Rhode Island and Independence

Unlike the other colonies that existed in the late 18th century, Rhode Island was in a unique situation in regards to its political situation and its ties with the British Crown. In 1663, King Charles II granted Rhode Islanders with a Royal Charter. This Charter granted its citizens not only religious freedom, but freedom to govern themselves. They were thus enabled to vote for their own Governor, as well as their own Legislature. This situation was incredibly unique for British North America, save for Maryland, which also received a charter from Charles II.

This royal charter,however, did not save Rhode Island from the taxation which was imposed on their fellow colonies during the 18th century. As a colony that was predominately centered around maritime trade, Rhode Island was heavy hit by the Molasses Act of 1733, and the Sugar Act of 1764. Rhode Islanders not only felt as though these acts prohibited their right to freedom of commerce, but they also felt as though they should not be taxed whatsoever, as they possesed the Royal Charter.

The two major newspapers in Rhode Island, the Providence Gazette and the Newport Mercury were outspoken in their distaste for British imposition on the colony's commerce, and both provided a platform for the colony leaders to motivate Rhode Islanders to work against British agents who patrolled Narragansett Bay, eager to enforce both acts. This is evident in the publication of an essay by Governor Stephen Hopkins, entitled Essay on the Trade of the Northern Colonies, which spoke of the ramifications of these acts on a colony that revolved around the importation of molasses. The essay was first printed in the Mercury, and gained such widespread popularity that it was eventually reprinted in papers in New York and Boston.

The Mercury also provided an insight on how the common population of Newport reacted to taxation. In September 1765, they were not afraid to let their feelings known to British officials who were in town to enforce the Stamp Act, such as Martin Howard. "A Mob collected, and marched directly to Mr. Howard's ; and not finding the Gentleman there, they shattered some of the Windows, and went off. But not satisified with the Mischief they had done, they soon returned to the Charge with redoubled Fury, broke the Windows and doors all to Pieces, damaged the Partitions of the House, and ruined such Furniture as was left in it." Needless to say, Mr. Howard no longer felt welcome in Newport, and immedeatly left town (he had received word of the planned attack on his home, and sought refuge aboard a British sloop in Newport Harbor for the night).

By 1772, Rhode Island frustration over British taxation reached its boiling point when a British Navy schooner, the H.M.S. Gaspee, was boarded by 100 Rhode Islanders who were angered by the ships presence in Naragansett Bay, to prohibit smuggling. The Gaspee raid was organized by prominent families in Providence, Pawtucket, and Rehobeth. The ship was boarded in the dark of night, and the raiders were met with little resistance. Lieutenant Dudsington led the defense, but was shot in both the arm and groin, and the Gaspee was burned to the waterline.

The raid of the Gaspee was the first planned attack against the British military in the colonies, as well as the first intent to kill a British military officer. Rhode Island, without question, led the way in defiance against the Crown, both in terms of physical attacks, and political defiance. Rhode Island was the first colony to declare independence from Great Britain, on May 4, 1776.

As evident in this blog, from its inception in 1636, through 1776, Rhode Island was a colony that thrived on freedom, whether it be in terms of religious freedom, political, or commercial. It provided the first form of democracy in the colonies, and served as a political model for years to come. As a sidenote, the Royal Charter of 1663 that was granted to Rhode Island served as the state's constitution until November 1842. ___________________________________________________

British Parliament; Stamp Act. (10/28/1765). Newport Mercury

Soul Liberty into the 18th century

By the end of the 17th century, Rhode Island, which was now predominately Baptist and Quaker, had no clear religious leader. Roger Williams had died in 1683, and Rhode Island Baptists, through Williams' teachings, had grown to distrust learned religious leaders.


Rhode Island was also left adrift with another problem after their founder's death. Since its inception, the colony had prided itself on allowing all to pursue "soul liberty", and thus had no state religion. As a result, Rhode Island was without any outside social connections to the other colonies.

These problems that Rhode Island faced at the end of one century were quickly addressed at the beginning of another. In 1703, Anglican ministers in London established the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, which sent fellow ministers to the colonies to spread the Anglican faith. James Honeyman was sent to Newport in the same year, and his arrival hoped to foster imperial patriotism, align the rich and powerful of the colony with the Crown, and, undermine the growing influence of the Quakers and Baptists. The Society was quite successful, and 22 years later, Newport built Trinity Church, now the oldest Episcopal parish in Rhode Island.

The Congregationalist Church also began to gain parishioners in the early 18th century, when towns in the eastern portion of the colony, such as Bristol, became Rhode Island towns(they were formally a part of Massachusetts). The Congregationalists had their roots in the Puritan tradition that existed in the 17th century.



Newport was the second city in British North America to have a Jewish community, which arrived in 1658 from Brazil. While Judaism did not gain any converts in the colony, they were quick to make an impact on both the religious and economic level. Many Jews were prominent merchants in Newport, such as Aaron Lopez, who dominated the whaling trade in the mid 18th century. In 1759, the Jewish community built the first synagogue in North America, known as the Touro Synagogue.

Unlike other colonies, colonists in Rhode Island had the ability to choose a faith that satisfied their own needs, either spiritually, or even socially. By the mid 18th century, the switch Rhode Islanders made to realigning churches with traditions of learning and magnificence, allowed them to create links with the outside world, whether it be through the Anglicans, who established a solid Newport-London link, or the Congregationalists who established a Providence-Boston link.
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-Crane, Elaine Foreman. A Dependant People: Newport, Rhode Island in the Revolutionary Era. Fordham UP: New York, NY. 1985.