77. The king of England gives Lord Baltimore part of Virginia, and
names it Maryland; what Lord Baltimore paid for it.--King Charles
the First of England was a good friend to Lord Baltimore; and when
the settlement in Newfoundland was given up, he made him a present
of an immense three-cornered piece of land in America. This piece
was cut out of Virginia, north of the Potomac[1] River.
The king's wife, who was called Queen Mary, was a French Catholic.
In her honor, Charles named the country he had given Lord Baltimore,
Mary Land, or Maryland. He could not have chosen a better name,
because Maryland was to be a shelter for many English people who
believed in the same religion that the queen did.
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