Plundering Time

Plundering Time
	Part of English Civil War and Protestant Revolution of Maryland
	; William Claiborne, one of the infamous leaders (along with Captain Richard Ingle) during a lawless period in the Province of Maryland
Date	1644-1646
Location	Province of Maryland
Result	With the end of hostilities, the Maryland colonial assembly issued the Maryland Toleration Act of 1649 to allow religious freedom for Catholics to worship in the colony.
Belligerents
Maryland Catholics Maryland proprietary colonial militia	Maryland Puritans Puritan privateers (pirates) outlaws
Commanders and leaders
Governor Lord Baltimore Leonard Calvert	William Claiborne Richard Ingle

The Plundering Time (1644–1646), also known as "Claiborne and Ingle's Rebellion", was a period of civil unrest and lawlessness in the English colony of the Province of Maryland. William Claiborne and Richard Ingle both took opportunities to seize property and pillage in an around Kent Island and St. Mary's City, Maryland.

Causes of rebellion

The causes of the rebellion included William Claiborne's disputed claim with the Calverts over Kent Island, Maryland, the bitter relations between the Catholic minority elite and the Protestant majority, and the political partisanship of the English Civil War.^{[citation needed]}

The dark period marked a combination of the fall of the British King and religious intolerance, which led directly to the event.^{[needs copy edit]}

Kent Island dispute (1638-1644)

In winter 1638/39 (O.S./N.S.), the first provincial Maryland governor Leonard Calvert seized a trading post on Kent Island established by Captain William Claiborne.^[1]

In 1644, William Claiborne led an uprising of Protestants and retook Kent Island.^[1]

Richard Ingle's coup (1644-1646)

Although not officially allied, privateer Captain Richard Ingle seized the Kent Island opportunity to overthrow the government based at St. Mary's City.^[1] Catholic Governor Calvert escaped to the Virginia Colony.

The Protestant pirates began plundering the property of anyone who did not swear allegiance to the English Parliament, mainly Catholics. By the end of 1646, Calvert recovered control.^[2]

End of rebellion

In 1647, the Rebellion was finally put down by Maryland Governor Lord Baltimore, who successfully led Maryland colonial forces against the Parliamentary privateers and regained control of the colony effectively ending the rebellion initiated by Claiborne and Ingle.

Succumbing to illness, Lord Baltimore died the following summer in 1648.^{[citation needed]}

Aftermath

The Maryland colonial assembly issued the Maryland Toleration Act of 1649 to mollify the two factions. A Parliamentary victory in England renewed old tensions leading to the Battle of the Severn, now present-day Annapolis in 1655.

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Claiborne, J. Herbert. “William Claiborne of Kent Island.” The William and Mary College Quarterly Historical Magazine, vol. 1, no. 2, 1921, pp. 74–99. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/1923023. Accessed 3 Feb. 2025.
^ https://msa.maryland.gov/msa/speccol/sc2600/sc2685/html/gov06.html

Sources

Timothy B. Riordan, The Plundering Time: Maryland in the English Civil War, 1642-1650. Maryland Historical Society, 2005.
Paul F. Liston, The plundering Time: The Hardships of Southern Maryland Catholics in Colonial Times. Abbeyfeale Press, 1993.

[wm1921-1] Claiborne, J. Herbert. “William Claiborne of Kent Island.” The William and Mary College Quarterly Historical Magazine, vol. 1, no. 2, 1921, pp. 74–99. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/1923023. Accessed 3 Feb. 2025.

[2] ttps://msa.maryland.gov/msa/speccol/sc2600/sc2685/html/gov06.html

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