commitment to westward enterprise.⁴ Rather it added a
new component to his interest in New World colonies—
the idea of a Catholic refuge. A bitter winter spent in
Newfoundland shifted his interest southward to the
warmer Chesapeake region as a better place for "human
habitation." Unfortunately, just before the charter for
Maryland passed the final royal seals George Calvert
died. His son Cecil, the second Lord Baltimore, and the
first proprietor, was left to make the Maryland colony a
reality.

   To succeed, Cecil Calvert needed investors. He had ti-
tle to millions of acres and it was doubtful that even
with good luck he could have shouldered the expense of
settling more than a few hundred of them himself. The
experience of investors in Virginia and his father's trials
in Newfoundland had made clear that many thousands
of pounds sterling in start-up costs—chartering ships
and recruiting, transporting, and equipping colonists—
were necessary before even a very small settlement could
begin to provide any return. He needed men with capital
to underwrite the transportation and equipment of
colonists—the more the better.

   Cecil Calvert also needed leaders for his settlement.
Men with status that commanded respect, and with
talent for management as well, were essential for the
transformation of a shipload of immigrants landed in a
wilderness into a well-ordered and profitable colony.
Such leaders, he believed, should be men who had a
stake in the colony and its future. If possible, they
should be major investors.

   To attract such investor-leaders (called gentlemen ad-
venturers), Lord Baltimore offered land on extremely
favorable terms. Anyone who would transport at his