Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations - wikipedia Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations Colony of England ( 1636 -- 1707 ) Colony of Great Britain ( 1707 -- 1776 ) 1636 -- 1776 Flag ( 1707 -- 1776 ) Capital Providence, Newport Government Crown Colony History Established 1636 Foundation 1637 Chartered as an English colony 1644 Coddington Commission 1651 -- 1653 Royal Charter 1663 Part of the Dominion of New England 1686 -- 1688 Resumption of Royal Charter 1688 Disestablished 1776 Preceded by Succeeded by Narragansett Indians State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations Today part of United States The Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations was one of the original Thirteen Colonies established on the east coast of North America, bordering the Atlantic Ocean. It was a colony of the Kingdom of England from 1636 to 1707, when the Acts of Union were passed, and then a colony of the unified Kingdom of Great Britain until 1776. After the American Revolution, it became the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations ( commonly known as just Rhode Island ). Contents 1 Early America 2 Cromwell interregnum 3 Sanctuary for religious freedom 4 Dominion of New England 5 American Revolutionary period 6 See also 7 Notes 8 References Early America Dutch map of America The land that became the English colony was first home to the Narragansett Indians, which led to the name of the modern town of Narragansett, showing respect to the Narragansett and Nipmuc peoples. European settlement began around 1622 with a trading post at Sowams, now the town of Warren. The statue of Roger Williams at Roger Williams University, Rhode Island Roger Williams, a Puritan theologian and linguist, founded Providence Plantations in 1636 on land given to him by Narragansett sachem Canonicus. Williams was exiled under religious persecution from the Massachusetts Bay Colony. He and his fellow settlers agreed on an egalitarian constitution providing for majority rule `` in civil things, '' with liberty of conscience on spiritual matters. He named the settlement Providence Plantation, believing that God had brought them there. ( The term `` plantation '' was used in the 17th century as a synonym for `` settlement '' or `` colony. '' ) Williams named the islands in the Narragansett Bay after Christian virtues : Patience, Prudence, and Hope Islands. In 1637, another group of Massachusetts dissenters purchased land from the Indians on Aquidneck Island, which was called Rhode Island at the time, and they established a settlement called Pocasset. The group included William Coddington, John Clarke, and Anne and William Hutchinson, among others. That settlement, however, quickly split into two separate settlements. Samuel Gorton and others remained to establish the settlement of Portsmouth ( which formerly was Pocasset ) in 1638, while Coddington and Clarke established nearby Newport in 1639. Both settlements were situated on Rhode Island ( Aquidneck ). The second plantation settlement on the mainland was Samuel Gorton 's Shawomet Purchase from the Narragansetts in 1642. As soon as Gorton settled at Shawomet, however, the Massachusetts Bay authorities laid claim to his territory and acted to enforce their claim. After considerable difficulties with the Massachusetts Bay General Court, Gorton traveled to London to enlist the help of Robert Rich, 2nd Earl of Warwick, head of the Commission for Foreign Plantations. Gorton returned in 1648 with a letter from Rich, ordering Massachusetts to cease molesting him and his people. In gratitude, he changed the name of Shawomet Plantation to Warwick. Cromwell interregnum In 1651, William Coddington obtained a separate charter from England setting up the Coddington Commission, which made him life governor of the islands of Rhode Island and Conanicut in a federation with Connecticut Colony and Massachusetts Bay Colony. Protest, open rebellion, and a further petition to Oliver Cromwell in London led to the reinstatement of the original charter in 1653. Sanctuary for religious freedom Following the 1660 restoration of royal rule in England, it was necessary to gain a Royal Charter from King Charles II. Charles was a Catholic sympathizer in staunchly Protestant England, and he approved of the colony 's promise of religious freedom. He granted the request with the Royal Charter of 1663, uniting the four settlements together into the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. In the following years, many persecuted groups settled in the colony, notably Quakers and Jews. The Rhode Island colony was very progressive for the time, passing laws abolishing witchcraft trials, imprisonment for debt, most capital punishment and, on May 18, 1652, chattel slavery of both blacks and whites. Rhode Island remained at peace with local Indians, but the relationship was more strained between other New England colonies and certain tribes and sometimes led to bloodshed, despite attempts by the Rhode Island leadership to broker peace. During King Philip 's War ( 1675 -- 1676 ), both sides regularly violated Rhode Island 's neutrality. The war 's largest battle occurred in Rhode Island, when a force of Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Plymouth militia under General Josiah Winslow invaded and destroyed the fortified Narragansett village in the Great Swamp in southern Rhode Island, on December 19, 1675. The Narragansetts also invaded and burned down several of the cities of Rhode Island, including Providence. Roger Williams knew both Metacom ( English name Philip ) and Canonchet as children. He was aware of the tribe 's movements and promptly sent letters informing the Governor of Massachusetts of enemy movements. By his prompt action, Providence Plantations made some efforts at fortifying the town, and Williams even started training recruits for protection. In one of the final actions of the war, troops from Connecticut hunted down and killed `` King Philip '', as they called the Narragansett war leader Metacom, on Rhode Island 's territory. Dominion of New England In the 1680s, Charles II sought to streamline administration of the English colonies and to more closely control their trade. The Navigation Acts passed in the 1660s were widely disliked, since merchants often found themselves trapped and at odds with the rules. However, many colonial governments, Massachusetts principally among them, refused to enforce the acts, and took matters one step further by obstructing the activities of the Crown agents. Charles ' successor James II introduced the Dominion of New England in 1686 as a means to accomplish these goals. Under its provisional president Joseph Dudley, the disputed `` King 's Country '' ( present - day Washington County ) was brought into the dominion, and the rest of the colony was brought under dominion control by Governor Sir Edmund Andros. The rule of Andros was extremely unpopular, especially in Massachusetts. The 1688 Glorious Revolution deposed James II and brought William III and Mary II to the English throne ; Massachusetts authorities conspired in April 1689 to have Andros arrested and sent back to England. With this event, the dominion collapsed and Rhode Island resumed its previous government. The bedrock of the economy continued to be agriculture -- especially dairy farming -- and fishing ; lumber and shipbuilding also became major industries. Slaves were introduced at this time, although there is no record of any law re-legalizing slave holding. Ironically, the colony later prospered under the slave trade, by distilling rum to sell in Africa as part of a profitable triangular trade in slaves and sugar between Africa, America, and the Caribbean. American Revolutionary period Leading figures in the colony were involved in the 1776 launch of the American Revolutionary War which delivered American independence from the British Empire, such as former royal governors Stephen Hopkins and Samuel Ward, as well as John Brown, Nicholas Brown, William Ellery, the Reverend James Manning, and the Reverend Ezra Stiles, each of whom had played an influential role in founding Brown University in Providence in 1764 as a sanctuary for religious and intellectual freedom. On May 4, 1776, Rhode Island became the first of the 13 colonies to renounce its allegiance to the British Crown, and was the fourth to ratify the Articles of Confederation between the newly sovereign states on February 9, 1778. It boycotted the 1787 convention that drew up the United States Constitution, and initially refused to ratify it. It relented after Congress sent a series of constitutional amendments to the states for ratification, the Bill of Rights guaranteeing specific personal freedoms and rights ; clear limitations on the government 's power in judicial and other proceedings ; and explicit declarations that all powers not specifically delegated to Congress by the Constitution are reserved for the states or the people. On May 29, 1790, Rhode Island became the 13th state and the last of the former colonies to ratify the Constitution. See also British Empire portal Rhode Island portal British America Notes Jump up ^ Franklin, Wayne ( 2012 ). New York, The Norton Anthology of American Literature. New York : WW Norton & Company. p. 179. ISBN 978 - 0 - 393 - 93476 - 2 Jump up ^ `` Prudence Island Light ''. History. lighthouse.cc. Retrieved November 7, 2010. Jump up ^ Paul Edward Parker ( October 31, 2010 ). `` How ' Providence Plantations ' and Rhode Island were joined ''. The Providence Journal. Retrieved November 7, 2010. Jump up ^ `` A Chronological History of Remarkable Events, in the Settlement and Growth of Providence ''. Rhode Island USGenWeb Project ( scan by Susan Pieroth ; transcription by Kathleen Beilstein ). 2002. Archived from the original on January 14, 2005. Retrieved November 7, 2010. ^ Jump up to : Mudge, Zachariah Atwell ( 1871 ). Foot - Prints of Roger Williams : A Biography, with Sketches of Important Events in Early New England History, with Which He Was Connected. Hitchocok & Waldon. Sunday - School Department. ISBN 1270833367. ^ Jump up to : Straus, Oscar Solomon ( 1936 ). Roger Williams : The Pioneer of Religious Liberty. Ayer Co Pub. ISBN 9780836955866. Jump up ^ `` Rhode Island and Roger Williams '' in Chronicles of America Jump up ^ Lauber, Almon Wheeler, Indian Slavery in Colonial Times Within the Present Limits of the United States. New York : Columbia University, 1913. Chapter 5. See also the Rhode Island Historical Society FAQ Archived September 27, 2010, at the Wayback Machine... Jump up ^ Michael Tougias ( 1997 ). `` King Philip 's War in New England ''. King Philip 's War : The History and Legacy of America 's Forgotten Conflict. historyplace.com. Archived from the original on October 26, 2007. Retrieved November 7, 2010. Jump up ^ Labaree, pp. 94, 111 -- 113 Jump up ^ Lovejoy, pp. 247, 249 Jump up ^ `` The Unrighteous Traffick '', in The Providence Journal Sunday, March 12, 2006. Archived September 12, 2009, at the Wayback Machine. Jump up ^ `` The May 4, 1776, Act of Renunciation ''. State of Rhode Island. Retrieved 3 May 2014. Jump up ^ Jensen, Merrill ( 1959 ). The Articles of Confederation : An Interpretation of the Social - Constitutional History of the American Revolution, 1774 -- 1781. University of Wisconsin Press. pp. xi, 184. ISBN 978 - 0 - 299 - 00204 - 6. Jump up ^ `` Letter from Certain Citizens of Rhode Island to the Federal Convention ''. Ashland, Ohio : TeachingAmericanHistory.org. Retrieved October 21, 2015. Jump up ^ Flexner, James Thomas ( 1984 ). Washington, The Indispensable Man. New York : Signet. p. 208. ISBN 0 - 451 - 12890 - 7. Jump up ^ Vile, John R. ( 2005 ). The Constitutional Convention of 1787 : A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of America 's Founding ( Volume 1 : A-M ). ABC - CLIO. p. 658. ISBN 1 - 85109 - 669 - 8. Retrieved October 21, 2015. References Arnold, Samuel Greene ( 1859 ). History of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations vol 1 1636 -- 1700. Applewood Books. James, Sydney V. Colonial Rhode Island : A History ( 1975. ) Labaree, Benjamin ( 1979 ). Colonial Massachusetts : a History. Millwood, NY : KTO Press. ISBN 978 - 0 - 527 - 18714 - 9. OCLC 248194957. Lovejoy, David ( 1987 ). The Glorious Revolution in America. Middletown, CT : Wesleyan University Press. ISBN 978 - 0 - 8195 - 6177 - 0. OCLC 14212813. Colonial Governors of Rhode Island Judges of Portsmouth ( 1638 -- 40 ) Coddington Hutchinson Judge of Newport ( 1639 -- 40 ) Coddington Governor of Newport and Portsmouth ( 1640 -- 47 ) Coddington Chief Officer ( Providence and Warwick ) ( 1644 -- 47 ) Williams Presidents of Rhode Island ( Patent of 1644 ) ( 1647 -- 63 ) Coggeshall J. Clarke Smith N. Easton Gorton Smith Dexter N. Easton Williams Arnold Brenton Arnold Governors of Newport and Portsmouth ( Coddington Commission ) ( 1651 -- 54 ) Coddington J. Sanford Governors of Rhode Island ( Royal Charter of 1663 ) ( 1663 -- 86 ) Arnold Brenton Arnold N. Easton Coddington W. Clarke Arnold Coddington J. Cranston P. Sanford Coddington Jr. Bull W. Clarke Governors under Dominion of New England ( 1686 -- 89 ) Dudley Andros Governors of Rhode Island ( Royal Charter of 1663 ) ( 1690 -- 1776 ) Bull J. Easton Carr W. Clarke S. Cranston Jenckes W. Wanton John Wanton R. Ward Greene G. Wanton Greene G. Wanton Greene Hopkins Greene Hopkins S. Ward Hopkins S. Ward Hopkins Lyndon Joseph Wanton Cooke Italics Gorton, Smith and Dexter were presidents of Providence and Warwick only, since Coddington had received a commission to remove Newport and Portsmouth from their jurisdiction, valid from 1651 to 1654 ; before and after these dates the President presided over all four towns of the colony. Dudley presided over the `` Narragansett Country '' only, later to become Washington County, Rhode Island ; Andros subsequently presided over the entire colony. The Thirteen Colonies of Colonial America New England Colonies Middle Colonies Chesapeake Colonies Southern Colonies Connecticut Delaware Georgia Maryland Massachusetts Bay New Hampshire New Jersey New York North Carolina Pennsylvania Rhode Island and Providence Plantations South Carolina Virginia Early English colonial entities Carolina East Jersey Maine New England New Haven Plymouth Saybrook West Jersey British Empire Legend Current territory Former territory * Now a Commonwealth realm Now a member of the Commonwealth of Nations Historical flags of the British Empire Europe 1542 -- 1800 Ireland ( integrated into UK ) 1708 -- 1757, 1763 -- 1782 and 1798 -- 1802 Minorca Since 1713 Gibraltar 1800 -- 1813 Malta ( Protectorate ) 1813 -- 1964 Malta ( Colony ) 1807 -- 1890 Heligoland 1809 -- 1864 Ionian Islands 1878 -- 1960 Cyprus 1921 -- 1937 Irish Free State North America 17th century and before 18th century 19th and 20th century 1579 New Albion 1583 -- 1907 Newfoundland 1605 -- 1979 * Saint Lucia 1607 -- 1776 Virginia Since 1619 Bermuda 1620 -- 1691 Plymouth 1623 -- 1883 Saint Kitts 1624 -- 1966 * Barbados 1625 -- 1650 Saint Croix 1627 -- 1979 * Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1628 -- 1883 Nevis 1629 -- 1691 Massachusetts Bay 1632 -- 1776 Maryland since 1632 Montserrat 1632 -- 1860 Antigua 1635 -- 1644 Saybrook 1636 -- 1776 Connecticut 1636 -- 1776 Rhode Island 1637 -- 1662 New Haven 1643 -- 1860 Bay Islands Since 1650 Anguilla 1655 -- 1850 Mosquito Coast 1655 -- 1962 * Jamaica 1663 -- 1712 Carolina 1664 -- 1776 New York 1665 -- 1674 and 1702 -- 1776 New Jersey Since 1666 Virgin Islands Since 1670 Cayman Islands 1670 -- 1973 * Bahamas 1670 -- 1870 Rupert 's Land 1671 -- 1816 Leeward Islands 1674 -- 1702 East Jersey 1674 -- 1702 West Jersey 1680 -- 1776 New Hampshire 1681 -- 1776 Pennsylvania 1686 -- 1689 New England 1691 -- 1776 Massachusetts Bay 1701 -- 1776 Delaware 1712 -- 1776 North Carolina 1712 -- 1776 South Carolina 1713 -- 1867 Nova Scotia 1733 -- 1776 Georgia 1754 -- 1820 Cape Breton Island 1762 -- 1974 * Grenada 1763 -- 1978 Dominica 1763 -- 1873 Prince Edward Island 1763 -- 1791 Quebec 1763 -- 1783 East Florida 1763 -- 1783 West Florida 1784 -- 1867 New Brunswick 1791 -- 1841 Lower Canada 1791 -- 1841 Upper Canada Since 1799 Turks and Caicos Islands 1818 -- 1846 Columbia District / Oregon Country 1833 -- 1960 Windward Islands 1833 -- 1960 Leeward Islands 1841 -- 1867 Canada 1849 -- 1866 Vancouver Island 1853 -- 1863 Queen Charlotte Islands 1858 -- 1866 British Columbia 1859 -- 1870 North - Western Territory 1860 -- 1981 * British Antigua and Barbuda 1862 -- 1863 Stickeen 1866 -- 1871 British Columbia 1867 -- 1931 * Dominion of Canada 1871 -- 1964 Honduras 1882 -- 1983 * Saint Kitts and Nevis 1889 -- 1962 Trinidad and Tobago 1907 -- 1949 Newfoundland 1958 -- 1962 West Indies Federation 1. Occupied jointly with the United States. 2. In 1931, Canada and other British dominions obtained self - government through the Statute of Westminster. See Name of Canada. 3. Gave up self - rule in 1934, but remained a de jure Dominion until it joined Canada in 1949. South America 1631 -- 1641 Providence Island 1651 -- 1667 Willoughbyland 1670 -- 1688 Saint Andrew and Providence Islands 1831 -- 1966 Guiana Since 1833 Falkland Islands Since 1908 South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands 4. Now a department of Colombia. 5. Occupied by Argentina during the Falklands War of April -- June 1982. Africa 17th and 18th centuries 19th century 20th century Since 1658 Saint Helena 1792 -- 1961 Sierra Leone 1795 -- 1803 Cape Colony Since 1815 Ascension Island Since 1816 Tristan da Cunha 1806 -- 1910 Cape of Good Hope 1807 -- 1808 Madeira 1810 -- 1968 Mauritius 1816 -- 1965 The Gambia 1856 -- 1910 Natal 1862 -- 1906 Lagos 1868 -- 1966 Basutoland 1874 -- 1957 Gold Coast 1882 -- 1922 Egypt 1884 -- 1900 Niger Coast 1884 -- 1966 Bechuanaland 1884 -- 1960 Somaliland 1887 -- 1897 Zululand 1890 -- 1962 Uganda 1890 -- 1963 Zanzibar 1891 -- 1964 Nyasaland 1891 -- 1907 Central Africa 1893 -- 1968 Swaziland 1895 -- 1920 East Africa 1899 -- 1956 Sudan 1900 -- 1914 Northern Nigeria 1900 -- 1914 Southern Nigeria 1900 -- 1910 Orange River 1900 -- 1910 Transvaal 1903 -- 1976 Seychelles 1910 -- 1931 South Africa 1914 -- 1960 Nigeria 1915 -- 1931 South - West Africa 1919 -- 1961 Cameroons 1920 -- 1963 Kenya 1922 -- 1961 Tanganyika 1923 -- 1965 and 1979 -- 1980 Southern Rhodesia 1924 -- 1964 Northern Rhodesia 6. League of Nations mandate. 7. Self - governing Southern Rhodesia unilaterally declared independence in 1965 ( as Rhodesia ) and continued as an unrecognised state until the 1979 Lancaster House Agreement. After recognised independence in 1980, Zimbabwe was a member of the Commonwealth until it withdrew in 2003. Asia 17th and 18th century 19th century 20th century 1685 -- 1824 Bencoolen 1702 -- 1705 Pulo Condore 1757 -- 1947 Bengal 1762 -- 1764 Manila and Cavite 1781 -- 1784 and 1795 -- 1819 Padang 1786 -- 1946 Penang 1795 -- 1948 Ceylon 1796 -- 1965 Maldives 1812 -- 1824 Banka and Billiton 1819 -- 1826 Malaya 1824 -- 1948 Burma 1826 -- 1946 Straits Settlements 1839 -- 1967 Aden 1839 -- 1842 Afghanistan 1841 -- 1997 Hong Kong 1841 -- 1946 Sarawak 1848 -- 1946 Labuan 1858 -- 1947 India 1874 -- 1963 Borneo 1879 -- 1919 Afghanistan ( protectorate ) 1882 -- 1963 North Borneo 1885 -- 1946 Unfederated Malay States 1888 -- 1984 Brunei 1891 -- 1971 Muscat and Oman 1892 -- 1971 Trucial States 1895 -- 1946 Federated Malay States 1898 -- 1930 Weihai 1878 -- 1960 Cyprus 1907 -- 1949 Bhutan ( protectorate ) 1918 -- 1961 Kuwait 1920 -- 1932 Mesopotamia 1921 -- 1946 Transjordan 1923 -- 1948 Palestine 1945 -- 1946 South Vietnam 1946 -- 1963 North Borneo 1946 -- 1963 Sarawak 1946 -- 1963 Singapore 1946 -- 1948 Malayan Union 1948 -- 1957 Federation of Malaya Since 1960 Akrotiri and Dhekelia ( before as part of Cyprus ) Since 1965 British Indian Ocean Territory ( before as part of Mauritius and the Seychelles ) League of Nations mandate. Iraq 's mandate was not enacted and replaced by the Anglo - Iraqi Treaty Oceania 18th and 19th centuries 20th century 1788 -- 1901 New South Wales 1803 -- 1901 Van Diemen 's Land / Tasmania 1807 -- 1863 Auckland Islands 1824 -- 1980 New Hebrides 1824 -- 1901 Queensland 1829 -- 1901 Swan River / Western Australia 1836 -- 1901 South Australia since 1838 Pitcairn Islands 1841 -- 1907 New Zealand 1851 -- 1901 Victoria 1874 -- 1970 Fiji 1877 -- 1976 Western Pacific Territories 1884 -- 1949 Papua 1888 -- 1901 Rarotonga / Cook Islands 1889 -- 1948 Union Islands 1892 -- 1979 Gilbert and Ellice Islands 1893 -- 1978 Solomon Islands 1900 -- 1970 Tonga 1900 -- 1974 Niue 1901 -- 1942 * Australia 1907 -- 1953 * New Zealand 1919 -- 1942 and 1945 -- 1968 Nauru 1919 -- 1949 New Guinea 1949 -- 1975 Papua and New Guinea 9. Now part of the * Realm of New Zealand. 10. Suspended member. 11. Now Kiribati and * Tuvalu. 12. Now the * Solomon Islands. 13. Now * Papua New Guinea. Antarctica and South Atlantic Since 1658 Saint Helena Since 1815 Ascension Island Since 1816 Tristan da Cunha Since 1908 British Antarctic Territory 1841 -- 1933 Australian Antarctic Territory ( transferred to the Commonwealth of Australia ) 1841 -- 1947 Ross Dependency ( transferred to the Realm of New Zealand ) 14. Since 2009 part of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha ; Ascension Island ( 1922 -- ) and Tristan da Cunha ( 1938 -- ) were previously dependencies of Saint Helena. 15. Both claimed in 1908 ; territories formed in 1962 ( British Antarctic Territory ) and 1985 ( South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands ). Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Colony_of_Rhode_Island_and_Providence_Plantations&oldid=816045443 '' Categories : Former countries in North America States and territories established in 1636 States and territories disestablished in 1776 Colonial Rhode Island Colonial United States ( British ) Dominion of New England Former British colonies and protectorates in the Americas Former English colonies History of the Thirteen Colonies Pre-statehood history of Rhode Island 1776 disestablishments in the United States Colonial settlements in North America 1636 establishments in Rhode Island Hidden categories : Webarchive template wayback links Use mdy dates from April 2012 Former country articles requiring maintenance Pages using infobox country or infobox former country with the flag caption or type parameters Pages using infobox country or infobox former country with the symbol caption or type parameters All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from June 2011 Articles with unsourced statements from April 2011 Rhode Island articles missing geocoordinate data All articles needing coordinates Talk Contents About Wikipedia Deutsch Español Français 한국어 Italiano Lietuvių 日本 語 Norsk Occitan Русский Svenska Türkçe Edit links This page was last edited on 18 December 2017, at 22 : 15. 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Question: what was the purpose of rhode island colony
Answer: religious freedom