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.

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 edition is 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 edition. Check out the inside of the book in the sample above.

We are confident our edition is the best one currently available, and we think you'll like it.

Our own Joel Leininger has written a new Foreword to introduce the text and to explain our approach in producing the edition. We've also included two new indices, 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 edition of Volume 1. We also offer a paperback edition on this page, and a complete set of all three volumes in hardcover on this page and in paperback on this page. Buying a complete set will save you money as compared to buying all three volumes individually, in both the cost of the books and in shipping.

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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