History of Maryland

The recorded history of Maryland dates back to when Europeans began exploring the area, starting with John Cabot in 1498. The first European settlements were made in 1634, when the English arrived in significant numbers and created a permanent colony. Maryland was notable for having been established with religious freedom for Catholics. Like other colonies of the Chesapeake Bay, its economy was based on tobacco as a commodity crop, cultivated primarily by African slave labor, although many young people came from Britain as indentured servants in the early years.

In 1778, during the American Revolution, Maryland became the seventh state admitted to the United States. After the war, numerous planters freed their slaves as the economy changed. Baltimore grew to become one of the largest cities on the eastern seaboard, and a major economic force in the country. Although Maryland was still a slave state in 1860, by that time nearly half the African American population was already free, due mostly to manumissions after the American Revolution. Maryland was among the border states that remained in the Union during the American Civil War.

It appears that the first humans to arrive in the area that would become Maryland appeared around the 10th millennium BC, about the time that the last ice age ended. They were hunter-gatherers organized into semi-nomadic bands. They adapted as the region's environment changed, developing the spear for hunting as smaller animals, like deer, became more prevalent, and by about 1500 BC oysters had become an important food resource in the region. With the increased variety of food sources, Native American villages and settlements started appearing and their social structures increased in complexity. By about 1000 BC pottery was being produced. With the eventual rise of agriculture more permanent Native-American villages were built. But even with the advent of farming, hunting and fishing were still important means of obtaining food. The bow and arrow were first used for hunting in the area around the year 800. They ate what they could kill, grow or catch in the rivers and other waterways.

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