A Character of the Province of Maryland: Described in four distinct parts

In Short

First published in 1666, this brief, exuberant work combines promotional tract, personal memoir, and ethnographic survey to paint a portrait of colonial Maryland. Written by an Englishman who spent four years in indented servitude, the book defends the proprietary government of Lord Baltimore, extols the natural abundance of the Chesapeake region, and insists that white servitude is a manageable path to economic independence. It also offers an observer's view of the Susquehannock Indians. Marked by earthy humor, Royalist politics, and sharp satire, it endures as a vivid, idiosyncratic record of early American colonial life.

The Story

The book opens with a spirited defense of Maryland’s geography and climate, framed around the premise that the province offers an earthly paradise for industrious English settlers. Describing a wilderness overflowing with fertile soil, magnificent timber, and endless wild game, the narrative positions the New World as a land of untamed bounty. The author quickly shifts his focus to the political environment, praising Lord Baltimore's proprietary government as a model of order and religious harmony. In Maryland, Protestants and Roman Catholics live side by side without persecution, presenting a peaceful contrast to the bloody religious wars and Puritan dominance that plagued England during the Civil War.

From political praise, the text transitions into a pragmatic defense of indented servitude. Servitude, the author argues, is neither a tragedy nor a form of slavery, but a necessary institution that instills discipline and prepares young people for self-sufficiency. Female servants are portrayed as particularly fortunate, quickly finding suitors and marrying into comfortable households. Male servants, provided they work hard and avoid rebellious notions, complete their terms with land, livestock, and a clear path toward wealth. The narrative details the agricultural cycle that drives this economy, focusing heavily on the cultivation, harvesting, and curing of tobacco—the primary currency of the province—alongside the lucrative trade in animal pelts.

The focus then turns outward toward the Susquehannock Indians, whom the author portrays with a mix of awe, dread, and fascination. He outlines their tall physical stature, war customs, marital traditions, and political governance, painting them as formidable warriors who dominate neighboring tribes. While acknowledging their martial nobility, he details their severe war rituals and starkly different cultural habits, viewing them through the untamed lens of a seventeenth-century Englishman.

The narrative concludes with a personal collection of letters written during and immediately after the author's four-year service. These letters track his arduous transatlantic voyage, his recovery from illness, his deep hatred of the English Commonwealth, and his joy at the restoration of King Charles II. The final correspondence captures a period of grave sickness where he prepares for death, followed by a sudden recovery. Together, these sections form a unified defense of Maryland as a land of opportunity for those loyal to the Crown.

How It Unfolds

The voyage and arrival The author endures a grueling, four-month sea passage marked by bad food, physical distress, and rough weather before landing in the Chesapeake region. Upon setting foot in Maryland, he takes up his indented service under Captain Thomas Stockett, discovering that his master is fair and his daily burden far lighter than expected.

Praising the land and government The narrative surveys the natural riches of Maryland, celebrating its dense timber, clear waters, and abundant wildlife. It presents the colony's government as a sanctuary of religious tolerance where Catholics and Anglicans live peacefully together under Lord Baltimore's rule, free from the religious fanaticism of the English Commonwealth.

Defending indented labor Servitude is framed as a healthy, practical school of sobriety that shapes wild youth into disciplined, independent landowners. The text argues that servants in Maryland enjoy far better prospects than poor laborers in England, with female servants finding quick marriage proposals and male servants earning land and freedom.

The mechanics of tobacco and trade The book outlines the primary engines of the colonial economy: fur trapping and tobacco planting. It documents the yearly life cycle of the tobacco crop, from sowing tiny seeds in early spring to transplanting, weeding, topping, cutting, and packing the leaves into hogsheads for export back to Europe.

Observing the Susquehannocks The author details the lives of the Susquehannock Indians, focusing on their massive physical size, war paint, and formidable military prowess. He describes their rapid council meetings, marriage customs based on exchanging venison for animal furs, and their fierce treatment of captured enemies.

Personal trials and recovery Through intimate letters sent home to England, the author recounts a near-fatal illness that struck him near the end of his four years of servitude. He reflects on his mortality, bids farewell to his loved ones, and then writes a final, joyful update after unexpectedly recovering his health.

The People

• George Alsop is the author and central voice, a staunch English Royalist who flees the political upheaval of the Commonwealth to work as an indented servant in Maryland. He wants to complete his term of service, secure his independence, and convince his countrymen that America is a land of rich opportunity. Enduring a rough voyage and severe illness, he emerges with his humor intact and his loyalty to the Crown fully renewed.
• Captain Thomas Stockett is a Kentish gentleman, Royalist exile, and Alsop's master in Anne Arundel County. Having mortgaged his estate in England to support King Charles II, Stockett moves to Maryland to rebuild his fortune as a prominent landowner and local official. He serves as a fair master whose moderate demands make Alsop's years of servitude comfortable.
• Lord Baltimore is the proprietor of Maryland, working from afar to maintain a stable, orderly colony. He seeks to protect his authority while fostering a rare environment of religious tolerance where both Catholics and Protestants can coexist peacefully.
• The Susquehannock Warriors represent the powerful Native nation surrounding the colony. Powerful and fiercely independent, they seek to maintain their regional dominance through military might and trade, appearing to the author as both heroic figures and terrifying neighbors.

In Its Own Voice

"Here the Roman Catholick, and the Protestant Episcopal (whom the world would perswade have proclaimed open Wars irrevocably against each other), contrarywise concur in an unanimous parallel of friendship, and inseparable love intayled into one another..."

"The Women that go over into this Province as Servants, have the best luck here as in any place of the world besides; for they are no sooner on shoar, but they are courted into a Copulative Matrimony..."

"We are only sent by God of an Errand into this World, and the time that’s allotted us for to stay, is only for an Answer."

What It's Really About

Beneath its exuberant promotional tone, the book is an defense of social order, hierarchy, and Royalist politics written in the aftermath of the English Civil War. It argues that structured labor and strong authority do not oppress individuals, but rather preserve personal freedom and social harmony. By contrasting the quiet tolerance of Maryland with the chaotic religious radicalism of Commonwealth England, the text presents colonial servitude as a healing institution that restores wild young men to sobriety, economic self-reliance, and respect for lawful government.

Why Read It Today

This book offers a direct, unvarnished window into the seventeenth-century American frontier, written not by a distant governor or wealthy land speculator, but by an indented servant working the soil. Readers who enjoy colonial history will appreciate its raw energy, colorful metaphors, and vivid descriptions of early Maryland's landscape and tobacco economy. It provides a rare contemporary perspective on the Susquehannock people before their late-seventeenth-century decline, capturing the tense, curious dynamic between European settlers and Native nations.

Modern readers should be prepared for period difficulties. The text contains archaic seventeenth-century spelling, dense syntax, violent depictions of frontier warfare, and offensive period attitudes toward Native customs and women. It also reflects an uncritical, idealized view of European indented labor that minimizes the harsh realities many servants faced. Yet for those willing to navigate its baroque prose and historic biases, it remains a lively, witty, and uniquely personal document of early colonial life.