Native Americans lived around
Narragansett Bay for thousands of years before English settlers began arriving in the early 17th century. Rhode Island was unique among the
Thirteen British Colonies in having been founded by a refugee,
Roger Williams, who fled
religious persecution in the
Massachusetts Bay Colony to establish a haven for religious liberty. He founded Providence in 1636 on land purchased from local tribes, creating the first settlement in North America with an explicitly secular government. The
Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations subsequently became a destination for religious and political dissenters and social outcasts, earning it the moniker "Rogue's Island".
Rhode Island was the first colony to call for a
Continental Congress, in 1774, and the first to renounce its allegiance to the British
Crown, on May 4, 1776. After the
American Revolution, during which it was heavily occupied and contested, Rhode Island became the fourth state to ratify the
Articles of Confederation, on February 9, 1778. Because its citizens favored a weaker central government, it boycotted the
1787 convention that had drafted the
United States Constitution, which it initially refused to ratify; it finally ratified it on May 29, 1790, the last of the original 13 states to do so.
The state was officially named the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations since the colonial era but came to be commonly known as "Rhode Island". In November 2020, the state's voters
approved an amendment to the
state constitution formally dropping "and Providence Plantations" from its full name. Its official nickname is the "Ocean State", a reference to its 400 mi (640 km) of coastline and the large bays and inlets that make up about 14% of its area. (Full article...)
Providence was one of the first cities in the country to industrialize and became noted for its textile manufacturing and subsequent machine tool, jewelry, and silverware industries. Today, the city of Providence is home to eight hospitals and
eight institutions of higher learning which have shifted the city's economy into service industries, though it still retains some manufacturing activity. (Full article...)
The
COVID-19 pandemic in the
U.S. state of
Rhode Island is part of an ongoing worldwide
viralpandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a novel infectious disease caused by
severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). As of August 18, 2022, there has been 414,931 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Rhode Island, 89 of which are currently hospitalized, and 3,636 reported deaths. Rhode Island's COVID-19 case rate and death rate per capita are the highest and twentieth highest, respectively, of the fifty states since the start of the pandemic.
As of August 3, 2022, 1,072,027 Rhode Islanders have received at least one
COVID-19 vaccine dose (equivalent to over 99% of the state's population) with 901,041 Rhode Islanders completing the primary vaccine series (equivalent to 85.28% of the state's population), and 447,252 Rhode Islanders receiving at least one
booster dose (equivalent to 42.33% of the state's population). (Full article...)
To me Newport could never be a place charming by reason of its own charm. That it is a very pleasant place when it is full of people, and the people are in spirits and happy, I do not doubt. But then the visitors would bring, as far as I am concerned, the pleasantness with them.
Waterplace Park is an urban park situated in downtown
Providence,
Rhode Island, finished in 1994. It is connected to 3/4 miles of cobblestone-paved pedestrian walkways along the waterfront known as Riverwalk.
Image 22In 1936, on the 300th anniversary of the settlement of Rhode Island in 1636, the U.S. Post Office issued a commemorative stamp, depicting Roger Williams (from Rhode Island)
Image 46A nine-pence banknote issued by Rhode Island in 1786 (from Rhode Island)
Image 47In 1936, on the 300th anniversary of the settlement of Rhode Island in 1636, the U.S. Post Office issued a commemorative stamp, depicting Roger Williams (from Rhode Island)
Image 48Providence Revolutionaries burned
HMS Gaspee in Warwick in protest of British customs laws. (from Rhode Island)
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