because of their religion. Every year
Shi!ite Muslims remember the death of
martyr al-Husayn ibn !Ali. Husayn was
killed in battle in the 600s.
#More to explore
Religion
Mary, Queen of
Scots
Mary Stuart became the queen of Scotland
when she was a baby. She grew up
hoping to be queen of England, too.
Mary was born on December 8, 1542,
in Scotland. Her father was King James
V of Scotland. When he died only a few
days after her birth, she became queen.
Mary was raised as a Roman Catholic.
However, Scotland followed the Protestant
branch of Christianity. Many Scots
did not want a Catholic queen. Others
did not like the advisers she chose or her
husband, Henry Stewart, called Lord
Darnley.
In 1568 Mary fled her many enemies.
Hoping that Queen Elizabeth I would
help her, she rushed to England. But
Elizabeth did not trust Mary. She knew
that Mary had wanted to become queen
of England. To protect herself, Elizabeth
threw Mary into prison.
Mary remained in prison for the rest of
her life. She went on trial in 1586 and
was found guilty of plotting to have
Elizabeth killed. Mary was beheaded on
February 8, 1587.
#More to explore
Elizabeth I • Scotland
Mary, Queen of Scots
BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Mary, Queen of Scots 67
Maryland
In the 1630s King Charles I of
England gave Lord Baltimore, an
English nobleman, the right to set up a
colony in America. The new colony was
named Maryland in honor of the king’s
wife, Queen Henrietta Maria (Mary).
Maryland is nicknamed the Old Line
State. The nickname refers to Maryland’s
RevolutionaryWar troops, known
as the Maryland Line. The capital of
Maryland is Annapolis.
Geography
Maryland is bordered on the north by
Pennsylvania. Delaware and the Atlantic
Ocean are on Maryland’s eastern border.
West Virginia is on Maryland’s western
border. To the south, the Potomac River
separates Maryland fromWest Virginia
and Virginia. The District of Columbia
is on the Maryland side of the Potomac.
The district is surrounded by Maryland
on three sides.Within the district is
Washington, D.C., the country’s capital.
One of Maryland’s most notable features
is Chesapeake Bay. This large body
of salt water juts into the state from the
south. From east to west Maryland has
several different types of landscape. A
coastal plain along the water merges into
a rolling plateau. To the west of the plateau
is a section of the Blue Ridge
Mountains. The Appalachian Mountains
are located in the far west of the
state. The Cumberland Valley lies
between the two mountain ranges.
People
Today, whites of European heritage
make up about two thirds of Maryland’s
population. In the 1600s the first Europeans
to move to Maryland were mostly
from England. German-speaking farmers
from Pennsylvania moved to western
Maryland during the 1700s. In the
1800s many British, German, Irish,
Russian, Polish, Greek, Czech, and Italian
people arrived.
Maryland has a significant African
American population. African Ameri-
Modern and historic buildings line the Inner
Harbor in Baltimore, Maryland.
68 Maryland BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA
cans now make up more than one fourth
of Maryland’s residents. After the
American CivilWar, former slaves from
the South moved north to Baltimore. In
Baltimore they joined a well-established
community of blacks who had been free
for several generations. People of Asian
heritage and people of Hispanic heritage
each represent about 4 percent of the
population.
Economy
Food processing is a major manufacturing
industry, as is the making of chemical
products. Leading products from
Maryland’s farms are broiler chickens
and plant products raised in greenhouses.
Farmers also grow soybeans,
corn, and wheat. Dairy goods and cattle
are important as well. Chesapeake Bay
fishermen catch blue crab, a famous
Maryland shellfish. The U.S. government
is the largest employer in Maryland.
Many government employees live
in counties nearWashington, D.C.
History
Native Americans had villages in the
area by AD 1000. Most Indians in Maryland
were Susquehanna or Algonquian.
By the mid-1700s, the majority of
Native Americans had moved farther
west.
In the early 1630s, Lord Baltimore
began planning an American colony for
English Roman Catholics. At the time
Catholics faced discrimination in
England because of their religion. The
colony was started in 1634. In 1649
Maryland passed America’s first law
regarding religious toleration. The law
granted religious freedom to all Christians
in the colony.
Many people from Maryland fought in
the American Revolution. Following
England’s defeat, Maryland became the
seventh state in the Union on April 28,
1788. In 1791 Maryland provided land
to help form the District of Columbia.
Maryland remained part of the Union
during the American CivilWar. During
that period some Marylanders owned
slaves. A few Maryland men joined the
Southern cause and fought against the
Union.
During the 1800s the state had a strong
economy and its population grew. The
state continued to grow in the 1900s.
The population more than doubled in
the 50 years from 1950 to 2000.
..More to explore
Annapolis •Washington, D.C.
A long scenic bridge crosses Chesapeake
