Rhode Island History

In 1524 Italian navigator Giovanni Verrazano sailed into Rhode Island and in 1614 Dutch explorer Adriaen Block visited the island now known as Block Island.

But long before European settlers arrived, Rhode Island was inhabited by Native Americans, including the Narragansett Indians.

In 1636 clergyman Roger Williams led a group of settlers seeking religious freedom to the tip of Narragansett Bay. The new community "Providence" was founded on the principles of freedom of thought and worship.

On July 8, 1663 King Charles II of England formally granted a royal charter to the "Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations." To this day the state's official name remains, "The State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations."

In 1664, the official seal of the colony was adopted, picturing an anchor and the word "HOPE."

Rhode Island was the site of some of the earliest acts of major defiance against the British crown. Rhode Island colonists protesting unfair taxes and treatment torched the British customs sloop Liberty in Newport Harbor in July 1769. In June of 1772 a group of Rhode Islanders protesting the Stamp Act captured and burned the British schooner, "Gaspee," which had been harassing Rhode Island shipping vessels for several years. These events helped lead the American colonies to organize the famous Committees of Correspondence which first drew them together to act as one against a common danger.

Approximately four years later, on May 4, 1776, Rhode Island became the first of the original thirteen colonies to declare its independence.

To learn more about Rhode Island's fascinating history, you can visit the Rhode Island Secretary of State's web site.