"Sixteen of Maryland´s twenty-three counties, as well as the city of Baltimore, border the tidal waters of the Chesapeake Bay estuary and its many tributaries,[13][10] which ...
combined total more than 4,000 miles of shoreline. Although one of the smallest states in the U.S., it features a variety of climates and topographical features that have earned it the moniker of America in Miniature.[14] In a similar vein, Maryland´s geography, culture, and history combine elements of the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, and South Atlantic regions of the country.
Before its coastline was explored by Europeans in the 16th century, Maryland was inhabited by several groups of Native Americans, mostly by the Algonquin, and to a lesser degree by the Iroquois and Sioux.[15] As one of the original Thirteen Colonies of Great Britain, Maryland was founded by George Calvert, a Catholic convert[16][17] who sought to provide a religious haven for Catholics persecuted in England.[18] In 1632, Charles I of England granted Calvert a colonial charter, naming the colony after his wife, Queen Mary (Henrietta Maria of France).[19] Unlike the Pilgrims and Puritans, who rejected Catholicism in their settlements, Calvert envisioned a colony where people of different religious sects would coexist under the principle of toleration.[18] Accordingly, in 1649 the Maryland General Assembly passed an Act Concerning Religion, which enshrined this principle by penalizing anyone who "reproached" a fellow Marylander based on religious affiliation.[20] Nevertheless, religious strife was common in the early years, and Catholics remained a minority, albeit in greater numbers than in any other English colony." - (en.wikipedia.org 09.02.2020)
- Latitude39
- Longitude-76.699996948242
