Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations

Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations
Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations
1636–1776
	Flag Seal
Capital	Providence, Newport
Languages	English, Narragansett, Massachusett
Government	Self-governing colony; (1636–1651; 1653–1776); Proprietary colony; (1651–1653);
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	British colonization of the Americas; Puritan migration to New England (1620–1640);
• Established	1636
• Foundation	1637
• Patent for Settlement	1643-1644
• Coddington Commission	1651–1653
• Royal Charter	1663
• Part of the Dominion of New England	1686–1689
• Resumption of Royal Charter	1688
• Disestablished	1776
Area
• Total	4,000 km2 (1,500 sq mi)
Currency	Rhode Island pound
Preceded by	Succeeded by
	Narragansett
	Wampanoag
Rhode Island
Dominion of New England
Today part of	Rhode Island

The Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations was an English colony on the eastern coast of North America, founded in 1636 by Puritan minister Roger Williams, at a settlement he originally called Providence Plantations, after his exile from the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Joined by three other settlements soon founded on Narragansett Bay, the colony became a haven for religious dissenters and was known for its commitment to religious freedom and self-governance.

The four Narragansett Bay settlements created an official confederacy through a charter under 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.