Rhode Island Colony
Anthony and Celeste
A Fresh Start
Rhode Island Culture!
Food
School
Native Americans
A day in the life
When spring arrives, you and your family will likely plant crops. In summer there are sheep to be sheared, crops to be tended, eggs to be collected, and cows to be milked. Them, when autumn arrives, crops have to be harvested, wood needs to be cut and set aside, meat needs to be dried and salted, and fruits and vegetables are dried!
City life is similar to the farm life, but there are a few more options when it comes to obtaining fresh meat or fish, or goods such as cloth and candles. There are also more opportunities for pursuing a business!
Things you need to know!
Climate
Government
Economy
In the coastal towns of our colony, colonists can make a living by fishing, shipbuilding, and whaling! Our soil also allows us to grow corn, pumpkins, rye, squash, and beans.
Rhode Island compared to other colonies!
Rhode Island has religious freedom, as opposed to the Connecticut and Massachusetts colonies where Quaker and Quaker sympathizer punishment includes fines, imprisonment, whipping, and branding! Rhode Island also gives all white men the right to vote, while you must own land in Connecticut in order to have a say.
Rhode Island has long cold winters, while Georgia and Virginia have hot and humid summers. This means that disease spreads much faster in these other two colonies! Georgia and Virginia are also Royal Colonies (directly ruled by the British Crown) while Rhode Island is a Charter Colony (both the British King and American colonists have a share in the government and this will not be changed without consent of both the King and the Colonists).
When Virginia and its first colony, Jamestown, were founded, they encountered many hardships, including starving times and unhealthy water, eventually leading to only 60 of the first 700 settlers surviving. Our colony of Rhode Island was successful at its start because of Roger William's close relationship with the Native Indians, who provided us with food and showed us how to grow food!
Rhode Island has a strong relationship with Native Indians such as the Narraganset, but when the colony of Delaware was founded, all of the original settlers were killed after a disagreement with local Indians!
About our Founder, Roger Williams!
Roger Williams and his wife left England in 1631 to pursue religious freedom. He believed there should be true separation between church and government. Williams first settled in Massachusetts and traveled to the nearby Plymouth colony, but left because nobody understood his beliefs.
The Wampanoag and the Narragansett Indians helped Williams get through the winter and set up a fresh new colony because they viewed him as fair and honest. Williams founded the first baptist church in the U.S. and was one of the few Englishmen who took time to learn the native Algonquin Language.
Thanks to him, the colony of Rhode Island is a place where people of all religions can be together and live peacefully!