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authorities and, at the end, was banished from Shawomet and Providence. Gorton eventually
founded the town now known as Warwick.
Political development Throughout the early years, none of the Rhode Island Settlements had any "legal" claim to their lands, meaning none of the lands had been granted through an English Charter. Reacting to pressure from the four main New England colonies, Roger Williams obtained the first official patent for Rhode Island in 1643. This patent intentionally omitted any mention of religious liberty and united, for the first time, all of the towns in Rhode Island into one political body. In 1660, the Stuarts were restored to the English throne and John Clarke was sent to obtain a royal charter for the colony. He was surprisingly successful in his endeavor and obtained a charter continuing the principles upon which Williams had established the colony. In July 1663, the new charter created "the colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantation". This charter remained the fundamental law in Rhode Island until 1843. In fact, the residents of Rhode Island maintained an annual ceremony. Each year, the governor would assemble all of the freeman at the beginning of his term. He would unroll the charter and read it aloud, before committing it back to its box for safekeeping for another year. King Philip's War Under the guidance of Roger Williams, the colony had managed to avoid conflicts with the Native Americans until the outbreak of King Philips War in 1675. The first battle, the Great Swamp Fight, was actually fought in Rhode Island. In March 1676, a group of Narrangansetts and Wampanoags advanced on Providence. Seventy-year-old Williams was in Providence in a barricaded house. Although the Indians recognized his friendship and promised not to harm him, they burned Providence to the ground. Rhode Island would rebuild, but not in Williams' lifetime. His life was spared but he watched four decades of work go up in flame.
This is only a brief overview of the settling of Rhode Island. For further reading, I recommend the following: McLoughlin, William G. "Rhode Island A History", W.W. Norton & Company, New York. 1986 |