English and Catholic: The Lords Baltimore in the Seventeenth Century (review)

Abstract

American English and Catholic: The Lords Baltimore in the Seventeenth Century. By John D. Krugler. [The Johns Hopkins University Studies in Historical and Political Science, 122nd Series (2004).] (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press. 2004. Pp. xvi, 319. $46.00.) Over the past thirty years, John D. Krugler has emerged as the leading authority on the first and second Lords Baltimore, George and his son, Cecil, and theirpious enterpriseto establish a society founded on the principles of liberty of conscience and the separation of church and state. Until the publication of this book, those interested in learning more about this subject had to rely on a body of work that, for the most part, was focused only on particular aspects of the Calverts' legacy, largely as it related to the founding and early history of Maryland as a British colony. What was missing and has at last been provided through this work is a comprehensive study that attempts to answer many of the unresolved and much debated issues concerning the Calverts, including when and why George entered the Catholic Church and what his true motives were in establishing a society that promoted religious toleration. In English and Catholic: The Lords Baltimore in the Seventeenth Century, Krugler carefully reconstructs George Calvert's rise to wealth and prominence that culminated in his appointment as King James Fs secretary of state in 1619 and establishes that the relationships formed during this period were crucial to his later success when, after having resigned political office and publicly declared his profession of the Catholic faith, he pursued his plan to found a colony in the New World, the ill-fated Avalon in Newfoundland. His son, Cecil, would later rely on these same connections to secure a second charter in 1632 that led to the founding of Maryland. Krugler's detailing of these relationships helps to explain how, in the case of the Calverts, personal friendship and political loyalty at times resulted in those at the highest levels of government looking the other way when it came to religious beliefs. It is in Krugler's treatment of the charters written by George for Avalon and Maryland that he traces the evolution of what he terms the Calvert vision for church-state relations. Calvert, who was still in communion with the Anglican Church when he received the Avalon charter, had initially viewed the colonizing venture through the eyes of a capitalist who hoped to profit handsomely from his investment. …