Penn’s charter stated that his colony’s southern border was the “beginning of the fortieth degree.” Baltimore’s charter, on the other hand, defined the northern extent of Maryland as being “that part of the Bay of Delaware on the north, which lieth under the fortieth degree.” Surveying tools being inexact, the topographers had grossly underestimated the distance of New Castle, Delaware to the fortieth parallel, which is what led to 22 miles of contested territory running east to west alongside the final border.įor 50 years this ambiguity was of minimal importance. Inaccurate measurements and ambiguous language led to a dispute between the Quaker Penn family and the Catholic Calverts in Maryland. Disagreement over Maryland and Pennsylvania’s mutual border began with the proprietary charter granted by King Charles II to William Penn.
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