Lionel Copley

Lionel Copley (born 1648 in Wadsworth, Yorkshire , England , † September 12, 1693 in the Province of Maryland ) was an English colonial governor of the Province of Maryland.

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Lionel Copley was the son of Lionel Copley and Frisalina Ward. In 1665 he enrolled at Brasenose College , Oxford . In 1676 he married Ann Boteler, with whom he would have three children. He then began a military career as an officer in a royal regiment of footguards. After the Province of Maryland was overthrown as a result of the Glorious Revolution of 1688 and the administration there was deposed by Governor William Joseph , Lionel Copley was appointed the first royal governor of the colony in 1692. Previously, the governors of the Calvert family (Lords of Baltimore) had been appointed as owners of the colony. The Calvert family was also ousted in 1688. Immediately after the revolution, John Coode had made himself the new governor of the colony. He had held this office until July 1691, when Nehemiah Blakiston took over the governorship for a short time. With Lionel Copley, a royal governor has now been appointed for the first time for the Province of Maryland. He held this office in 1692 and 1693. In Maryland he found a difficult situation. The colony was religiously divided between Catholics and Protestants long before 1688. In the revolution of 1688/89 the Protestants were victorious, who in turn tried to enforce their religion. The old tensions thus remained. With the arrival of Copley, royal order was restored. But the revolutionaries of 1688 secured their influence in the chambers of the colonial parliament. There they formed an opposition to the governor because they feared for their newly won power. As a result, there were conflicts between the parliament, which was dominated by radical Protestants, and the governor, who tried to enforce royal power. At the same time there were still disputes over the salaries of certain officials in the colonial administration. This included Secretary of State Thomas Lawrence, who had fallen out with Copley. Copley allied with Parliament to settle this dispute. As a result, not only were the wages issue resolved, but many new laws were passed for Maryland. The old laws were partially revised and new ones were added. Among other things, the position of slavery was strengthened. In addition, the Church of England , as in the motherland, was declared the state religion of the colony. Other denominations were officially banned. In view of the high proportion of Catholics in the colony, the religious laws had to lead to further tensions. During this process, Lionel Copley suddenly fell ill and died. His acting successor was his greatest domestic rival, Thomas Lawrence .

Web links

• Copley in the American National Biography

• Lionel Copley in the database of Find a Grave (English)