Welcome to the Conversation

Welcome to the “Seeking Liberty: Annapolis, an Imagined Community” exhibit blog!

In 2008, the right to citizen-elected representation in Annapolis will be 300 years old. The city charter granted to Annapolis in 1708 gave the city political reality. With this exhibit we commemorate the current anniversary by celebrating the quest for liberty. “Seeking Liberty” characterizes Annapolis from the beginning. It was a home to religious dissidents, political dissidents during the American Revolution, and many free African Americans before Emancipation who fought very hard for the freedom of those who were enslaved.

Archaeologists from Archaeology in Annapolis, the University of Maryland and Historic Annapolis Foundation have dug over forty sites in Annapolis in twenty-six years. We’ve had a great time and we’ve discovered the city’s treasures. Much of the best archaeology was from the 18th century. We have found material belonging to European colonists and lots of materials that belong to African Americans. We’ve uncovered material from as early as the late 17th century and as recent as the 20th century. There is archaeology almost everywhere in the city and we are going to show it off during the City’s 300th anniversary.

The “Seeking Liberty” exhibit features artifacts from five sites in Historic Annapolis: the Governor Calvert House, Reynolds Tavern, the Jonas Green House, the Brice House and the Maynard-Burgess House. Many of these artifacts have never been on display for the public before this. We hope you will visit the exhibit which will be on display at the Banneker-Douglas Museum in Annapolis from February through November 2008. There will also be a few smaller exhibits open to the public at some of the sites involved in the exhibit.

Throughout the year we will be posting information on the exhibit, interesting articles, and other information related to the exhibit. We encourage you to participate in this project by leaving your comments and sending us information you find that may relate to the exhibit.