Rhode Island Small but Beautiful

Our Wonderful Founder Roger Williams founded the colony of Rhode Island It was founded in 1636 It was first discovered by Italian and Dutch explorers

Impetus for Founding

Reasons for Establishing Roger Williams had disagreements with Massachusetts leaders He preached that all people should be allowed to worship how they pleased. They attempted to banish him from the colonies. Instead, he and his family fled to the Native American village on the Narragansett Bay Roger Williams called his settlement Providence, meaning direction of god

Rhode Island Residents

Many people traveled to Rhode Island wanting religious freedom There were many Native Americans in Rhode Island at the time, and they were cordial with the colonists. A few rich families brought slave over from Africa for plantation work.

Beautiful Rhode Island

Early Europeans discovered that Rhode Island had a distinctive red clay soil The colony name came from the dutch name for it, which was Rooyt Eyelandt, and it meant Red Island The red clay soil, and hilly landscape was too bad for large scale agriculture

Rhode Island, however, was a wonderful shipping port The winters were harsh, and the summers were humid

The Office

The economy was originally based on cattle and dairy farming Also, some families grew crops Common crops were squash, corn, beans, and tobacco.

Also, shipping was a humongous buisness for Rhode Islanders Shipwrights built ships to cross the Atlantic and deliver goods to Africa and England It was also a haven for pirates, and a slave trade center

The Faith of Rhode Island

Rhode island was founded as a place for religious freedom It was populated with religious groups such as quakes, Baptists, Anglicans, Puritans, and Congregationalists

Our Wonderful Leaders

Rhode Island was governed by a Governor, Deputy Governor, ten assistants to the Governor, and a General Assembly that was elected from the different villages. This assembly could make laws, call up a militia, and monitor trade

By: Kurt Sofia Taylor By: Kurt Sofia Taylor

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