John Coode

John Coode (* around 1648 in Penryn , in the county of Cornwall , England ; † February or March 1709 ) was an English colonial governor of the Province of Maryland .

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John Coode was born into a wealthy family in Penryn around 1648. He studied at Oxford University at the age of 16 . In 1668, when he was about twenty, he became a clergyman in the Anglican Church . Four years later, in 1672, he settled in the English colony of Maryland. There he worked as a priest for some time. Since he intended to marry Susannah Slye, he gave up his ministry. His bride was the daughter of Thomas Gerrard, an influential man in the colony. This stood in opposition to the Calvert family, which was then owned by the Province of Maryland. There was religious conflict in Maryland then. The colony was once founded by the Calvert family (The Lords of Baltimore) as a purely Catholic settlement. Due to the immigration of Anglicans and Puritans , the proportions of the denominations increasingly changed in favor of the non-Catholic groups. As a result, there was more and more religious tension. With this in mind, John Coode entered the Maryland political scene after his wedding. As an Anglican he belonged to the anti-Catholic party. He became a member of the militia and the colonial parliament. He also served as a judge in Saint Mary's County . In 1681 he joined the former governor Josias Fendall and participated in his unsuccessful rebellion against the existing government. Exactly what role Coode played in this uprising is not known. He was apparently one of Fendall's supporters and was arrested and removed from office after the rebellion was put down. He was soon released, but as a result he was more than ever one of the staunch opponents of the Calverts and the Catholics.

With the Glorious Revolution of 1688 and the associated overthrow of the Catholic King James II, the followers of Coodes in Maryland got a tailwind from England. With this in mind, John Coode started a new rebellion in 1689. He assembled a force against the Governor William Joseph and spread the rumor that the Governor wanted to exterminate the Protestants with the help of the Indians. Eventually Joseph was forced to flee the colony. There was a real coup. Benedict Calvert, 4th Baron Baltimore , had his property rights in Maryland revoked and the practice of Catholic rites was temporarily prohibited there. The situation was not to turn in favor of the Calverts again until the beginning of the 18th century. After the successful uprising, John Coode appointed himself the new governor of Maryland. He wanted to hold this office until the government in London had appointed an official governor. It did so with the appointment of Nehemiah Blakiston on July 27, 1691. John Coode worked with Blakiston for a short time. Then he was also dissatisfied with his administration. As a result, he staged two more uprisings. In 1699 he was charged and convicted of blasphemy but was subsequently pardoned by Governor Nathaniel Blakiston, his brother-in-law, for his alleged services to the revolution of 1689. John Coode died in February or March 1709. No further details of his death are known.

Web links

• John Coode in the database of Find a Grave (English)