Background
George Alsop was born in 1638 in London, England.
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George Alsop
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Alsop took an apprenticeship of two years to some unknown trade in London, and later left England in 1658.
Career
In 1658 Alsop became an indented servant for four years to Thomas Stockett, one of four brothers who came out in this same year to Baltimore County, Maryland. Alsop was kindly treated by his master, and being of an enthusiastic temperament, conceived an unbounded admiration for the new colony. At the close of his period of servitude he was seriously ill, and soon after returned to England, published his book, and disappeared from history, unless he was the author of a volume of Sermons brought out later by some one of the same name.
Alsop's book bears internal evidence of being written for the purpose of stimulating emigration to America. He had the modern salesman's ability to see only the virtues of the thing he advertises and to go into a fine moral indignation against any who belittle it. As a result his work is more trustworthy as a record of the permanent psychology of publicity than as a strict historical account. Written in a high-flown and exaggerated style it eulogizes indiscriminately every phase of the Maryland colony. "Neither do I think there is any place under the Heavenly altitude, or that has footing or room upon the circular Globe of this world, that can parallel this fertile and pleasant piece of ground. " Alsop also recorded how indentured servants lived and worked, and how tobacco was produced and used in Maryland. He hoped people who read the book would want to come to Maryland to live.
Achievements
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Alsop's book "A Character of the Province of Maryland", as one of the earliest and fullest descriptions of Maryland, retains considerable value as a historical source, particularly with regard to the Susquehanna Indians. Today, Alsop's book provides us with much information about seventeenth-century life and activies in Maryland.
Politics
Alsop was a strong supporter of King Charles I and was not happy when Puritan dictator Oliver Cromwell rose to power.
