Plundering Time

The Plundering Time (1644–1646), also known as "Claiborne and Ingle's Rebellion", was a period of civil unrest and lawlessness in the American colonial Province of Maryland.

The causes of the rebellion included William Claiborne's disputed claim with the Calverts over Kent Island, Maryland, the bitter relations between the Catholic elite and the Protestant majority, and the partisanship of the English Civil War. The period marked a combination of the fall of the British King and religious intolerance, which led directly to the event. The rebellion was finally put down by the first provincial Governor, Leonard Calvert (1606–1647), who successfully led colonial forces against Parliamentary privateers such as Captain Richard Ingle and Claiborne.

Plundering time

In 1638, Leonard Calvert seized a trading post in Kent Island established by Claiborne. In 1644, Claiborne led an uprising of Protestants and retook Kent Island. Meanwhile, Ingle seized control of St. Mary's City, Maryland. They began plundering the property of anyone who did not swear allegiance to the English Parliament. Governor Calvert escaped to Virginia and in 1647 regained control of the colony effectively ending the rebellion of Claiborne and Ingle. Succumbing to illness he died the following summer. The colonial assembly issued the Maryland Toleration Act in 1649 to mollify the factions. Parliamentary victory in England renewed tensions leading to the Battle of the Severn in 1655.

References

• 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.