The history of Maryland is a very remarkable thing to know. Maryland’s first group of people lived around 21,000 years ago. One of these people to live in Maryland is the Paleo Indians. They were around about 10,000 years ago. A European captain named John Smith explored the Atlantic Ocean and stumbled across Maryland with his crew in 1608. It wasn’t until 1632 that England established a colony in Maryland. The founder of the colony was John Smith. He was one of the first Europeans to set foot in Maryland. He was also a British soldier. They were initially looking for a place that has a lot of mammoths, great bison, and caribou. Some acts passed in Maryland. The Act of Toleration was passed in 1649. The act would let settlers that were Christian would get religious tolerance. The act was signed by Lord Baltimore ll. He signed the act to protect the Catholics in Maryland.