George Calvert was the first to dream of a colony in America where Catholics and Protestants could prosper together. George had studied at Trinity College at Oxford and been knighted by King James I for good service as an advisor. Sir George Calvert became Secretary of State for the King. Having just converted to Catholicism, he was forced to resign from his job so the King gave him another title - First Baron of Baltimore, a town on the Irish coast.

George had both money and lands so decided he wanted to help create English colonies in America. He bought land in Newfoundland in 1620 but found it difficult for the settlers. The King granted him further land just north of the colony of Virginia where weather was warmer and suitable for an English colony - this land would be called Maryland. After George's death, his eldest son Cecil brought the colony to life and Maryland became a prime tobacco exporting colony. Philip Calvert, as the youngest son, was raised by Cecil and later went to University in Lisbon where he met his first wife Anne Wolsey. As a Catholic he was forbidden from University in England.

Philip returned to Maryland in 1656 and helped run the colony until the Protestant fovernor Josias Fendall tried to take control of Maryland for himself. He failed and Philip became governor in his place helping to preserve peace and authority in the colony. Lord Baltimore replaced Philip with his own son Charles, but then named Philip chancellor who leveraged this role to negotiate deals with other countries, colonies and local Indian tribes. Philip is remembered for his contributions to the colony and died in 1682 as a wealthy and well-respected man.

Philip had an infant son and heir before his death, but the child only survived four months longer. The coffins of Philip, his infant son, and Anne were discovered in St. Mary's City. Philip was 5'6 tall, overweight, had red-hair and suffered from arthiritis. The town itself dissolved and was turned into farmland in the 1700s as the capital moved to Annapolis. 140 years after the first settlement, Maryland joined twelve other British colonies along the Atlantic coast in declaring their independence from British rule.