Lords Proprietors and the heirs of Lord Baltimore

Niall Ferguson states in his excellent book 'Empire - How Britain Made
the Modern World' that ... 'In 1632 Charles I granted Maryland to the
heirs of Lord Baltimore, modelling the charter on the palatine charters
granted to the Bishops of Durham in the 14th century, and entitled the
'Lords Proprietors' *to create titles* and grant land on an essentially
feudal basis.'
Is this true, and do any of these titles still exist? (I am assuming

Joseph McMillan...

Yes. Article XIV of the 1632 charter provides: "Moreover, left in so
remote and far distant a Region, every Access to Honors and Dignities
may seem to be precluded, and utterly barred, to Men well born, who are
preparing to engage in the present Expedition, and desirous of
deserving well, both in Peace and War, of Us, and our Kingdom; for this
Cause, We, for Us, our Heirs and Successors, do give free and plenary
Power to the aforesaid now Baron of Baltimore, and to his Heirs and
Assigns, to confer Favors, Rewards and Honors, upon such Subjects,
inhabiting within the Province aforesaid, as shall be well deserving,
and to adorn them with whatsoever Titles and Dignities they shall
appoint; (so that they be not such as are now used in England)."

Joseph McMillan...

I seriously doubt it. I've never seen evidence that this power was
ever exercised. The Calverts did establish lords of manors with the
right to hold courts-baron, but of course this was neither a title nor
a dignity (it was addressed in a completely different article of the
charter) and the feudal system never really took hold, being overtaken
by the rise of slave-based agriculture and the tendency of tenants (who
were scarce) to move out and settle new lands (which were abundant)
leaving their quitrents unpaid. The courts baron seem to have been set
up in only a few cases, and then operated only briefly. I suspect that
once the lords of the manor figured out that they would inevitably be
the justices of the regular county courts they saw no reason to
preserve the more outmoded system. The last serious vestiges of
feudalism in Maryland disappeared in 1780 when the General Assembly
outlawed quitrents, although apparently there continue to be some minor
reverberations in a few scattered land titles. Otherwise the principal
reminders of that era are a society of the descendants of manor lords,
some place names, and the annual My Lady's Manor Steeplechase.

Joseph McMillan

Ferguson meant titles of nobility as opposed to land titles).

Richard Lichten