanted to create a feudal system in Maryland.

2. Lord Calvert was Catholic and wanted Maryland to be a refuge for those Catholics persecuted in England.

Step-by-step explanation:

Calvert took an interest in the British colonisation of the Americas, at first for commercial reasons and later to create a refuge for persecuted English Catholics. He became the proprietor of Avalon, the first sustained English settlement on the southeastern peninsula on the island of Newfoundland (off the eastern coast of modern Canada). Discouraged by its cold and sometimes inhospitable climate and the sufferings of the settlers, he looked for a more suitable spot further south and sought a new royal charter to settle the region, which would become the state of Maryland. Calvert died five weeks before the new Charter was sealed, leaving the settlement of the Maryland colony to his son Cecil.