Annapolis is the capital city of the US state of Maryland and the county seat of Anne Arundel County. Annapolis originated as the town of "Providence", settled in 1649 by Puritan exiles from Virginia who founded a colony along the Severn River. These Puritans took control of the colony during the Third English Civil War, forcing the Royalist governor to flee to Virginia and gather forces to reconquer Maryland. The Royalists were defeated at the Battle of the Severn in 1655. The town of Providence came to be known as the "Town at Proctor's" in 1683, the "Town at the Severn", "Anne Arundel's Towne" after 1694, and finally "Annapolis" in 1694, when Governor Francis Nicholson named the city after Princess Anne of England and made it the capital of the Province of Maryland. Annapolis grew from a village into a major port of entry for merchants and slaves at the time of the American Revolutionary War, and oyster-packing, boatbuilding, and sailmaking became the city's chief industries. Annapolis served as the seat of the Confederation Congress during the war, and later as the temporary capital of the United States from 1783 to 1784; it was at Annapolis that George Washington resigned as commander of the Continental Army on the war's end. In 1786, Annapolis hosted a convention that resulted in a call to the states to send delegates for the Constitutional Convention to be held in Philadelphia the following year. Annapolis became home to the US Naval Academy in 1845, and Annapolis' shipyards built PT boats, minesweepers, and patrol boats during World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. By 2020, Annapolis had a population of 40,812 people.
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