Maryland Colonial Society
22nd Annual History Contest For Maryland High School Students, 2003

"Getting Here From There: 
Early Maryland Maps and Travel Journals"

** Please note: The deadline for entries has been extended to
March 14, 2003


Virginia, by John Smith, 1612
For as Geography without History seemeth a carkasse without motion, so History without Geography wandreth as a Vagrant without a certaine habitation.    John Smith, 1627
John Smith made this observation about the connection between history and geography after returning to England from Jamestown. While in the New World, he began the first mapping of Maryland after two expeditions up the Chesapeake Bay in 1608. His map of the Bay, along with his extensive journals, provide us with much of what is known about the Native Americans and the flora and fauna of the Bay area. Another important source of information on the earliest days of the colony is Father Andrew White's account of the voyage of the Ark and the Dove to Maryland in 1633/34, called "A Relation of the Successefull beginnings of the Lord Baltemore's Plantation in Mary-land."

Almost 500 years later, we are still making and using maps to get from here to there, and travel journals are as popular - and useful - as ever. In this contest, you are asked to explore the study of geography and history as interconnected disciplines, drawing on early maps and accounts of travel in Maryland. A number of institutions, including public libraries, the Library of Congress American Memory, the Maryland State Archives, and the Maryland Historical Society have rich collections of early Maryland maps and travel journals.

Winners are offered the opportunity of a prestigious Summer Internship in Maryland History at the Maryland State Archives.

The contest is open to any interested Maryland high school student or class, and teachers are encouraged to use the contest as a class assignment.

We would greatly appreciate the posting of this notice and the accompanying rules so that teachers and students may participate as their individual time permits.

Detailed Contest Rules

Return to Colonial Essay Contest page
 
 
 


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