Martenet Press

Maryland as a political subdivision traces its roots back to a time both turbulent and promising. Mired in quarrels over trade, religion and territory, Europeans braved the uncertain oceans seeking riches, land and the freedom to worship as they saw fit.

Beginning in 1808, John Bozman chronicled the swirling events and personalities combining to produce European settlements in North America. Completed in 1823 and published in 1837, Bozman's history remains the most comprehensive treatment of the founding and initial settlement of Maryland.

Volume 1 provides context for King Charles's grant of the province and covers the time from Columbus's discovery of the West Indies in 1492 to the issuance of Maryland's charter to Cecil Calvert in 1632. It examines the political and religious environment in Europe that sparked the Age of Discovery and explores the European attempts at colonization along the American east coast. Bozman provides commentary on the 1608 exploration of the Chesapeake Bay and the peoples that lived along it by Captain John Smith, one of the most colorful characters of the period.

Volume 2A opens with the text of the charter of Maryland granted in 1632 and then follows the settlers of the province from their initial landing at St. Mary's City until the year 1645. The text chronicles the conflicts with William Clayborne, who would prove to be a thorn in the side of Marylanders for decades to come, centering on the dispute over the ownership of the Isle of Kent, upon which Clayborne had previously established a trading post.

This volume also covers the tensions between the Calvert-led proprietary government and the "freemen" or burgesses who comprised the assembly of the province, the classic struggle between the rights of the governor versus the rights of the governed.

If that weren't enough, the English civil war threatens to spill over onto Maryland's shores, further unsettling the province.

Volume 2B begins with the province in turmoil over the effects of the English civil war. A usurper is elected governor and conditions remain unsettled while the rightful official attempts to regain control of the province. Meanwhile, Virginia appeals to Oliver Cromwell to overturn Calvert's charter for Maryland. Calvert, a Roman Catholic, would seem to be a natural enemy of Cromwell, who took pains to remove all Catholics from the English Government.

And the Puritans in Providence (Annapolis) continue to be more aligned to Cromwell's government than to Calvert's government in St. Mary's. Matters come to a head in 1655 at the Battle of the Severn where the Puritans rout Calvert's forces, killing over a quarter of the St. Mary's men and capturing the rest. The Puritans thus become masters of Maryland's government, awaiting Cromwell's official decision regarding the Calvert charter.

The Martenet Press editions are produced with the reader in mind. You can find other Bozman history editions on the web, but none like this one. The others are either photo-reproduced copies of the original printing, or they are the result of marginally cleaned-up optical character recognition software. Either results in poor reader experience. In contrast, the Martenet Press editions feature a completely new typeset version with larger type and reader-friendly features throughout. We've included illustrations of the prominent individuals and events in the story (when images exist!). Bozman's history has been cited many times by other historians, so we included original edition page markers so that you can find those references in our volumes. Check out the inside of the books in the sample above.

We are confident our editions are the best ones currently available, and we think you'll like them.

Our own Joel Leininger has written a new Foreword to introduce the text and to explain our approach in producing the editions. We've also included two new indices in each volume, one a general subject index and the other an index of the hundreds and hundreds of people mentioned in the work.

This page pertains to the hardcover set containing Volumes 1, 2A and 2B. We also offer a paperback edition of the set on this page, and individual volumes in hardcover and in paperback. See the following links:

Volume 1 hardcover See this page.
Volume 2A hardcover See this page.
Volume 2B hardcover See this page.
Volume 1 paperback See this page.
Volume 2A paperback See this page.
Volume 2B paperback See this page.

About the author

John Leeds Bozman (1755-1823) a native of Talbot County, Maryland was Deputy Attorney General for Maryland from 1787-1808 and was the first Marylander to write a history of the state.

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