St. Clement's Island Prehistory - Part 1. - American Colonial History

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Why did two ships of colonists risk a dangerous crossing of the Atlantic Ocean in 1633 to flee England for America and why did they bring their hopes for religious freedom to St. Clement's Island Maryland? To understand the history of St. Clements one needs to understand there is another part of the story, the history of events in the 16th Century which a few years later would cause the colonists to leave England for America.

Let's call it the European prehistory of St. Clements and quite frankly you might be a bit surprised by what you learn. This prehistory includes a series of international events involving the most powerful monarchies, legendary family dynasties, and mighty empires in Europe beginning with the infamous King Henry VIII of England.

St. Clements Island was the sight of the first declaration of religious freedom to be guaranteed anywhere in the world, a freedom that in time would become embedded in our US Constitution. A little over 100 years earlier Henry VIII set in motion the series of events that would result in this charter.

Events in Europe during the 16th century led to the fall from favor of the Catholics and Puritans in England and the subsequent journey to settle the colony of Mary Land in 1634 where religious freedom would be guaranteed. Monarchies in England, Scotland, France, Spain and Italy and the Vatican in Rome were all to play a role in this decision to settle in the new world.

A web of intrigue led to a mosaic of treachery, murder, assassination, torture, arranged marriages and more in the alliances and enemies that came and went beginning with the reign of Henry VIII in England who was born in 1491, the year before Columbus discovered America, and was King from 1509 to 1547. Let me see if I can't make some sense of the historic actions that led to the landing at St. Clements.

Henry VIII - King of England (r. 1509 - 1547)



First let's talk about the reign of Henry VIII. He was famous for having six wives, two were executed.  Early in his career he was given the title Defender of the Faith by the Pope for defending the Catholic Church against Martin Luther. Later he was to turn his nation against the very church he defended. When Henry's first wife was unable to give him a male heir he requested an annulment from the Pope.

He needed the annulment so he could marry Anne Boleyn. The Pope refused and Henry was enraged and threw the Catholic Church out of England, creating a Church of England with the King as Divine Leader. When his second wife Anne failed to give him a male heir she was beheaded. His first three wives each gave him one heir, but only the third wife gave him a male. All three children served as King or Queen of England in the span of just one decade, although the last, Elizabeth, continued serving for 45 glorious years.

Henry's battle with the Vatican became the Reformation Movement against the church and by his death England was a thoroughly Protestant and Reformed nation. During his rein more than 72,000 people were put to death.

Charles V - Holy Roman Emperor (r. 1515- -1556)



Charles was King of Spain and heir to four of Europe's leading dynasties, making him Holy Roman Emperor. His empire included Central, Western and Southern Europe and the Spanish colonies in America. Henry's 1st wife, Catherine of Aragon was Charles' Aunt. Charles grandmother was Queen Isabella I who sent Columbus to discover America.

It was Charles who sent the conquistadors to America and they wiped out the Aztec and Inca Empires, sending tons of gold back to Spain and helping Spain become the most powerful nation in the world. The Spanish Armada was considered invincible on the seven seas.

When his Aunt Catherine asked him to help stop Henry VIII from annulling her wedding Charles sent his army to Italy and took the Pope hostage and preventing him from approving Henry's annulment. This act triggered the Reformation against the Catholic Church and the loss of power by the Catholics in England.

Pope Clement VII (r. 1523 - 1534)



This pope was a member of the powerful Florentine "Medici" family, a dynasty that produced three popes. The Medici family was also responsible for the Italian Renaissance in art and architecture. Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael and Galileo were among the most famous family patrons.





Still the Pope was no match for the power of King Charles and when he was unable to grant Henry the annulment it enraged Henry VIII who undertook a campaign against the Catholic Church to drive them from power in England and to confiscate all churches, shrines and monasteries throughout England and the UK and give them to the new Church of England under the King.



Catherine of Aragon - Henry's 1st Wife

As noted, Catherine was aunt to King Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor. She refused to agree to an annulment with Henry which caused the English split from Catholic influence. Her daughter, Mary I became Queen of England.

Anne Boleyn - Henry's 2nd Wife

It was Boleyn who demanded of Henry an annulment from his 1st wife in order to marry him. Her daughter, Elizabeth I became Queen but her only son and heir to the throne was stillborn. Henry had her beheaded for treason against the King.



Mary Queen of Scots

The daughter of King James V of Scotland (nephew to Henry VIII of England) and Marie of Guise from France, her father died when she was six days old. Henry VIII immediately sought to arrange a marriage between the infant Mary and his son Edward, Henry's only male heir by his 3rd wife Jane Seymour and future King of England, but the Queen Mother Marie of Scotland stopped him, earning her the wrath of King Henry.

At nine months Mary was crowned Queen of Scotland but was kept in hiding by her mother. At age six her mother had arranged for a marriage in France to Dauphin Francois, heir to the French throne, and Mary went to live with her future father-in-law, Henri II in France. When she was 16 in 1558 she married Francois who became King Francis II of France when his father died the next year.

One year later, in 1560, her young husband the King died. Her mother-in-law, Catherine Medici of the Italian family became Regent and another son, the King's brother Charles IX, inherited the throne leaving Mary an 18 year old widow and former Queen of France. Mary returned to Scotland.

After her return Mary, who was a devote Catholic, defied Elizabeth and married Lord Darnley, her 1st cousin, who was then murdered. Her next marriage was to the alleged murderer of Lord Darnley. During this time Mary tried on many occasions to overthrow Queen Elizabeth and claim the throne. Elizabeth refused to have her cousin put to death but eventually her advisors did have Mary executed for treason.

Ironically, direct descendants of Mary were Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette of France who were also put to death for treason during the French Revolution.

Elizabeth I - Queen of the Golden Age (r. 1558 - 1603)



Three children of Henry VIII ruled England beginning with Edward VI (1547-1553), Mary I (1553-1558) and Elizabeth (1558-1603). Because none had heirs Elizabeth I was the last of the Tudor dynasty which became extinct upon her death in 1603. The crown of England then passed to Henry VIII's Paternal Great-grandson, James VI of Scotland, son of Mary Queen of Scots, and he became James I of England.

After her predecessor Mary I had restored power to the Catholics and began a campaign to burn the Protestants at the stake Elizabeth then restored power to the Church of England. Her difficulties with her cousin Mary in Scotland led to the Pope excommunicating Elizabeth from the Catholic church. When Mary was put to death the King of Spain, still the most powerful empire in the world, attacked England with the dreaded Spanish Armada of over 100 ships.

Elizabeth sent her small navy to meet the armada while she rallied the British troops on the shore and somehow Elizabeth won the battle ending forever the Spanish dominance of the world. William Shakespeare rose to fame during the Golden Age of Elizabeth's reign and she was one of the most beloved Queens of England.

Her closest advisor who helped save her before she became Queen and served throughout her reign was Sir William Cecil. William groomed his son Robert Cecil to take over for him when he died and Robert stepped in to serve the Queen, coordinate arrangements at her death, the end of the Tudor dynasty, and manage the transition to James I as the first Stuart king.

Robert Cecil - Advisor to Kings and Queens

Robert succeeded his father William in Queen Elizabeth's court and after her death he arranged for the transfer of the throne to King James I, son of Mary Queen of Scots, and thus united England and Scotland under the new Stuart King. It was Robert who encouraged his friend George Calvert to work for King James I. With Cecil's influence Calvert became involved in politics rising in the King's court to the position of Secretary of State, one of the top advisors to the King.

James I - King of England and Scotland (1603 - 1625)

James I was the son of Mary Queen of Scots and Paternal Grand Son of Henry VIII and was the first Stuart king after the end of the Tudor dynasty, the first King of England and Scotland. Because his mother spent so many years in prison while trying to overthrow Elizabeth before being put to death, James had not seen her since he was 14 months old.

Quite odd by English standards, James managed to alienate both the Protestants and Catholics by persecuting Catholics and writing about the Divine Right of Kings along with a book on witchcraft. James had been raised a Calvinist in Scotland.

It was James who made George Calvert his Secretary of State and gave him the title Lord Baltimore for helping settle unrest in Ireland. James also was unable to adjust to the English parliament and his feuds laid the seeds for the Protestant overthrow of the next monarch, his son Charles I. Finally, it was James who granted Calvert rights to the Avalon settlement in Newfoundland and rights to all of Newfoundland after a colony was established.

Charles I - King of England and Scotland (1625 - 1649)



Charles was the first monarch to get a special dispensation from the Pope so he could marry Henrietta Maria, daughter of King Henry IV of France and his Italian wife Marie de Medici of the Medici family dynasty. Henrietta was the first Catholic princess to marry a Protestant prince in Europe. It was a tenuous position for Charles to be head of the Church of England when his wife was Catholic, daughter of the French King and a member of the Italian Medici family.

His authoritarian Protestantism surprised both Protestants and Catholics alike as he rigidly enforced his right to raise his children outside the Catholic faith and was aggressively responding to challenges against the Church of England, thus causing both Puritans and Catholics to seek colonies in the new world.

English colonies already existed in Jamestown (1607), Plymouth (1620) and Avalon in Newfoundland (1621) before he became King while Mary Land (1634) would be settled during his reign but Charles had very little interest in the new world. However, he did demonstrate his loyalty to his father's advisors by continuing the grants to the Calvert family for Newfoundland, and when that was not successful he allowed Calvert to try again in Mary Land. In time his feud with Parliament would result in Oliver Cromwell leading a revolt that captured London taking Charles prisoner and he was beheaded in 1649.

Henrietta Marie, Queen of England



As noted, the complexity of Henrietta's position required a special dispensation from the Pope and seemed to calm friction between England and France. However, her devotion to being Catholic was unsettling to the English and a source of conflict with the Church of England. The Mary Land colony was named after her and she encouraged Charles to incorporate religious toleration in the new colony to assure those being persecuted in England would be free in America.

She even is reported to have given a piece of the True Cross of Jesus to the colonists to protect them on their trip, a relic still in Southern Maryland and brought to the Blessing of the Fleet. Her Medici family in Italy was responsible for saving and protecting many of the ancient relics, manuscripts and art work of the early period of Christianity.

When King Charles abolished Parliament it was Queen Henrietta that raised money and troops for the King from the Catholics of England and Europe, an action that alarmed the king's court over the growing influence of Catholics in the English monarchy. The Queen was safely moved to France during the revolt and beheading of Charles and she spent the rest of her life working out of a convent helping to protect the rights of Catholics and trying to influence her sons who became king.

Sir George Calvert - 1st Baron of Baltimore



This friend of Robert Cecil and loyalist to Queen Elizabeth and King James I worked his way up through the court to become Secretary of State under James. With his family long devoted to protecting religious freedom in England Sir George had a deep belief that the colonies offered the best opportunity to establish a haven for religious toleration where it was free of the Church of England and the religious battles raging throughout Europe. Shortly before King James died Calvert resigned from the court to settle the colonies and declared he was a Catholic, a surprise to all those who worked with him over the years.

Sir George had been an investor in the East India Tea Company approved by Elizabeth 1600 and in the Jamestown venture of 1607 so when James granted him a colony in Newfoundland named after the legendary Avalon of King Arthur days Sir George devoted his life and resources to making it successful. The ancient Avalon was the community where the new Christianity was first incorporated into the Druid and Celtic ways in the 4th century.

Calvert purchased two boats, the Ark and the Dove and in 1621 sent the first settlers to the new world. He hired a famous English pirate John Nutt to defend the new colony from the French raiders. Some time earlier he had saved Nutt from being put to death for piracy.

Calvert personally made two trips on his ships the Ark and the Dove to Newfoundland but by 1628 realized the climate was too harsh. He returned to England and consulted with Cecil and others before requesting from King Charles I a charter for the area north of the Potomac River extending to the 40th parallel, just above the future location of Philadelphia. During plans he consulted with Captain John Smith, the first Governor of Jamestown, who had explored the territory north of Jamestown after establishing the Virginia colony.

Calvert also recruited a Jesuit Priest, Father Andrew White, in 1628 to help organize the new settlement even though Father White had been banished from England for conducting Catholic services. Father White secretly helped Calvert draft many of the charter documents he wanted including the guarantee of religious freedom, the first colony in the world to offer such freedom.

After successful negotiations with the King aided by the support of the Queen Henrietta Marie, Sir George Calvert died just five weeks before the grant was approved. It would be up to his son Cecilius, named after Robert Cecil, to fulfill the dream of his father.

(Part 2. to follow)

St. Clements Island and Manor - Four Centuries of Uninterrupted History

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Do you think you know a lot about history? How about the history of this place, Colton's Point and St. Clements Island just off shore?

381 years ago colonists from England first landed on the island and named it St. Clements Island while the point was called Longworth Point before becoming St. Clements Manor in 1636. It was settled before New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore or Washington, DC even existed. In fact all but New York City were part of the original Mary Land grant to the Calvert family.



One March day in 1634 two ships sailed up the Potomac, the Ark and the Dove, bringing between 256 and 300 English to settle the lands called Mary Land. They were determined to find freedom and opportunity here in the "New World". Their story is the beginning of the recorded history of St. Clements Manor and Island and a colorful history it came to be.

So what should you know about St. Clements Island and Manor?

It was the 1st colony in America, even the world, to guarantee freedom of religion.

It was the 1st colony in America to establish and maintain peace with Native Americans.

It was the 1st arrival of Roman Catholics in English speaking America.

The 1st Catholic Mass and Eucharist in the original colonies took place on St. Clements Island.

The 1st Jesuits in the original colonies arrived on the Ark and Dove.

St. Clements Manor had one of the earliest Catholic and multi-denominational chapels in the original colonies.

St. Clements Manor House was one of the oldest continually lived in homes in the original colonies.

St. Clements Manor is most likely the oldest continually occupied chartered settlement in the original thirteen colonies.

It was the 1st site in the New World where America was dedicated to the Holy Mother Mary.

The Mary Land settlement was one of the most successful of the original thirteen colonies.

Mathias de Sousa, who arrived on the Ark with Father White at St. Clements Island became the 1st Black man in America in 1642 to serve in a legislature.



Yes, St. Clements Island, the landing site for the colonists of Mary Land, is a very special place. You can go to the island and stand in the light house and look across the water and see the birthplace of our beloved first president George Washington.

Move your eyes a little down river and you see the birthplace of the most famous military leader in American history, Robert E. Lee. Did you know he was offered a chance to lead either the Union or Confederate armies in our Civil War? Lincoln offered him the job and even when Lee returned to his home and led the Confederate Army Lincoln never lost his respect for this greatest of all fighting men.

Consider this, since the landing 375 years ago when the colonists first constructed a fort on the Island it has been involved in every major war in our history.

Now humor me and close your eyes and imagine a time before cars, cell phones, television and computers. It is late in the 19th century and you can see and hear the big steamboats pulling up to the wharf on the island with passengers from Washington, DC and Baltimore coming to one of the most famous resorts on the east coast. Four hotels, a beer garden, fresh oysters, crab and clams awaited the holiday goers with dancing in the moonlight on the pavilions of the St. Clements Manor house.



Did you know St. Clement Island was named by Father Andrew White after St. Clement, patron saint of mariners, who became Pope just 59 years after Jesus died in the first century, the year was 92. He was friends with the apostles and traveled with Peter and Paul. St. Clement was martyred by being chained to an anchor and dropped into the Dead Sea.



The day the colonists were to sail for America was November 22, 1643. They left Cowes, Isle of Wight, England but only made it ten miles before encountering high winds and storms and pulled into a harbor to wait out the storm. Early the next morning the Ark was knocked loose from anchor by another ship and set out to sea followed closely by the Dove. It was early November 23, St. Clements day. It was only appropriate that Father White named the island St. Clements when they ended their voyage.




More to follow on the incredible history of St. Clements and the reason it is the most sacred site in the USA.

Questions and Comments about the Coltons Point Times

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There are at least nine Bald Eagles living in Coltons Point and that is just one reason why the Coltons Point Times is published from the banks of the Potomac River. Another is because we are just 60 miles downriver from the source of all comedy, tragedy and fantasy in America, Washington, DC.



Sometimes as new readers discover the Coltons Point Times, CPT, they ask about the distribution and extent of our readership along with what makes the CPT unique. Periodically I will update the stories with the latest information.



As of January 21 we were able to determine that 125,000 people have read the newspaper in the last 12 months with readers in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and 100 foreign nations. We believe this is indicative of the worldwide interest in America as well as in the birthplace of religious freedom in the world and the oldest continuously settled chartered community in colonial America.



The top ten nations in readership of the CPT are United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Australia, Netherlands, Italy, India and Spain. In terms of states our top ten readers are in Maryland, Florida, California, Virginia, Texas, Washington, New Jersey, Georgia, Arkansas, New York and Colorado tied for tenth.



It is an honor to have people from every state and over 100 nations as readers. From New York to California, Washington to Florida, North to South America, Europe to Russia, Africa to Asia and down under in Australia and New Zealand we are delighted to share our view of America and the world.



We also believe it is a statement of approval regarding our policies of not allowing any type of advertising, no banners, videos, pop ups or any other form of advertising like you find on all other news sites. It is also an indication of approval of our policy of asking no personal information from our readers and no email information through registration or other technique used by most sites to capture and sell mailing lists.



In addition we allow anonymous comments rather than personal emails to further protect your right to privacy. We will continue to resist all attempts by web sites and search engines to get us to carry their ads. This has cost us readership because big sites will not distribute and promote us if they cannot make money on us through internet ads.



We also maintain on line a full archive of all our stories so you can see if our predictions were true, watch a story develop over time or get all the background on an important issue. There are no restrictions on printing, forwarding or sending copies of our articles and we only ask that you credit the CPT when quoting our material.



Numerous reporters and news sites monitor the CPT and you may notice stories by other media that sound somewhat familiar to what we reported. We are happy to be a source of the truth for them and if stealing our information without crediting the CPT is how they view journalism, at least we are encouraging them to report the truth.



You can help us remain the only news site that does not violate your privacy, require you to register or inundate you with ads. The one site that solicits comments anonymously. You can help by telling people about us and encouraging people to follow the CPT. You can even give them direct access through the following link: http://coltonspointtimes.blogspot.com/ and you can get automatic feeds of our stories, again without registration.



Finally we encourage you to submit comments and story ideas or tell us which stories appeal to you the most so we can keep addressing the needs and interests of our readers. Your comments and encouragement is our most direct tie to you, our readers.



Thank you for your interest and we look forward to better serving you as we continue.

Jim Putnam

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God and Patriotism are Dead in America - But not the Independents who will bring them back

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It seems as if a full scale war is on in Washington by the Obama gang to destroy God and destroy patriotism in America. One is almost ashamed to speak of God and government or to put the needs of our country above the special interests.



Certainly Obama's administration has done little but reinforce that special interest needs will be the priority from his staffing to executive orders to legislation and spending. Never has a new president done so much so fast for such a small segment of the nation's population. Selected special interests from Wall Street powerhouse Goldman Sachs to the Chicago politicians to radical unions have been hugely rewarded while the American public has been skewered on the grill.



Legislation is not passed that does not reward cronies and contributors and spending bills are setting a record pace for deficit spending and increasing the national debt while trying to pay back the privileged few. Even altruistic efforts like health care reform, which is desperately needed by the public, have a far deeper and more sinister purpose of lining the pockets of a chosen few at the expense of many.



When it comes to eliminating God from the national consciousness the record may even be stronger. After all those years of listening to Reverend Wright rail against the whites with a degree of hatred and racism seldom seen from the pulpit, Obama made one photo op of going to church when he was inaugurated and then his displays of religion and God stopped once he took the oath of office. In nine months he has still not found a church for his family to attend. No matter which way you turn God and all signs of God are disappearing from the one nation under God that existed. How can that be?

The Supreme Court is about to rule on whether a Cross can be banned from federal land. If that is the case will the Cross then be banned from Arlington Naitonal cemetery? And if the Cross violates the First Amendment then the ACLU muct also file to ban the Star of David from all public land including Arlington Cemetery.





As the liberals trash the conservatives while the conservatives trash the liberals and the Democrats trash the Republicans while the Republicans trash the Democrats it seems as if the media and politicians are oblivious that the Independents continue to grow in strength.



There is no difference in politics whether you are a liberal, conservative, Democrat or Republican, you are all bought and paid for by corporations, unions or other special interests. Money is the lifeblood of politics and politicians are the endless spigot of money for those special interests.

Both parties scream about Wall Street but not one thing has been done by either party to prevent another economic collapse. There is no transparency, no new rules, not even prosecutions of all the criminals who executed the fraud on the American public.



In fact, the very people in the banks and financial institutions have been bolder than ever in manipulating the markets and preparing new markets, to wit the cap and trade energy market, thanks to the new $100 million man Al Gore.

There is no credit available to the public in spite of a trillion dollars in aid to banks and corporations. Not even the trillion dollar stimulus helped ease the credit crunch. What in the world are all those trillions in spending doing? Oh yes, multi-million dollar bonuses and other perks.

Here's news for the politicians. The public really does support health care reform but Congress, the President and media are the last people to know what that means. People want better prices, more choices and a chance to use alternative care whenever possible. They do not want the insurance companies or unions or government to tell them what to do, what doctor they can see, or how much it will cost.

Give us competition but don't say the public option is the only way to achieve it. Instead of giving full coverage to the millions of uninsured why not set up government owned health care clinics to stop them from going to emergency centers. Both the insured and uninsured will benefit from this. Fix tort reform by limiting penalties to actual damages and limit legal fees for both sides.



Tell Obama Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel to stop making secret deals with the pharmaceutical companies to protect them from generic drugs, thus keeping the cost of drugs way above necessary. Also how about a little of the transparency Obama promised. Obama should have his chief of staff fully disclose whatever deal he made with big pharma and tell us why the big pharma companies are spending over $100 million on television ads to endorse the Obama health care bill which isn't even in bill form yet.



Stop the banks and credit card companies from gouging us with hidden fees and higher interest rates when they took government money and they still won't loan us money. If Obama really wants transparency stop all corporate, non-profit and union campaign contributions and spending for political purposes as it is the biggest money machine next to Wall Street and has compromised the ability of our elected officials to act in our interest.

Now these are just some of the issues middle America, Main Street America, the town hall terrorists or whatever the media and politicians choose to call us, the issues that concern us the most. They are not conservative or liberal issues. Neither the Democrats nor Republicans have addressed them and both parties are responsible for them.



Our nation's politicians and media have no clue the people are abandoning both parties and joining a growing populist body as the new American Independents. Our platform is fairness, common sense and corruption free government. We want God and patriotism to be restored to their proper place in the American system. This nation was founded under Christian values and rights granted by God and we are tired of the Congress, President and courts taking it away from us.

We are tired of your trashing of America and your tolerance of all the media who trash patriotism in America. Stop apologizing for our country. When we exercise our constitutional right to free speech you condemn us as goons, thugs, hired guns and even a threat to you. Well we are a threat to you, to your political future for you have taken enough, given enough away to your contributors and abused your powers in government long enough.



We are proud of the patriotism we feel and do not believe your world view and corporate relationships have anything to do with patriotism. You have failed us. The two political parties have failed us. Wall Street and the banks have failed us. The media has failed us. We have just each other to rely on and that bond of spirit between people is far more important than the bond of bucks that guide you.

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St. Clement's Island Prehistory - Part 1 American Colonial History.

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Why did two ships of colonists risk a dangerous crossing of the Atlantic Ocean in 1633 to flee England for America and why did they bring their hopes for religious freedom to St. Clement's Island Maryland? To understand the history of St. Clements one needs to understand there is another part of the story, the history of events in the 16th Century which a few years later would cause the colonists to leave England for America.

Let's call it the European pre-history of St. Clements and quite frankly you might be a bit surprised by what you learn. This pre-history includes a series of international events involving the most powerful monarchies, legendary family dynasties, and mighty empires in Europe beginning with the infamous King Henry VIII of England.

St. Clements Island was the sight of the first declaration of religious freedom to be guaranteed anywhere in the world, a freedom that in time would become embedded in our US Constitution. A little over 100 years earlier Henry VIII set in motion the series of events that would result in this charter.

Events in Europe during the 16th century led to the fall from favor of the Catholics and Puritans in England and the subsequent journey to settle the colony of Mary Land in 1634 where religious freedom would be guaranteed. Monarchies in England, Scotland, France, Spain and Italy and the Vatican in Rome were all to play a role in this decision to settle in the new world.

A web of intrigue led to a mosaic of treachery, murder, assassination, torture, arranged marriages and more in the alliances and enemies that came and went beginning with the reign of Henry VIII in England who was born in 1491, the year before Columbus discovered America, and was King from 1509 to 1547. Let me see if I can't make some sense of the historic actions that led to the landing at St. Clements.

Henry VIII - King of England (r. 1509 - 1547)





First let's talk about the reign of Henry VIII. He was famous for having six wives, two were executed. Early in his career he was given the title Defender of the Faith by the Pope for defending the Catholic Church against Martin Luther. Later he was to turn his nation against the very church he defended. When Henry's first wife was unable to give him a male heir he requested an annulment from the Pope.

He needed the annulment so he could marry Anne Boleyn. The Pope refused and Henry was enraged and threw the Catholic Church out of England, creating a Church of England with the King as Divine Leader. When his second wife Anne failed to give him a male heir she was beheaded. His first three wives each gave him one heir, but only the third wife gave him a male. All three children served as King or Queen of England in the span of just one decade, although the last, Elizabeth, continued serving for 45 glorious years.

Henry's battle with the Vatican became the Reformation Movement against the church and by his death England was a thoroughly Protestant and Reformed nation. During his rein more than 72,000 people were put to death.

Charles V - Holy Roman Emperor (r. 1515- -1556)





Charles was King of Spain and heir to four of Europe's leading dynasties, making him Holy Roman Emperor. His empire included Central, Western and Southern Europe and the Spanish colonies in America. Henry's 1st wife, Catherine of Aragon was Charles' Aunt. Charles grandmother was Queen Isabella I who sent Columbus to discover America.

It was Charles who sent the conquistadores to America and they wiped out the Aztec and Inca Empires, sending tons of gold back to Spain and helping Spain become the most powerful nation in the world. The Spanish Armada was considered invincible on the seven seas.

When his Aunt Catherine asked him to help stop Henry VIII from annulling her wedding Charles sent his army to Italy and took the Pope hostage and preventing him from approving Henry's annulment. This act triggered the Reformation against the Catholic Church and the loss of power by the Catholics in England.

Pope Clement VII (r. 1523 - 1534)





This pope was a member of the powerful Florentine "Medici" family, a dynasty that produced three popes. The Medici family was also responsible for the Italian Renaissance in art and architecture. Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael and Galileo were among the most famous family patrons.







Still the Pope was no match for the power of King Charles and when he was unable to grant Henry the annulment it enraged Henry VIII who undertook a campaign against the Catholic Church to drive them from power in England and to confiscate all churches, shrines and monasteries throughout England and the UK and give them to the new Church of England under the King.





Catherine of Aragon - Henry's 1st Wife

As noted, Catherine was aunt to King Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor. She refused to agree to an annulment with Henry which caused the English split from Catholic influence. Her daughter, Mary I became Queen of England.

Anne Boleyn - Henry's 2nd Wife

It was Boleyn who demanded of Henry an annulment from his 1st wife in order to marry him. Her daughter, Elizabeth I became Queen but her only son and heir to the throne was stillborn. Henry had her beheaded for treason against the King.





Mary Queen of Scots

The daughter of King James V of Scotland (nephew to Henry VIII of England) and Marie of Guise from France, her father died when she was six days old. Henry VIII immediately sought to arrange a marriage between the infant Mary and his son Edward, Henry's only male heir by his 3rd wife Jane Seymour and future King of England, but the Queen Mother Marie of Scotland stopped him, earning her the wrath of King Henry.

At nine months Mary was crowned Queen of Scotland but was kept in hiding by her mother. At age six her mother had arranged for a marriage in France to Dauphin Francois, heir to the French throne, and Mary went to live with her future father-in-law, Henri II in France. When she was 16 in 1558 she married Francois who became King Francis II of France when his father died the next year.

One year later, in 1560, her young husband the King died. Her mother-in-law, Catherine Medici of the Italian family became Regent and another son, the King's brother Charles IX, inherited the throne leaving Mary an 18 year old widow and former Queen of France. Mary returned to Scotland.

After her return Mary, who was a devote Catholic, defied Elizabeth and married Lord Darnley, her 1st cousin, who was then murdered. Her next marriage was to the alleged murderer of Lord Darnley. During this time Mary tried on many occasions to overthrow Queen Elizabeth and claim the throne. Elizabeth refused to have her cousin put to death but eventually her advisors did have Mary executed for treason.

Ironically, direct descendants of Mary were Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette of France who were also put to death for treason during the French Revolution.

Elizabeth I - Queen of the Golden Age (r. 1558 - 1603)





Three children of Henry VIII ruled England beginning with Edward VI (1547-1553), Mary I (1553-1558) and Elizabeth (1558-1603). Because none had heirs Elizabeth I was the last of the Tudor dynasty which became extinct upon her death in 1603. The crown of England then passed to Henry VIII's Paternal Great-grandson, James VI of Scotland, son of Mary Queen of Scots, and he became James I of England.

After her predecessor Mary I had restored power to the Catholics and began a campaign to burn the Protestants at the stake Elizabeth then restored power to the Church of England. Her difficulties with her cousin Mary in Scotland led to the Pope excommunicating Elizabeth from the Catholic church. When Mary was put to death the King of Spain, still the most powerful empire in the world, attacked England with the dreaded Spanish Armada of over 100 ships.

Elizabeth sent her small navy to meet the armada while she rallied the British troops on the shore and somehow Elizabeth won the battle ending forever the Spanish dominance of the world. William Shakespeare rose to fame during the Golden Age of Elizabeth's reign and she was one of the most beloved Queens of England.

Her closest advisor who helped save her before she became Queen and served throughout her reign was Sir William Cecil. William groomed his son Robert Cecil to take over for him when he died and Robert stepped in to serve the Queen, coordinate arrangements at her death, the end of the Tudor dynasty, and manage the transition to James I as the first Stuart king.

Robert Cecil - Advisor to Kings and Queens

Robert succeeded his father William in Queen Elizabeth's court and after her death he arranged for the transfer of the throne to King James I, son of Mary Queen of Scots, and thus united England and Scotland under the new Stuart King. It was Robert who encouraged his friend George Calvert to work for King James I. With Cecil's influence Calvert became involved in politics rising in the King's court to the position of Secretary of State, one of the top advisors to the King.

James I - King of England and Scotland (1603 - 1625)

James I was the son of Mary Queen of Scots and Paternal Grand Son of Henry VIII and was the first Stuart king after the end of the Tudor dynasty, the first King of England and Scotland. Because his mother spent so many years in prison while trying to overthrow Elizabeth before being put to death, James had not seen her since he was 14 months old.

Quite odd by English standards, James managed to alienate both the Protestants and Catholics by persecuting Catholics and writing about the Divine Right of Kings along with a book on witchcraft. James had been raised a Calvinist in Scotland.

It was James who made George Calvert his Secretary of State and gave him the title Lord Baltimore for helping settle unrest in Ireland. James also was unable to adjust to the English parliament and his feuds laid the seeds for the Protestant overthrow of the next monarch, his son Charles I. Finally, it was James who granted Calvert rights to the Avalon settlement in Newfoundland and rights to all of Newfoundland after a colony was established.

Charles I - King of England and Scotland (1625 - 1649)




Charles was the first monarch to get a special dispensation from the Pope so he could marry Henrietta Maria, daughter of King Henry IV of France and his Italian wife Marie de Medici of the Medici family dynasty. Henrietta was the first Catholic princess to marry a Protestant prince in Europe. It was a tenuous position for Charles to be head of the Church of England when his wife was Catholic, daughter of the French King and a member of the Italian Medici family.

His authoritarian Protestantism surprised both Protestants and Catholics alike as he rigidly enforced his right to raise his children outside the Catholic faith and was aggressively responding to challenges against the Church of England, thus causing both Puritans and Catholics to seek colonies in the new world.

English colonies already existed in Jamestown (1607), Plymouth (1620) and Avalon in Newfoundland (1621) before he became King while Mary Land (1634) would be settled during his reign but Charles had very little interest in the new world. However, he did demonstrate his loyalty to his father's advisors by continuing the grants to the Calvert family for Newfoundland, and when that was not successful he allowed Calvert to try again in Mary Land. In time his feud with Parliament would result in Oliver Cromwell leading a revolt that captured London taking Charles prisoner and he was beheaded in 1649.

Henrietta Marie, Queen of England



As noted, the complexity of Henrietta's position required a special dispensation from the Pope and seemed to calm friction between England and France. However, her devotion to being Catholic was unsettling to the English and a source of conflict with the Church of England. The Mary Land colony was named after her and she encouraged Charles to incorporate religious toleration in the new colony to assure those being persecuted in England would be free in America.

She even is reported to have given a piece of the True Cross of Jesus to the colonists to protect them on their trip, a relic still in Southern Maryland and brought to the Blessing of the Fleet. Her Medici family in Italy was responsible for saving and protecting many of the ancient relics, manuscripts and art work of the early period of Christianity.

When King Charles abolished Parliament it was Queen Henrietta that raised money and troops for the King from the Catholics of England and Europe, an action that alarmed the king's court over the growing influence of Catholics in the English monarchy. The Queen was safely moved to France during the revolt and beheading of Charles and she spent the rest of her life working out of a convent helping to protect the rights of Catholics and trying to influence her sons who became king.

Sir George Calvert - 1st Baron of Baltimore



This friend of Robert Cecil and loyalist to Queen Elizabeth and King James I worked his way up through the court to become Secretary of State under James. With his family long devoted to protecting religious freedom in England Sir George had a deep belief that the colonies offered the best opportunity to establish a haven for religious toleration where it was free of the Church of England and the religious battles raging throughout Europe. Shortly before King James died Calvert resigned from the court to settle the colonies and declared he was a Catholic, a surprise to all those who worked with him over the years.

Sir George had been an investor in the East India Tea Company approved by Elizabeth 1600 and in the Jamestown venture of 1607 so when James granted him a colony in Newfoundland named after the legendary Avalon of King Arthur days Sir George devoted his life and resources to making it successful. The ancient Avalon was the community where the new Christianity was first incorporated into the Druid and Celtic ways in the 4th century.

Calvert purchased two boats, the Ark and the Dove and in 1621 sent the first settlers to the new world. He hired a famous English pirate John Nutt to defend the new colony from the French raiders. Some time earlier he had saved Nutt from being put to death for piracy.

Calvert personally made two trips on his ships the Ark and the Dove to Newfoundland but by 1628 realized the climate was too harsh. He returned to England and consulted with Cecil and others before requesting from King Charles I a charter for the area north of the Potomac River extending to the 40th parallel, just above the future location of Philadelphia. During plans he consulted with Captain John Smith, the first Governor of Jamestown, who had explored the territory north of Jamestown after establishing the Virginia colony.

Calvert also recruited a Jesuit Priest, Father Andrew White, in 1628 to help organize the new settlement even though Father White had been banished from England for conducting Catholic services. Father White secretly helped Calvert draft many of the charter documents he wanted including the guarantee of religious freedom, the first colony in the world to offer such freedom.

After successful negotiations with the King aided by the support of the Queen Henrietta Marie, Sir George Calvert died just five weeks before the grant was approved. It would be up to his son Cecilius, named after Robert Cecil, to fulfill the dream of his father.

(Part 2. to follow)