Maryland Manual 1996-1997 Maryland at a Glance / 19

MARYLAND HISTORICAL CHRONOLOGY

c. 10,000 B.C............. First humans arrived by this date in the land that would become Maryland.

c. 1,500 B.C.............. Oysters became an important food resource.

c. 1,000 B.C.............. Native-American introduction of pottery.

c. 800 A.D. .............. Native-American introduction of domesticated plants; bow and arrow
came into use.

c. 1200 ................. Permanent Native-American villages established.

1498 ................... John Cabot sailed along Eastern Shore off present-day Worcester
County.

1524 ................... Giovanni da Verrazano passed mouth of Chesapeake Bay.

1572 ................... Pedro Menendez de Aviles, Spanish governor of Florida, explored
Chesapeake Bay.

1608 ................... Capt. John Smith explored Chesapeake Bay.

c. 1620 ................. Earliest appearance of European objects in archeological context.

1629 ................... George Calvert, 1st Lord Baltimore, left Avalon in Newfoundland,
visited Virginia.

1631 ................... Kent Island settled by Virginians under William Claiborne.

1632, June 20 ............ Maryland Charter granted to Cecilius Calvert, 2nd Lord Baltimore, by

Charles I, King of Great Britain and Ireland.

1633, Nov. 22 ............ The Ark and the Dove set sail from Cowes, England, for Maryland.

1634, March 25. .......... Landing of settlers at St. Clement's Island.

1634/ 5, Feb. 26. ......... First General Assembly met at St. Mary's City.

1645 ................... Ingle's Rebellion.

1647/ 8, Jan. 21 .......... Margaret Brent denied right to vote in General Assembly.

1649, April 21 ............ Religious toleration law enacted.

1650, April 6 ............. General Assembly divided into an upper and lower house.

1652, March 29. .......... Parliamentary commissioners held jurisdiction over colony, curtailing
proprietary authority.

1655, March 25. .......... Puritans from Virginia defeated Gov. William Stone's forces at Battle of
the Severn.

1657, Nov. 30 ............ Lord Baltimore's claim to Maryland reaffirmed.

1664 ................... Slavery sanctioned by law; slaves to serve for life.

1683, May 15 ............ Headright system of land grants ended.

1685, Aug. 31 ............ Printing press of William Nuthead used at St. Mary's City by this date.

1689, July-1690, May ...... Maryland Revolution of 1689.

1690, May-1692, April ..... Interim government of Protestant Associators.
1692, April-1715 .......... Crown rule; Maryland governed as a royal colony rather than as a
proprietary province.
1692 ................... Church of England made the established church. Royal assent to

establishment act given in 1702.

1694/ 5, Feb. ............ Capital moved from St. Mary's City to Annapolis.

1696 ................... King William's School (later St. John's College) founded at Annapolis.

1715 ................... Restoration of proprietary rights to Charles Calvert, 5th Lord Baltimore.

1718 ................... Catholics disenfranchised.

1727, Sept. .............. Maryland Gazette began publication at Annapolis.

1729 ................... Baltimore Town established.