Like other border states such as Delaware and Kentucky, Maryland was politically and socially tied to both the North and the South. Its urban areas were primarily Northern in character, but the eastern part of the state, around the Tidewater region had an agrarian economy which was supported by slaves. The plantations in the Tidewater area produced many agricultural products including corn, wheat, and tobacco.
The land area that eventually became Maryland was known to European explorers in the sixteenth century, but it didn't interest colonists until the English settled there in the seventeenth century. In 1632, Charles I of England granted George Calvert, the first Lord of Baltimore, land between the 40th parallel line and Virginia. Calvert, who was Catholic, wanted to create a safe haven for Catholics who were persecuted in England. As in Virginia, African slaves accompanied the English settlers to Maryland. Maryland remained a proprietary colony until the American Revolution.
Baltimore grew rapidly in the eighteenth century and became an important port. During the 1760s, Pennsylvanians and Marylanders clashed over the issue of their border. To settle this dispute, Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon surveyed the land to determine the border. Their survey resulted in the Mason-Dixon line, which later became known as the line dividing the slave and free states.
Marylanders were strong supporters of American independence. In 1774, an independent convention was held in Annapolis and representatives from each state attended. After the Revolutionary War, the Continental Congress assembled again in Annapolis to ratify the Treaty of Paris (the treaty granting independence to the U.S.) and to accept George Washington's resignation from the Continental Army.
