George Alsop

author

George Alsop

b. 1638

Best known for a lively 1666 account of colonial Maryland, this little-known writer left one of the most vivid firsthand portraits of early life in the colony. His surviving work mixes sales pitch, social observation, and memoir in a way that still feels immediate.

1 Audiobook

A Character of the Province of Maryland Described in four distinct parts; also a small Treatise on the Wild and Naked Indians (or Susquehanokes) of Maryland, their customs, manners, absurdities, and religion; together with a collection of historical letters.

A Character of the Province of Maryland Described in four distinct parts; also a small Treatise on the Wild and Naked Indians (or Susquehanokes) of Maryland, their customs, manners, absurdities, and religion; together with a collection of historical letters.

by George Alsop

About the author

Probably born in England in 1638, George Alsop is remembered for A Character of the Province of Maryland, published in 1666. Very little is known for certain about his life, and even basic details such as the exact dates of his birth and death remain uncertain.

What can be traced from reliable sources is that he went to Maryland as an indentured servant in 1658 and later wrote about the colony from personal experience. His book describes the landscape, daily life, labor, and local customs, while also presenting Maryland as a place of promise and opportunity.

That blend of firsthand observation and promotion is what makes Alsop interesting today. For modern readers, his work offers a rare window into seventeenth-century colonial life, even as it reflects the hopes, biases, and persuasive aims of someone trying to shape how Maryland was seen.