Lesson: Maryland Bound A Perilous Journey to the New World Objectives: Students will understand reasons why Europeans came to the Maryland colony Students will understand how life changed for Catholics in England after the king made himself the head of the Church of England Students will understand how difficult the journey to America was Students will create brief constructed response to their reading of a primary source document Grade Level: Grades 4 and 5 Voluntary State Curriculum Correlation: Grade 4: 5.A.1.a. Explain how and why the Maryland colony was established, including political and economic motives for coming to the new world. 6.B.1. Use informal writing strategies, such as graphic organizers to clarify, organize, remember and/or express new understandings. 6.D.1. Identify primary and secondary sources of information. 6.D.1.a. Gather and read appropriate print sources such as journals. 6.E.2. Organize information from print sources. Grade 5: 2.B.2.a. Identify the different religious, economic and ethnic groups that migrated to the colonies. 5.B.1.a. Identify the origin, destination and goals of the North American explorers. 5.B.2.a. Describe the religious, political and economic motives of individuals who migrated to North America and the difficulties they encountered. 6.B.1. Use informal writing strategies, such as graphic organizers to clarify, organize, remember and/or express new understandings. 6.D.1. Identify primary and secondary sources of information. 6.D.1.a. Gather and read appropriate print sources such as journals. 6.E.2. Organize information from print sources. Estimated Time: One 45-minute class session Advance Preparation: Copy the excerpt from Father Andrew White s journal (and the version paraphrased for younger readers) for each student
Historical Background: Different groups of people had different reasons for making the dangerous journey from England to Maryland. George Calvert, the first Lord Baltimore, was a secretary of state in the court of King James I. At that time in England, the King was the head of the official church, The Church of England, and everyone who held public office had to swear allegiance to the King s religion. When Calvert converted to Catholicism in 1625, he was forced to resign his office, but King James rewarded him for his years of faithful service with a large grant of land in Ireland and the title Baron of Baltimore. Calvert had lost a large source of income, however, and he began looking to the New World for opportunities. King Charles I granted Calvert the land north of Virginia: present-day Maryland, but the chartering process was not completed until shortly after George Calvert s death. The charter went into effect under his son Cecil, the second Lord Baltimore, and Maryland s first proprietor, or owner. Calvert established a colony in which there would be no official religion, and both Catholics and Protestants could worship freely, hold public office, and prosper economically. Most of the 17 gentlemen who invested in the first voyage to Maryland were younger sons of wealthy Catholic families seeking economic and political advancement. An order of Catholic priests, the Jesuits, also invested in the voyage, and hoped to convert the Native Americans to Catholicism. Most of the settlers were indentured servants. Most were not Catholic, but chose to make the journey for economic reasons. The American colonies offered a way out of poverty and debt for many people. These passengers signed an indenture in which they agreed to work for a gentleman for a set term of years in exchange for passage to Maryland. Once they had completed their term of service (usually four to seven years), they would be freemen and would receive clothing, tools, and land of their own. The gentlemen in return would receive at least 1,000 acres of land for every five men they brought into the colony. Procedure: 1. Provide each student with a copy of Father White s journal about the journey across the Atlantic. Discuss with the students the concept of a primary source, and give them an opportunity to read the original document. Depending on the reading level of your students, you may wish to have them read the version of Father White s journal paraphrased for younger readers. Read and discuss the journal entry with the students. 2. Have the students list at least three events that occurred during the voyage of the first settlers to Maryland. Depending on the students reading level, they may do this individually or as part of a group discussion. Events might include: Ark and Dove set sail from Cowes, England (November 22, 1633) Settlers prayed to God, His Holy Mother, and St. Ignatius. Ark and Dove sailed past sharp rocks called the Needles. The Ark did not want to leave the Dove too far behind for fear of pirates. Ark lost sight of the Dove, also called the pinnace. A bad storm tore the main sail of the Ark. Ships sailed past the Strait of Gibralter, the Madeiras, and the Canary Islands. Christmas was celebrated on the Ark, and twelve settlers died from drinking too much wine.
Ark arrived on the island of Barbados (January 3, 1634); there was no meat available to buy. Ark set sail from Barbados (January 24, 1634) and continued to several Caribbean islands. Ark reached Point Comfort, in the Chesapeake Bay (February 27, 1634) and were worried that the Virginians might be plotting against them. They were treated kindly by the Virginians, and stayed with them for 8 or 9 days. Ark sailed up the Potomac River Settlers celebrated mass on St. Clement s Island after setting up a cross made from a tree. The settlers landed at what is now St. Mary s City and bought the land from the Indians. 3. Let students choose an identity of one of the first settlers from the enclosed list. Ask them to imagine themselves as this settler, and have them compose a letter to their family or friends back in England telling them about the dangers and adventures of the voyage. Some of the settlers on the Ark: George Calvert, Esq. (Leonard and Cecil s brother) Gov. Leonard Calvert (First Governor of Maryland Province, Cecil s brother) Peter Draper (Leonard Calvert s attorney) Dr. Richard Edwards (Surgeon aboard the Ark) Thomas Greene, Esq. (Became Governor of Maryland in 1647) Jerome Hawley, Esq. (Commissioner of expedition) Rev. Andrew White (Jesuit priest) John Ashmore (indentured servant) Anem Bendin (indentured servant) Henry Bishop (indentured servant) Francisco (Portuguese indentured servant of mixed race) Josiah Jennings (indentured servant) Mary Jennings (indentured servant) Joan Porter (indentured servant) Matthias Sousa (Portuguese indentured servant of mixed race) Dameris Ward (indentured servant, wife of John Ward) John Ward (indentured servant) Closure/Assessment: Have some or all of the students share their letters and review the risks of the voyage of the Ark and the Dove: sharp rocks, pirates, rough seas, storms, losing sight of the Dove for much of the voyage, illness, death, and worry about how they would be received by the Virginia colonists.
Narrative of a Voyage to Maryland, 1633-34 by Father Andrew White, S.J. who came with the Ark and the Dove On the Twenty Second of the month of November, in the year 1633, being St. Cecilia's Day, we set sail from Cowes, in the Isle of Wight, with a gentle east wind blowing. And after committing the...ship to the protection of God especially, and of His most Holy Mother, and St. Ignatius, and all the guardians of Maryland, we sailed...past a number of rocks...which from their shape, are called the Needles...We left behind us the western promontory of England and the Scilly Isles...sailing easily on...[we passed] over the British channel. Yet we did not hasten,...fearing, if we left the pinnace [i.e., the Dove] too far behind us, that it would become the prey of Turks and Pirates, who generally infest that sea... The winds increasing, and the sea growing more boisterous, we could see the pinnace in the distance, showing two lights of her masthead. Then indeed we thought it was all over with her, and that she had been swallowed up in the deep whirlpools; for in a moment she had passed out of sight, and no news of her reached us for six months afterwards...[but after returning to England and made] a fresh start from thence,...[and] overtook us [months later at the Antilles]. [Several days later] so fierce a tempest broke forth,...that it seemed every minute as if we must be swallowed up by the waves...the clouds...were fearful to behold,...and excited the belief that all the malicious spirits of the storm, and all the evil genii of Maryland had come forth to battle against us...and such a furious hurricane followed...that the mainsail, the only one we were carrying, [was] torn in the middle from top to bottom...all control of the rudder being lost, the ship now drifted about like a dish in the water, at the mercy of the waves...[but eventually] the storm was abating...[and] we had delightful weather for three months. [We continued past the Strait of Gibraltar, and the Madeiras, with favorable winds [the Portuguese trade winds], which blew steadily towards the South and the south-west [to] the Fortunate Isles [the Canary Islands]. [En route to the Caribbean Sea Christmas was celebrated and] in order that that day might be better kept, wine was given out; and those who drank of it too freely, were seized the next day with a fever; and of these, not long afterwards, about twelve died... [We reached Barbados on the third of January, [but] They had no beef or mutton at any price,...on the twenty-fourth of January, we weighed anchor and [continued past St. Lucia, Guadalupe, Montserrat, and Nevis and spent ten days at St. Christopher's]. At length, sailing from this place, [we went north, rounded Cape Hatteras, and entered Chesapeake Bay between Cape Charles and Cape Henry and] reached Point Comfort, in Virginia, on the 27th of February, full of apprehension, lest the English in habitants, who were much displeased at our settling, should be plotting something against us.
Nevertheless the letters we carried from the King, and from the high treasurer of England, served to allay their anger. After being kindly treated for eight or nine days, we set sail on the third of March, and entering the Chesapeake Bay, we turned our course to the north to reach the Potomack River...Having now arrived at the wished-for country. Never have I beheld a larger or more beautiful river [than the Potomac]. The Thames seems a mere rivulet in comparison with it...the first island we came to [we called] St. Clement's Island...On the day of the Annunciation of the Most Holy Virgin Mary in the year 1634, we celebrated the mass for the first time, on the island...[then] we took upon our shoulders a great cross, which we had hewn out of a tree...[and] erected a trophy to Christ the Saviour...Since, however, the island contains only four hundred acres, we saw that it would not afford room enough for the new settlement, [we went] about nine leagues from St. Clement, [and] sailed into the mouth of a river, on the north side of the Potomac [now St. Mary's River] capable of containing three hundred ships of the largest size...we landed...and going in about a mile from the shore, we laid out the plan of a city, naming it after St. Mary. And in order to avoid every appearance of injustice, and afford opportunity for hostility, we bought from the [Indian] King thirty miles of land. Extracted from The Maryland Historical Society's Fund Publication No. 1, Baltimore, Maryland, 1874. Narrative of a Voyage to Maryland, 1633-34 (Paraphrased for younger readers) by Father Andrew White, S.J. who came with the Ark and the Dove On November 22, 1633, which is St. Cecilia s day, we sailed from Cowes, on the Isle of Wight, with a gentle east wind blowing. After praying for protection to God, to Mary, the Mother of Jesus, and to Saint Ignatius, we sailed past some sharp rocks, which are called the Needles. We left the west coast of England and sailed easily over the English Channel. We did not go too fast because we were afraid to leave the Dove too far behind, where pirates might come after it. The wind became stronger and the sea was rougher, and we could see the Dove far away. Then we thought it was all over for the Dove and that she had sunk because we could not see the Dove and we did not hear any news of her for 6 months. The Dove started over from England and caught up with us later in the Antilles islands. Days later there was a bad storm, and it seemed as if we would sink in the waves. We were afraid of the storm, and such a strong hurricane followed, that our main sail, the only one we had, was torn in half. Without a sail, the ship drifted around like a dish in the water. The storm finally stopped and we had good weather for 3 months. We sailed
past the Strait of Gibraltar and the Madeira Islands with the winds in our favor, blowing us toward the Canary Islands. On the way, we celebrated Christmas and wine was given out. The people who drank too much wine got a fever the next day and soon about 12 of them died. We got to Barbados on the third of January, but they had no meat for sale at any price. On January 24 we left and sailed to St. Lucia, Guadalupe, Montserrat, and Nevis. We spent 10 days at St. Christopher s. We sailed north, past Cape Hatteras, and entered the Chesapeake Bay. We got to Point Comfort in Virginia on February 27. We were afraid that the English settlers in Virginia were not happy that we were coming and were plotting against us. We had letters from the King and the Treasurer of England, so they were not angry with us. After the Virginians treated us kindly for 8 or 9 days, we sailed on March 3. We sailed north to the Potomac River. We had arrived at the place we had been wishing for. I have never seen a river that was as large or beautiful as the Potomac. The Thames River seems like a small stream compared to it. The first island we came to we called St. Clement s Island. On March 25, 1634, we had a church service for the first time on the island. Then we set up a large cross in honor of Jesus. We saw that the island had only 400 acres and was too small for our settlement. We sailed to a river on the north side of the Potomac that was big enough for 300 big ships. We landed, and about a mile from shore we planned a city and named it after St. Mary. In order to be fair, we bought 30 miles of land from the Indian king.