USA > Maryland > The history of Maryland : from its first settlement, in 1633, to the restoration, in 1660 ; with a copious introduction, and notes and illustrations > Part 30
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When king James had caused the charters of Virginia to be William dissolved by a judgment in the court of king's bench, as before Clay- mentioned, and had vested the supreme direction of the affairs claim. borne's of Virginia, in a provincial council, in England, he afterwards, also, as before observed, issued his commission, bearing date the 26th day of August, 1624, to Sir Francis Wyat, and others, vesting the government in Virginia, in a governor and council,
* June 20th, 1632.
t " Ancient Records," mentioned in Burk's Hist. of Virginia, as before cited.
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SEC. IX. who should reside in the colony. Among those so nominated 1628. of the council, was William Clayborne. From whence we may infer, that he was then, or shortly afterwards became, a resident in Virginia ; and was a man, who by some merit, had attracted the royal notice. When king Charles, on the death of his fa- ther, renewed the commission for the government of Virginia, to Sir George Yardley, and others, of the 4th of March, 1625, Clayborne was continued as one of the council. Moreover, in the same commission, towards the conclusion thereof, he was appointed secretary of state in Virginia, in the following remark- able expressions : " and forasmuch as the affairs of state of the said colony and plantation, may necessarily require some person of quality and trust, to be employed as secretary, for the writing and answering of such letters, as shall be from time to time di- rected to, or sent from the said governor and council of the co- lony aforesaid, our will and pleasure is, and we do by these pre- sents, nominate and assign you the said William Clayborne, to be our secretary of state, of and for the said colony and planta- tion of Virginia, residing in those parts ; giving, and by these presents granting unto you, the said William Clayborne, full power and authority to do, execute, and perform all and every thing and things whatsoever, to the said office of secretary of state, of and for the said colony and plantation of Virginia, in- cident and appertaining." By the subsequent commission to John Harvey, esquire, and others, of the 26th of March, 1627, for the government of Virginia, Clayborne was again continued one of the council, and re-appointed secretary of state, in the same words just cited from the former commission ;* from whence we are enabled to collect some ideas of the character and standing of this gentleman, who afterwards proved so trou- blesome to lord Baltimore and the early settlers of Maryland. As it seems to have been a practice with many of the first colo- nists of Virginia, especially those of note and influence, to en- deavour to derive some emolument to themselves, by carrying on a traffic or bartering with the Indian natives, particularly those inhabiting the shores of the Chesapeake, for their peltry, and such other commodities as would afford a profit, when sold in the province, or exported to Europe, we find that Mr. Clayborne was one of those, who availing himself of his station and influ-
* For these several commissions relative to Clayborne, see Hazard's Collec- tions, vol. 1, pp. 189, 230, 234.
-
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ence, early sought to better his fortunes in this way. It appears SEC. IX. also, that during the years 1627-28-29, the governors of Vir- 1628. ginia gave authority to William Clayborne, "the secretary of state of this kingdom," as that most ancient dominion was then call- ed, to discover the source of the bay of Chesapeake, or any part 1 of that government, from the 34th to the 41st degree of north latitude. This was, as a learned annalist alleges, in pursuance of particular instructions from Charles the first to the governors of Virginia to procure exact information of the rivers and the country .* Under this authority or commission for making dis- coveries in the Chesapeake, it would appear, that Mr. Clayborne first availed himself of the opportunity of establishing a system of traffic with the natives on the shores of the upper parts of that bay, and most probably first fixed some trading-houses, for that purpose, on the isle of Kent. But it seems, that this spe- cies of traffic could not lawfully be carried on without a spe-
* Chalmers's Annals, ch. ix. note 12, who cites Virg. papers, 75 B. p. 133-4; to which he adds the following remark. "Thus were the boundaries of Virginia extended "in those years to the 41st degree of latitude, where New England be- gan ; and we may thence infer, that, though the subjects of other nations traded with the aborigines in the bay of Delaware, yet no settlements had been then formed on either margin of it by the Dutch or Swedes." However erroneous this inference of the annalist may appear, yet the prior part of his remark will be found to be very important, when we come to animadvert on the subsequent disputes between the proprietors of the two provinces-Maryland and Penn- sylvania, It demonstrates, that the sense of the government of Virginia was, at the time of these instructions for discoveries in the Chesapeake, that the lim- its of their province extended as far northward as to the forty-first degree of lati- tude, which must have been inclusive of the fortieth degree. The third and last charter of Virginia, of March 12th, 1611-12, expressly enlarged their boundaries to that degree of latitude ; and the charter of New England, (before cited, of November 3d, 1620,) commences the south bounds of New England "from the fortieth degree." Hence lord Baltimore in his charter extended his lines north- ward to the northward extremity of Virginia, "unto that part of the bay of De- laware in the north, which lieth under the fortieth degree of north latitude from the equinoctial, where New England is terminated."
These remarks receive further corroboration also from a commission of a similar nature, stated by Burk, in his Hist. of Virginia, (vol. 2, p. 32,) granted by the governor of Virginia (Harvey,) in the year 1629, "to captain Nathaniel Bass to trade between the 34th and 41st degrees of north latitude, or to sail to New En- gland, Nova Scotia, or the West Indies. The instructions of Bass," (as Burk proceeds in stating the commission,) "contain some particulars deserving notice. He is desired to invite the inhabitants, particularly those of New England, to emigrate to Virginia : and to offer Delaware bay to such as were inclined from the coldness of their climate and the barrenness of their soil, to settle in Virginia : He was directed to sell them corn at twenty-five shillings per barrel, or fifteen, if they exported it; and to open a trade for goats, cattle, and hogs on reasonable terms."
VOL. I .- 34
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SEC. IX. cial license either from the king himself or the governor of the 1628 .. province; for reasons founded, without doubt, in the personal danger of the colonists in general, by too indiscriminate an in- tercourse with the natives, especially in furnishing them with fire-arms and teaching the use of them. It would seem also, that Sir Ferdinando Gorges, chief of the numerous patentees under the before mentioned New England charter of 1620, had in the succeeding year, 1621, consented to a sub-grant of a part of their territories to Sir William Alexander, under the de- nomination of Nova Scotia; supposing that the patronage of Sir William, being then king James's secretary of state for Scot- land, and a person of considerable influence at that time, would
much promote the success of the company .* William Clay- borne also by some means had insinuated himself into the good graces of the Scotch secretary, under a pretence of promoting an interchange of trade between the colonies of New England, Nova Scotia, and Virginia, as through him to obtain a license, under the hand of king Charles, (and, as it seems, under his signet for Scotland,) bearing date, May 16th, 1631, "to trade in all seas, &c. in or near about those parts of America." For the more effectual execution of this license, command also was therein given to the governor of Virginia-Sir John Harvey, to permit the said Clayborne and his company, "freely to repair and trade to and again in all the aforesaid parts, as they should think fit and their occasions should require."} In about ten
* Chalmers observes, (in his Annals, ch. iv.) that "the ingenious writings of this gentleman," (Sir William Alexander,) "promoted the interests of coloniza- tion, by enflaming the spirit of emigration."
t Chalmers, in his Annals, (ch. ix. note 13,) has given us a copy of the license, above alluded to, (from Virg. pap. 75 B. p. 131,) with this prefatory remark :- "The following royal license is subjoined ; because it is the most ancient state paper of Maryland ; it laid a train of numerous woes to that province ; by giving an interested man a pretence to claim a large part of it.
"Charles Rex.
"Whereas our trusty and well beloved William Clayborne, one of the council and secretary of state for our colony of Virginia, and some other adventurers, which with him have condescended, with our trusty and well beloved councel- lor, Sir William Alexander, knight, our principal secretary of state for our king- dom of Scotland, and others of our loving subjects, who have charge over our colonies of New England and Nova Scotia, to keep a course for interchange of trade among them as they shall have occasion, as also to make discoveries for in- crease of trade in those parts ; and because we do very much approve of all such worthy intentions, and are desirous to give good encouragement to their proceed- ings therein, being for the relief and comfort of those our subjects, and enlarge- ment of our dominions : These are to license and authorise you, the said William Clayborne, his associates, and company, freely, without interruption, from time
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months afterwards Clayborne applied to Sir John Harvey, the SEC, IX. governor of Virginia, for a commission "to sail and traffic unto 1628. the adjoining plantations of the Dutch seated upon this territory of America." A commission was accordingly granted to him by the governor, bearing date the 8th of March, 1631, (the 18th of March, 1632, N. S.) "authorising him to go unto the said plantations of the Dutch, or unto any English plantation, or to such other habours, rivers, and places, as he shall find occasons ; praying all governors, captains, and commanders, to afford to him all lawful favour and respect." *- Now it is very obvious,
to time, to trade for corn, furs, or any other commodity whatsoever, with their « ships, boats, men and merchandize, in all seas, coasts, harbours, lands, or territo- ries, in or near about those parts of America, for which there is not already a patent granted to others for sole trade ; and, to that effect, we command you and every one of you, and particularly our trusty and well beloved Sir John Harvey, knight, governor, and the rest of our council of our colony of Virginia, to per- mit him and them, with their ships, mariners, merchandize, servants, and such as shall willingly accompany or be employed by them from time to time, freely to repair and trade to and again in all the aforesaid parts as they shall think fit and their occasions shall require, without any hindrance whatsoever, as you and every of you will answer the contrary at your perils; Giving, and by these pre- sents granting, unto the said William Clayborne, full power to direct and go- vern, correct and punish, such of our subjects as shall be under his command in his voyages and discoveries ; and for his so doing these presents shall be a suffi- cient warrant. Given at our manor of East Greenwich, the 16th of May, in the seventh year of our reign, 1631.
"To our trusty and well beloved our governor and council of Virgina, and to all our lieutenants of provinces and countries in America, governors and oth- ers having charge of colonies of any of our subjects, captains and masters of ships, and, generally, to all our subjects whatsoever, whom these presents do or may concern."
On this license Chalmers has subjoined a further remark .- "This paper was evidently drawn by Sir Willliam Alexander, and afterwards passed under the privy signet of Scotland : what right within an English colony could that con- vey ?"
* This commission from Sir John Harvey is also published in Chalmers's An- nals, (ch. ix. note 14,) as "the second state paper of Maryland ;" for which he cites Virg. pap. 75, B. p. 130 ;- and is as follows :-
"To all to whom these presents shall come. I, Sir John Harvey, knight, go- vernor and captain-general of Virginia, send greeting, in our Lord God ever- lasting. Whereas my trusty and well beloved friend, William Clayborne, es- quire, and one of the council of state for this colony, hath desired, for increase of trade, to obtain this my commission to sail and traffic unto the adjoining plan- tations of the Dutch seated upon this territory of America; which may tend to an intermutual benefit, wherein we may be useful to one another: Now know ye, that I, the said Sir John Harvey, out of the good opinion I conceive of the discretion and understanding of the said capt. William Clayborne, do, by these presents, with the consent of the council of state, authorise him, with the first convenience of wind and weather, to set sail from hence, in such barques and pinnaces, and with such companies of men, as shall willingly accompany him to
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SEC. IX. from a perusal of these two several commissions and a fair con- 1628. struction of them, that neither of them mention or apparently refer in the slightest degree to any plantations or settlements, or indeed to any traffic in the Chesapeake. It is evident, that first --- the king's license, was intended only to promote a trade between the colonies of Virginia, New England, and Nova Sco- tia ; in the last of which Sir William Alexander, without doubt, felt himself somewhat interested, although he had, the year be- fore, sold the greatest part of that territory to Sir Clande St. Es- tienne ; upon the express condition, however, that he (Sir Clande,) and those claiming under him, should continue to be faithful subjects of the king of Scotland .* The other commis- sion, from the governor of Virginia, does not appear to have been granted in pursuance of or in obedience to the command expressed in that of the king, no reference thereto being men- tioned in it; but as stated in the preamble, and apparently un- derstood by the governor and council of Virginia, it appears to have been granted solely in contemplation of a trade with the Dutch ; which meant, most probably, the Dutch colony at Man- hattan ;} for, although the Dutch might by this time have com- menced some settlements on the Delaware, yet they must have been only temporary settlements for traffic with the natives, and not an object justifying the expense of a sea-voyage, as the go- vernor's commission purported. The recommendation of Clay- borne also, in the commission, to "all governors," &c. shews, that it could not have been meant as a license to trade in the Chesapeake .- But, supposing these licenses or commissions for trade extended every where throughout America, "for which there was not not already a patant granted to others for sole trade," it is impossible, by any subtlety of interpretation, to con-
go unto the said plantations of the Dutch, or unto any English plantation, or to such other harbours, rivers, and places, as he shall find occasions ; praying all go- vernors, captains, and commanders, to afford to him and them all lawful favour and respect, they behaving themselves faily and honestly in all things : Giving, and by these presents granting, unto him, the said captain William Clayborne, full power and authority to direct and govern such persons as shall accompany him in his said voyage. Given at James-city, the 8th of March, A. D. after the com- putation of the church of England, 1631; and in the five and twentieth year of this southern colony of Virginia.
JOHN HARVEY."
* See this grant in Hazard's Collections, vol. 1, p. 307.
t Of this opinion is Chalmers, who subjoins to the last cited commission to Clayborne, a "remark ;" wherein he clearly shews, that the "adjoining planta- tions of the Dutch," must have meant "the Dutch plantations at Manhattans."
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strue either of them as a grant of territory in any part of the SEC. IX. soil of America ; and so the lords commissioners of plantations 1628. thought, in the year 1639, when the matter came before them, as will be hereafter seen at large in their proceedings upon it .- Upon the whole view of the subject then, it appears, that if Clay- borne had, prior to these licenses of 1631 and 1632, formed any settlements either on the isle of Kent or at the mouth of the Sus- quehanah, they must have been unauthorized settlements made under the exploring instructions before mentioned for discoveries in the Chesapeake, or special licenses by the governor of Virgi- nia for trafficking with the natives. It could not possibly have entered into the head of lord Baltimore, at the time of his visit to Virginia, even if he had been then apprised of such unau- thorised settlements within the territories for which he aftewards prayed a grant, that these settlements could ever have been rais- ed up as objections of any validity against his charter.
It has been deemed necessary, to state the preceding circum- stances, relative to the objections against lord Baltimore's grant, in order to show what was the real situation of the country thereby granted to him, at the time of his visit to Virginia, in the year 1628. From all which, it would seem, that his lordship might have returned to England, with the intention of soliciting a grant of all that country, which he subsequently denominated Maryland, and with a thorough conviction in his own mind, that it was then, in the year 1628, uninhabited by any but savages, and with the most perfect honesty and integrity of conduct, sug- gested to the king, that the country for which he desired a pa- tent, was, as that instrument expresses it, " hactenus inculta," hitherto unsettled.
It is probable, that lord Baltimore did not take his departure 1629. from Virginia, until the following year. As few of the minute Lord Bal- incidents of this nobleman's life have reached us, we are not in- turns to timore re- formed whether he returned from thence to his province in New- England, foundland, or to England; it is most probable, to the former. quishes his and relin- He is said to have made two visits to his colony at Ferryland; views of a and that, in his second visit to that place, Great Britain being in New- settlement foundland. then at war with France, he was so fortunate as to perform some considerable services in recovering above twenty sail of English ships, which had been taken by a French squadron, and in cap- turing several of the enemy's fishing ships on the coast. As this war had been commenced by England against France, rather
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SEC. IX. suddenly, about April, 1627, without any previous proclamation, 1629. and indeed without any just cause, through the instigation of the unprincipled Buckingham, then the sole director of all affairs in England, and who was regardless of every thing but his own interest and pleasures, there is no wonder that the vast number of English ships, which then frequented the coast of Newfound- land,* should have been left unprotected, and a prey to the first French force that might be sent against them. How lord Balti- more accomplished the recovery of these English ships, or the capture of the French fishing vessels, which were most probably unarmed, we are not informed. A sort of petit guerre, however, seems to have been carried on at this time between the English and French, in this part of America. The valuable right of fish- ery on the banks, to which the French had never relinquished their pretensions, was, without doubt, some cause of contest. In this year also, (1629,) a successful attack was made by a certain David Kertk, a French refugee and Hugonot, with his two sons, under the English banners, and with a considerable English force, upon the feeble settlement which the enterprising Champlain, was then endeavouring to support at Quebec. But, peace being made between the two countries, in the early part of this year, though probably not known in America until these events had past, Quebec and Canada were afterwards restored, and the French left to pursue their schemes of settlements and trade on the St. Lawrence, and the western shores of Newfound- land. These circumstances, together with the discouraging ap- pearances of the climate and soil of the country, soon convinced his lordship, that it would never answer his purposes in coloni- zation. Having found the country on the shores of the Chesa- peake so much better suited to his plans, we may suppose, that 1630. in the succeeding year he returned to England, with the inten- tion of exerting his influence at the English court, to obtain a grant thereof.
1632. Obtains the pro- mise of a
It seems to have been considered by the king and his minis- ters, about this time, that on the dissolution of the charters of Virginia, as before mentioned, a right vested in the crown of
* It appears from Smith's Hist. of Virginia, as cited by Mr. Holmes, (in his Annals, vol. 1, p. 237,) under the year 1626, that the coast of Newfoundland, for most of the late years, was frequented by two hundred and fifty sail of Eng- lish vessels, estimated at fifteen thousand tons, employing five thousand persons, and making an annual profit of about one hundred and thirty-five thousand pounds sterling.
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subdividing or re-granting such parts of the territories of Vir- SEC. IX. ginia formerly included within the lines of these charters, as 1632. had not before been parcelled out into small tracts to particular grant of individuals. The king being under this impression, and lord
the pro- vince of Baltimore standing high in his personal esteem, the latter found Maryland. little difficulty in procuring from his majesty, the promise of a given, on which is- grant of such a tract of country as his lordship then described his death, : to him. But before a charter or patent for that purpose could Cecilius. to his son be finally adjusted, and pass the seals, his lordship died, on the 15th of April 1632. He left several sons; but Cecilius Calvert being his eldest, and by the laws of England, heir not only to his father's title, but perhaps to the bulk of his estate, the char- ter of grant, intended for his father, was, it seems, without hesi- tation, on the 20th of June following, executed to Cecilius, now become also, baron of Baltimore, in the kingdom of Ireland. It was intended, it is said, that the country granted by this charter, should have been called Crescentia ; but when it was presented to the king for his signature, in conformity to his majesty's wishes, the name of the province was changed to that of Mary- land, in honour of his queen, Henrietta Maria, a daughter of the great king Henry IV, of France,
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
NOTE (A) p. 10.
THE reader ought to be apprized, that no circumstance attending modern his- tory has occasioned more anachronisms than the variation of the commencement of the year in the computation of the christian era. To this may be referred the difference of opinion among different historians, not only as to the date of this commission to John Cabot, but as to the real date also of the voyage performed in consequence of it, either by him or his son Sebastian.
Although the period of time denominated a year is founded in nature, being the measure of time while the earth is performing its annual revolution round the sun, and therefore can never vary, yet the commencement of that year, like a point in the periphery of a circle, may be arbitrarily fixed upon without affect- ing its length or circumvolution. Hence different nations have fixed upon dif- ferent periods of time for the commencement of their year, which has been com- monly regulated by some remarkable event, from which as an epocha they com- pute their era. Agreeably to this, the christian era is commonly supposed to be computed from the first existence of Christ upon earth, that is, when God first assumed a mortal nature, whether that be at the time of his incarnation or nativ- ity. But this mode of computation did not take place among the christians until more than five hundred years had elapsed from that remarkable epocha. Prior to this time the generality of christians computed, either from the building of Rome, or according to such other computation as was in use with the people among whom they lived; if with the Jews from the creation of the world, or with the Greeks according to the Olympiads. But as the number of christians had in the sixth century very much increased, both in Greece and Italy, and from that circumstance began to assume somewhat more important consideration than formerly, and the eastern and western or Greek and Latin churches experiencing some inconvenience from their different mode of computing time, it was propo- sed, by an abbot of Rome, called Dyonisius Exiguus, to adopt a new form of the year, with a new general era, which, consonant to their religion, should com- mence with the first existence of Christ upon earth, in a mortal nature. This proposition was adopted by the christians, and the incarnation or time when Christ entered the virgin's womb was fixed as the great event or epocha from which they were to calculate their era; but they retained the Roman division of the year into months, as also the names of those months. It is to be observ- ed, that the Romans had ever since the time of Numa Pompilius commenced their year on the calends of January, that is, on the first day of that month ; but the christians now, from a pious zeal in their own religion, having fixed upon the incarnation which according to the Roman computation of the months, they ascertained to be the 25th of March, as the day of the commencement of their era, fixed that day also as the day upon which their year was in future to com-
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