Baltimore is the largest city in the US state of Maryland. It was founded on 30 July 1729, and it grew swiftly in the 18th century as a granary for the sugar colonies of the Caribbean; from December 1776 to February 1777, it was the seat of the Continental Congress during the American Revolutionary War. From 1768 to 1851, it was the capital of Baltimore County, but it went on to become an independent city. The Battle of Baltimore against the British in 1814 inspired the composition of "The Star-Spangled Banner". In 1816, Baltimore pioneered the use of gas lighting, and its population grew rapidly in the following decades, rising to 60,000 by 1820; by this point, its economy had shifted from tobacco to sawmilling, shipbuilding, and textile production. In 1904, the city suffered from the Great Baltimore Fire, which destroyed over 1,500 buildings in 30 hours. It was then rebuilt, and it annexed new lands from nearby suburbs through 1918. In April 1968, the city underwent horrific riots, and 11,000 National Guardsmen and federal troops were sent to keep order in the city. Baltimore suffered from a high homicide rate for several decades, peaking in 1993, and again in 2015. In 2017, Baltimore had a population of 611,648 people.
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