Maryland State
Maryland's name honors Queen Henrietta Maria (1609-1666), wife of Charles I of England
and daughter of Henry IV of France. Since the first European colonists set foot on its shores
in 1963, Maryland has played a significant role in American history. On April 28, 1788,
Maryland became the seventh state to ratify the federal Constitution of the United States. In
the 1990 federal census, the State's population was 4,781,468.
Annapolis
In 1694, the General Assembly designated Anne Arundel Town as the capital. After Queen
Mary's death in December 1694, Anne Arundel Town was renamed Annapolis for her sister,
Princess Anne. Annapolis is also known as the "sailboat capital of the world."This may be
because of the large number of sialing vessels that call Annapolis home port, or the fact that
the United States Naval Academy resides in Annapolis. The Naval Academy has educated
young officers since 1845. Today it has the world's largest dormitory housing over 4 000
midshipmen. On April 27, 1999 Estonian President Lennart Meri visited Naval Academy.
Currently two midshipmen from Estonia are studieng at the Academy.
Annapolis was known as the "Athens of America" during seventeenth century and in 1783 for
nine months it was the capital of the United States. The Maryland Statehouse was built in
1772 and it is the oldest in the U.S. still in legislative use. It was here that General George
Washington resigned as Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Armies, and the Treaty of
Paris was ratified, ending the war with Great Britain.
Salisbury
Salisbury was established in 1732 and named for the English city of Salisbury in Wiltshire.
Salisbury developed as a commercial-transportation centre for the peninsula and became the
second port of Maryland. Its agricultural-based economy is augmented by light industries and
tourism. The city is host to the annual National Indoor Tennis Tournament.
