Alsop was baptized at St. Martin in the Fields in June 1636. Despite his wide reading, evident in his book, A Character of the Province of Mary-Land (1666), Alsop was probably born into humble circumstances. A loyal follower of King Charles I, Alsop seems to have feared unhappy political recriminations when Oliver Cromwell rose to power, so he signed an indenture that brought him to Maryland in 1658. He spent four years of his indenture near Baltimore before returning to England, where he wrote A Character, a lively promotional tract that blended pastoral and commercial themes.

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A Letter to His Parents
(http://smith2.sewanee.edu/gsmith/courses/Religion391/DocsEarlySouth/1663-GeorgeAlsop.html)
Text of a letter written in 1663 with a contextual introduction.

The Economy of Maryland in the 1660s
(http://www.sjsu.edu/faculty/watkins/maryland06.htm)
Site using George Alsop's work as its primary resource.

The Location of the City Is Chosen
(http://www.intandem.com/NewPrideSite/MD/Lesson14/Lesson14_8.html)
Scanned map of the colony of Maryland in 1666, drawn by Alsop.