An article on Rhode Island

In this paper, I will be writing on Colonial America – a period of time where settlers moved into America and built settlements and colonies there – and focusing on one colony in particular which is Rhode Island. This paper will highlight the important aspects of the colony as I will elaborate on Roger William (the founder of Rhode Island), the development of the colony, the political changes that occurred within Rhode Island as well as the economic importance of Rhode Island. I have chosen Rhode Island in particular out of the 13 original states because I wanted to highlight how the smallest state in America came about, as well as look at how despite its small size, Rhode Island has affected the whole country.

Introduction
Most of the settlers that came to the America were from England but there were also settlers from France, Spain and Holland. The settlers or colonists were made up of a range of different peoples such as the Anglicans, Puritans, the Quakers, convicts and the gold-seekers.

It is believed that the reason the English decided to explore and colonize America is for more practical reasons such as commercial enterprise, the over-population of their original country as well as seeking religious freedom. Other reasons for the Europeans’ colonization were interest in the area of geography and also intellectual development spurred by the Renaissance and Early modern period of history.

East America which consists of the original 13 states has been classified into 4 regions which are New England, Middle Colonies, Chesapeake Bay Colonies and the Southern Colonies. The states that make up New England were Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont. The states that make up Middle Colonies were New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and New Netherlands (which is now a part of Connecticut and thus a part of New England). Chesapeake Bay Colonies were made up of Maryland and Virginia. Finally, the Southern Colonies were made up of North Carolina, Province of South Carolina and Province of Georgia.

After many failed attempts by the English people to colonize the area they named Virginia (after the Queen of England Elizabeth I), they finally opened their first colony named Jamestown (after King James I) in 1607.

The next successful colonies were established in New England which was founded by two different groups who came to America for religious freedom from the Church of England. These groups were the Pilgrims and the Puritans. The Puritans were the group who formed Massachusetts Bay Colony. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colonial_america)

This brings me to the state that I would like to focus on which is Rhode Island. Rhode Island is one of the thirteen original colonies in America. It was established in 1636 and settled by religious exiles from Massachusetts Bay Colony including Roger Williams who is the founder of Providence.
(http://www.answers.com/rhode%20island)

Roger Williams
Roger Williams was born in Middlesex, England on 21 December 1603 to John Williams (a merchant in Smithfield, England) and Alice Pemberton. He was educated in Sutton’s Hospital and also the University of Cambridge, Pembroke College under Sir Edward Cooke (a famous jurist). He had an aptitude in languages as he was proficient in English, Latin, Greek, Dutch and French.

After graduating from University of Cambridge, Williams took to the Anglican order and became a chaplain before setting sail to Boston in 1630 with his wife Mary Barnard. The reason he left his homeland for New England was that he felt that he could not agree with the Archbishop William Laud’s administration and the ideas presented by the Anglican Church.

Upon arriving in America on 5 February 1631, Williams then joined the Salem church in Plymouth under the Massachusetts Bay colony.  His different view on religion caused him to be at odds with Massachusetts authorities in Salem as well as Boston and he was frequently put under trial at the Salem Court.

According to his views, the church had to be separated from the state because the civil authorities had no right to interfere with the people’s religious practise or faith. He also stated that “it was divine will that every individual's conscience remain free to accept or reject the word of God” (http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/rel_liberty/history/overview.aspx).

He was then expelled from the church and a decree for his banishment was passed in 1635. In 1636, Williams and his followers left Massachusetts Bay.

In June 1636, he and his followers founded the settlement called Providence Plantation on Narraganset Bay. He called the settlement Providence because of “God’s merciful Providence” that had brought him to the area.

As Williams had good relations with the Indians and held on to the belief that the Indians should be paid for the land they gave, the Providence colony was the unique to the fact that the deed for the land was purchased from the Indians and not captured like all the other colonies were.

Williams befriended the Indians and even learned their language after just a few years of mixing around with the Indians. He offered his home to the Indians and sometimes would even allow them to stay with him. “When citizens of Portsmouth needed an Indian agent, they approached Williams.” (http://www.ratical.org/many_worlds/6Nations/EoL/chp5.html#fn2) Just as how the Indians would lodge with him, Williams too will occasionally stay in an Indian residence. Although he spent a lot of time with the Indians, he never adopted their ways and still retained his ways as an Englishman.

Because of his different views on Puritanism, the ideas that Williams brought to Rhode Island were also unorthodox. Under Williams governing, Rhode Island became a place where people who suffered religious prosecution could come and receive protection. In March 1639, Williams with Holliman and eleven other men then established the first Baptist Church in America.

Throughout his life, Williams became a mediator between the Indians and the colonists and took an active interest in public affairs. Williams died in the year 1684 in his own property. A park in downtown Providence was named Roger Williams National Memorial in 1965.

Establishment of Rhode Island
Years before Roger Williams founded Providence Plantation, a Dutch explorer by the name of Adriaen Block visited an island off the south of Rhode Island in 1614. Because of that, he had the island named after him and called it Block Island. In 1661, it was first settled and in 1663, Block Island was united with Rhode Island under the Charter.

In 1636, the Providence Plantation – which is the first settlement on the Aquidneck Island later changed to Rhode Island – was founded by Roger Williams and his followers. In 1637, Anne Hutchinson, William Coddington and John Clarke founded the town of Portsmouth. 2 years later, William Coddington founded Newport and in 1643 Shawomet (now Warwick) was founded by Samuel Gorton. These four original settlements made up Rhode Island.

In 1639, the island established a formal government where William Coddington acted as the first governor while Phillip Sherman was the first Secretary.

In 1644, the colony was granted a charter for freedom of religion where its settlers were allowed to practise their religion freely. The charter also united the colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantation into one. Under the rules of the Charter, landowners could vote and before the Industrial Revolution, this was what was considered as democracy.

Rhode Island was also the first colony to declare its independence from Britain on 4 May 1776.

Politics
The relationship between the white people and the Indian were very strained in the beginning. The Wampanoag, Pequot, Narrangansett and Nimpuc were the biggest tribes of Indians living around Rhode Island.

Through his diplomatic skills, Roger Williams managed to forge and alliance with the Narrangansett (a powerful Indian tribe). In 1637, Williams’ diplomacy also managed to convince the Narrangansett to join the English in carrying out attacks on the Pequot and nearly destroying the whole tribe of warlike Indians.

However, the peace between the English and the Indians did not last very long. By 1670, the alliances had been forgotten and animosity between the two peoples grew.

The most significant event in 17th century Rhode Island was the King Phillip’s War which happened from 1675-1676. King Phillip whose real name is Metacomet was the chief of the Wampanoag Indians. The war was actually a clash between the Indians and the settlers of the Portsmouth Colony. The English had actually purchased land from Metacomet’s father, Massasoit but Metacomet (King Phillip) decided to rebel against the English people.

The Wampanoags were soon joined by the Narrangansett. The people of the Narrangansett tribe were actually neutral to begin with until the English people staged a sneak attack on their principal town in the Great Swamp in December 1675.

The battle at Great Swamp called ‘The Great Swamp Fight’ cost many lives namely three hundred braves (what Indian warriors were called) and almost four hundred women and children. The following spring, the Narrangansetts launched and offensive attack on the English led by Chief Sachem Canonchet which caused the death of sixty five English and twenty friendly Indians on the banks of the Blackstone. The Narrangansetts then moved towards Providence and launched another attack there. Most of the buildings in town were burned down and the town was destroyed.

The King Phillip’s War which had claimed many lives of the Indians as well as the English finally came to an end in August 1676 when King Phillip himself was killed by an Indian allied with the English. The remaining members of the Narrangansett, Wampanoag and Pequot tribes then sought refuge with the tribe of the Niantics. This group then became a new Indian community that called themselves the Narrangansett.

Economics
Newport, one of the major settlements in Rhode Island, which had not been involved in the King Phillip’s War, began to flourish commercially by the end of the 17th century. It was a very prosperous port and one that was the most populated, having nine towns incorporated into it. By the end of 17th century, the population in Newport was over 6000 inhabitants.

Like all the other English colonies, Rhode Island also used the black and Indian slaves to work for them in their big farm plantations. Because of this, by the mid-18th century, Rhode Island reached its peak of prosperity. Farming was one of the major contributors to the economy of Rhode Island but the people also did many other things to add to the growing economy.
The slave trade also contributed largely to the commerce and trade of Rhode Island. Molasses which were brought from the West Indies were distilled and made into rum. This alcohol was then used as barter for the slaves in the African coasts. The slaves were sent to places like the West Indies and the Southern colonies for service in either the residences of the merchants or on the plantations of the South Colony.
The colony farmers not only farmed but they also raised livestock mainly sheep and also a breed of horse named the Narrangansett pacer. The lands cultivated yielded produce that became Rhode Island’s commodity namely the onion, flax, apples as well as dairy products.
Besides farming and cultivation, the people of Rhode Island also turned to the natural resources to boost their economic status. They chopped down trees from the forests to gain the lumber. The lumber taken from the forests were used to make boards, planks, timber as well as barrels. Other than logging, the inhabitants also fished. The sea all around the island provided them with an abundance of whales and fishes that were not only used as food but also as fertilizer.
All of the commodities mentioned in the above soon became the main trade items in Rhode Island and by the end of the colonial era, Rhode Island had developed very good trade and commerce with the Atlantic community such as England, Africa, Portuguese, South America, other British colonies as well as the West Indies.
Commercial activities focused on Newport, Providence, Bristol, Pawtuxet, Wickford, East Greenwich, Warren and Westerly. Pawtuxet, Wickford, East Greenwich, Warren and Westerly are actually lesser ports that had a boom in their commerce.

Conclusion
In conclusion, the founding of Rhode Island has affected modern America in many ways. One of the major ways is how the Americans now practise religious freedom in their country. All the citizens are allowed to practise their own religion without persecution unless the religion brings harm to the people (like cults). There is harmony within this freedom of the people as there are rarely protests or rallies against a religion. Another way the founding of Rhode Island affected America is how Roger Williams’ writings had influenced the philosopher John Locke who had in turn inspired Thomas Jefferson to write the Declaration of Independence in which there is stated the need for freedom of religion. The idea that Roger William had on religious freedom as well as separation of the church and state were also two ideals that were used in the U.S Constitution. (http://usinfo.state.gov/usa/infousa/facts/factover/ch3.htm) Rhode Island was also the first colony to abolish slavery of the African people. This has spurred all the other states to follow suit and spurred movements of anti-slavery. Finally, the founding of the first Baptist Church was done by Roger Williams after which the Baptist became a popular denomination in America. It is quite a wonder to note that despite being the smallest state in America, Rhode Island has impacted the American in so many aspects and made them who they are today – a people in a free nation who have the rights to practise their own religion. (http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/rel_liberty/history/overview.aspx)

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