Providence Plantation was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a non-conformist minister fleeing from religious persecution in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. He was joined there by Anne Hutchinson after her banishment. Other settlements in Portsmouth, Newport, and Warwick quickly followed. A Parliamentary patent was secured in March 1643/4, uniting the four settlements. It was also a Self-Governing colony, where high-ranking exiles and criminals were sent.
In 1663, a Royal Charter was granted by Charles II of England for the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. Unlike many of the other colonies' charters, the charter for Rhode Island specifically guaranteed religious freedom for all Christians and even Jews. Because of this, a small Jewish population existed in Rhode Island, the only one in the original 13 British colonies of North America to be able to practice their religion freely. However, some extremist Puritan groups were against this religious toleration.
Rhode Island was the first of the thirteen colonies to declare its independence, which it did so on May 4, 1776.
Rhode Island was the last colony of the thirteen colonies to ratify the United States Constitution.
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Last updated: 10-19-2005 00:09:11
