Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations
Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1636–1776 | |||||||||||||
| Capital | Providence, Newport | ||||||||||||
| Languages | English, Narragansett, Massachusett | ||||||||||||
| Government |
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| Governor | |||||||||||||
• 1636–1644 | Roger Williams | ||||||||||||
• 1644–1775 | (list) | ||||||||||||
• 1775–1776 | Nicholas Cooke | ||||||||||||
| Legislature | General Assembly | ||||||||||||
• Upper House (de facto) | Council of Assistants | ||||||||||||
• Lower House (de facto) | House of Deputies | ||||||||||||
| Historical era | |||||||||||||
• Established | 1636 | ||||||||||||
• Foundation | 1637 | ||||||||||||
• Patent for Settlement | 1643-1644 | ||||||||||||
• Coddington Commission | 1651–1653 | ||||||||||||
| 1663 | |||||||||||||
• Part of the Dominion of New England | 1686–1689 | ||||||||||||
• Resumption of Royal Charter | 1688 | ||||||||||||
• Disestablished | 1776 | ||||||||||||
| Currency | Rhode Island pound | ||||||||||||
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| Today part of | Rhode Island | ||||||||||||
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The Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations was an English colony on the eastern coast of America, founded in 1636 by Puritan minister Roger Williams after his exile from the Massachusetts Bay Colony. It became a haven for religious dissenters and was known for its commitment to religious freedom and self-governance.
The colony was officially chartered by the Patent of 1643–1644, granted by the English Parliament. It received a more comprehensive Royal Charter in 1663 from King Charles II, which established its government and guaranteed its religious liberties. Rhode Island continued as a self-governing colony until 1776, when it declared independence from Great Britain during the American Revolution, becoming the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations.