The English proprietor of colonial Maryland, Charles Calvert, 3d Baron Baltimore (1637-1715), tried unsuccessfully to impose feudal authority on his colony in the late 17th century.

Charles Calvert was born on Aug. 27, 1637, the son of Cecilius Calvert, 2d Baron Baltimore, and Ann Arundell, daughter of a prominent Catholic aristocrat. Calvert's life is inseparable from the colony projected by his grandfather, George Calvert, and settled by his father. Maryland was unique among the American colonies for the tenacity the Calverts exhibited in upholding their proprietary claims. Inasmuch as these claims were largely based on an outmoded system of feudal privileges, deriving from a royal charter, bitter controversies arose between each proprietor and his subjects. These conflicts wracked Maryland from its inception, but they developed greatest intensity under Charles Calvert.

Calvert was appointed governor in 1661, succeeding as proprietor when his father died in 1675. He brought to the governorship an unyielding...