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Rhode Island History
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 Roger
Williams and a group of religious followers founded the town of
Providence in what is today known as Rhode Island after their
banishment from the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Williams believed
in the importance of liberty of conscience, which became an
important principle in the founding of Rhode Island and
ultimately in the founding of the United States. Officially
called "The State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations,"
Rhode Island is one of the six New England states and one of the
original 13 states of the Union, entering in 1790. It is the
smallest state in area in the country. Rhode Island's flower is
the violet, and the capital is Providence. The name "Rhode
Island" is credited to Italian navigator Giovanni Verrazano who
compared the nearby island Block Island to Rhodes in Greece.
Later Williams thought that Verrazano had been referring to
island where they had settled and began calling the island Rhode
Island. |
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