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The Founding of Rhode Island

© Jeannine Dugan

Pre-Colonial History

In 1524, Italian explorer Giovanni Verrazzano became the first documented European to land on the shores of Rhode Island. He inadvertently gave the future colony its name by describing the island on which he landed to be "about the bigness of the Island of Rhodes". He named this island Luisa, after the Queen Mother of France, under whose flag he sailed. Around 1614, Dutch explorer Adriaen Block visited this same island en route to the Hudson and named it after himself.

When the first white settlers arrived in Rhode Island, they found the land inhabited by Native Americans, the largest tribe being the Narrangansetts. The Narrangansetts and other area tribes were part of the Algonquin nation, which stretched south to North Carolina. Smaller tribes inhabiting the colony were: the Wampanoags, the Nipmucks, the Cowesetts, the Shawomets, and the Niantics. The Algonquin population in Rhode Island has been estimated at 7,000 persons at the time of European contact in the 17^th century. Each village was governed by a leader who answered to the chief sachems, who, at the time of settlement in Rhode Island, were Canonicus and his nephew Miantonomi.

Providence

Although William Blackstone founded a settlement in 1635, Roger Williams is credited with establishing the first permanent settlement in 1636. Williams, who had maintained friendly terms with the Narrangansett Indians, turned to them for aide when he was banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony in the winter of 1636. The Indians trusted Williams due to his firm belief that the Indians were created as equally as the English and they were not "Savages". He was also one of the few colonists who bothered to learn their language.

Williams and his followers were granted land from the Indians on the northern end of Narrangansett Bay. However, his group was scorned by the other English settlements since it did not have a charter from the king and internal disagreements over how the colony should be governed caused trouble in Providence for many years. Despite the absence of a formal government, Williams and the settlers maintained an agreement that "no man should be molested for his conscience". Under Williams, the first Baptist Church was founded in 1639 but Williams soon questioned the doctrine and became a "Seeker", never joining another church.

Until 1640, Providence governed itself through town meetings and justice was meted out by posses, a la Wild West. Disputes over how the original land grant should be divided arose, particularly over a grant of land along the Pawtuxet River. Let by William Arnold (father of Benedict) and William Harris, they formed a group that pledged allegiance with

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