3 things you didn't know about Maryland.

According to History books and Wikipedia In 1629, George Calvert, 1st Lord Baltimore in the Peerage of Ireland, fresh from his failure further north with Newfoundland's Province of Avalon colony, applied to Charles I for a royal charter for what was to become the Province of Maryland. Calvert's interest in creating a colony derived from his Catholicism and his desire for the creation of a haven in the New World for Catholics, free of the persecution that was commonplace in England.[citation needed] He also wanted a share of fortunes, such as those made by the sale of the commodity tobacco in Virginia, and hoped to recoup some of the financial losses he had sustained in his earlier colonial venture in Newfoundland.[50]George Calvert died in April 1632, but a charter for "Maryland Colony" (in Latin, Terra Maria) was granted to his son, Cecil Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore, on June 20, 1632. The new colony may have been named in honor of Henrietta Maria of France, wife of Charles I of England.[51] The name recorded in the charter was phrased "Terra Mariae, anglice, Maryland". The English name was preferred over the Latin due in part to the undesired association of "Mariae" with the Spanish Jesuit Juan de Mariana of the Inquisition.To try to gain settlers, Maryland used what is known as the headright system, which originated in Jamestown. Settlers were given 50 acres of land for each person they brought into the colony, whether as settler, indentured servant or slave.

Headright system also known as theft. Well, there is more to Maryland's history than recorded or talked about, there were people here 10'000 years plus prior to this land being named after a Spanish or French queen. And we are still here.

3 Things you didn't know about Maryland

1. Pre-Contact -1633

The Piscataway were the head of a strong confederacy here in Maryland. It included these Nations or First Families:

Anacostians

Mattawoman

Nanjemoy

Patuxent

Potobac

Potomac

Wicomico

Yacomico

Zekiah

2. Pre- Contact

The Confederacy was governed by the Weroance this was a position passed down from brother to brother from the lineage of the mother, and each Nation had a delegate (Tayac) that was chosen by the Clan Mother. A clan is known as a family, people related by blood from the lineage of the female. Their roles were defined as follows:

Weroance- Appointed by the majority vote of the Clan Mothers of the Confederacy and responsible for decisions of the Confederacy. Elected by his relationship with his clan, Nation, and the Confederacy. His heart had to be full of good medicine and his respect for the people had to be paramount.

Tayac- Appointed by the majority vote of the clan mother of that specific Nation. The Tayac handled settling disputes within the Nation and teaching the laws and traditions of the Confederacy to his Nation.

Clan Mother- A birthright, Clan Mother, was passed down from one generation to the next. A HIGHLY respected position within a Nation even today. She handles keeping the cultural of her clan, settles disputes and teaches the next generation all cultural traditions.

3. Pre- Contact

Within this confederacy, the people were the core. The everyday people who lived very similar like we do today. Working, Farming, and raising a family was just as important then as they are today. The first families of Maryland had many of the same values as your family does today. Men and Women had very distinct roles in our societies.

Men- Did all of the trading, hunting, fishing, and warfare

Women- Did all of the farming, built their homes (Wigwam), taught the children, and owned all property.

These three facts are just a small peek at what life was like in Maryland before contact with European invaders, and it's businessmen.

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