English and Catholic - The Lords Baltimore in the Seventeenth Century

In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, to be English and Catholic was to face persecution, financial penalties, and sometimes death. Yet some English Catholics prospered, reconciling their faith and loyalty to their country. Among the most prominent was George Calvert, an ambitious adventurer whose colonial enterprises eventually led to Maryland.In founding Maryland, Calvert and his son Cecil envisioned a prosperous society based on peaceful coexistence between Catholics and Protestants. English and Catholic traces the development of their "Maryland Designe," the earliest attempt at religious freedom in America."A well-written contribution to the history of the Calverts and the founding of Maryland." -- Choice"A highly readable and engrossing story, and Krugler has vividly reconstructed and narrated it... An impressive achievement that sheds much light on the history of both colonial America and seventeenth-century England." -- American Historical Review"The whole narrative is adroitly woven around a central theme of opposing polarities of religion and politics, state and church, conformity and dissent." -- Journal of American History"This book has many virtues, not least as an account of the establishment of the only Catholic colony in colonial America, and the attempt to create a religiously pluralist society in an intolerant world." -- English Historical Review"This meticulously researched and well-crafted work will stand as the definitive study on the Lords Baltimore." -- Catholic Historical Review"A fine addition to the field... will be useful not only to students of early Maryland but those interested in court politics, English Catholicism, and the development of religious toleration." -- William and Mary QuarterlyJohn D. Krugler is a professor of history at Marquette University.