yments taken together, made quite
a large amount which went on growing larger and larger as Maryland was
settled. The Baltimores were broad-minded men. They gave their colonists
a large share in the government of the colony and did what they could to
bring about religious toleration in Maryland.

[Sidenote: Roman Catholics in England.]

[Sidenote: Roman Catholics and Puritans in Maryland.]

[Sidenote: The Toleration Act, 1649.]

40. The Maryland Toleration Act, 1649.--The English Roman Catholics
were cruelly oppressed. No priest of that faith was allowed to live in
England. And Roman Catholics who were not priests had to pay heavy fines
simply because they were Roman Catholics. Lord Baltimore hoped that his
fellow Catholics might find a place of shelter in Maryland, and many of
the leading colonists were Roman Catholics. But most of the laborers
were Protestants. Soon came the Puritans from Virginia. They were kindly
received and given land. But it was evident that it would be difficult
for Roman Catholics, Episcopalians, and Puritans to live together
without some kind of law to go by. So a law was made that any Christian
might worship as he saw fit. This was the first toleration act in the
history of America. It was the first toleration act in the history of
modern times. But the Puritan, Roger Williams, had already established
religious freedom in Rhode Island (p. 33).

[Sidenote: Tobacco and grain.]

[Sidenote: Commerce.]

[Sidenote: Servants and slaves.]

41. Maryland Industries.--Tobacco was the most important crop in
early Maryland. But grain was raised in many parts of the colony. In
time also there grew up a large trading town. This was Baltimore. Its
shipowners and merchants became rich and numerous, while there were
almost no shipowners or merchants in Virginia. There were also fewer
slaves in Maryland than in Virginia. Nearly all the hard labor in the
former colony was done by white servants. In most other ways, however,
Virginia and Maryland were nearly alike.

CHAPTER 6

NEW ENGLAND

[Sidenote: The English Puritans.]

[Sidenote: Non-Conformists.]

[Sidenote: Separatists.]

42. The Puritans.--The New England colonies were founded by English
Puritans who left England because they could not do as they wished in
the home land. All Puritans were agreed in wishing for a freer
government than they had in England under the Stuart kings and in state
matters were really the Liberals of thei