History of Maryland

It is believed that the first European explorer to explore the region of Maryland was John Cabot in 1498. The English were the first Europeans to settle in this region in 1634.

Before the European settlement, the history of Maryland included only Native Americans. The region of Maryland was explored by English in 1634. On March 25, 1634, Lord Baltimore sent a group of settlers to establish a permanent colony in this region. Most of the settlers were Protestants. Soon this region became a part of the English Empire. Many Puritans migrated to Maryland after Virginia made Anglicanism the established religion of the colony. The Puritans were given land for settlement called Providence. They soon revolted against the government and established a new government, outlawing both Catholicism and Anglicanism. In March 1654, second Lord Baltimore sent an army to suppress the revolt. The army was defeated by the Puritans near Annapolis in the "Battle of the Seven." After that, Maryland outlawed Catholicism until the American Revolutionary War.

Initially, Maryland was hesitant about independence from Great Britain. Soon it became one of the thirteen colonies that revolted against British rule. No significant battles were fought in Maryland. The region provided many soldiers for the war and the current capital of the state of Maryland, Annapolis, served as the capital from 1783 to 1784. Maryland became the thirteenth state to ratify the Articles of Confederation. On April 28, 1788, it became the seventh state to ratify the constitution of United States of America.

During the War of 1812, two notable battles were fought: Battle of Bladensburg (August 24, 1814) and the Battle of Baltimore. It was during the Battle of Baltimore that the American national anthem, Star Spangled Banner, was written by Francis Scott Key. Slaves were freed during the next twenty years after the Revolutionary War. By 1860, free blacks constituted 49.1% of the population in Maryland. Because Maryland was the part of the union, it was exempted from the anti-slavery provisions of the Emancipation Proclamation. In 1864, the state held a constitutional convention which outlawed the practice of slavery.

During the Great Depression, the state instituted its first ever income tax to generate revenue for schools and welfare. During the Second World War, defense facilities were expanded in the state. Some of the defense facilities established during the war were Andrews Air Force Base, Patuxent River Naval Air Station, and the large Glenn L. Martin aircraft factory. The East and the West Shore of Maryland were connected by Chesapeake Bay Bridge in 1952. In recent years Maryland has seen suburban growth and the creation of planned new communities.