The Ark and the Dove, shown here in a 1934 postage stamp. |
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| Career | England |
|---|---|
| Name: | The Ark |
| Owner: | Cecilius Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore |
| Launched: | c1630 |
| General characteristics | |
| Propulsion: | Sail |
The Ark was a 17th century ship which carried passengers bound for the Maryland colony during the pioneering 1634 expedition. The settlers began a permanent settlement in a shared Indian village south of St. Clement's Island and named it St. Mary's. The Ark eventually returned to England leaving the Dove behind to provide transportation for goods to be traded up and down the Atlantic seacoast. The following year the Dove headed back to England but she never arrived and was presumed lost at sea.
A modern replica of the Dove was built on the Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake Bay in 1975, using 17th-century tools and methods, and can still be visited today.
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The first expedition from England to the planned colony of Maryland was undertaken by Cecilius Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore, and consisted of two ships that had formerly belonged to Baltimore's father, the Ark and the Dove.[1] The two ships originally sailed from Gravesend with 128 settlers on board ship but were brought back to England by the Royal Navy in order that the settlers might take an oath of allegiance to the King. The oath sworn, they sailed again in October of 1632 for the Isle of Wight to collect more settlers,[1] including two Jesuit priests and almost two hundred further settlers, before sailing for Maryland.[2] Cecilius Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore sent instructions for the governance of the colony.[3] The instructions also emphasized the importance of religious toleration among the colonists, who were nearly equal parts Catholic and Protestant.[3] With these last instructions, the expedition sailed for the Americas.
The ships were initially separated at sea, but were reunited six weeks later at Barbados. The ships arrived at Point Comfort at the mouths of the James, Nansemond, and Elizabeth Rivers, in Virginia, 24 February, 1634. On 27 March they landed at what is now St. Mary's, then the site of a Native American village, and they began the work of establishing a settlement there.[4] The settlement of St. Mary's was built on land purchased from the native Yaocomico.[5]
Among the passengers on board The Ark and Dove were Leonard Calvert (1606-1647) and Thomas Greene; the first two governors of the Province of Maryland.[6] Leonard Calvert was the second son of George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore, the first proprietor of the Province of Maryland. His elder brother Cecil, who inherited the colony and the title, appointed Leonard governor in his absence.[7]
In August 1635, the Dove sailed for England carrying timber and beaver pelts, but she never arrived home and was presumed lost in a storm.
The modern replica of the Dove was built on the Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake Bay in 1975, using 17th-century tools and methods.[8]