Maryland is a state on the Atlantic coast in the northeast of the United States. Its state capital is Annapolis, but its largest city is Baltimore. It was one of the original thirteen American colonies. It is known as the birthplace of religious freedom, as the state was founded by George Calvert, who converted to Catholicism and petitioned King James I for a charter to shelter Catholics fleeing persecution. Following the American War of Independence, Maryland donated land for the establishment of a new national capital, Washington D.C.