1. Rhode Island Small but Beautiful

2. Our Wonderful Founder • Roger Williams founded the colony of Rhode Island • It was founded in 1636 • It was first discovered by Italian and Dutch explorers

3. Impetus for Founding

4. Reasons for Establishing • Roger Williams had disagreements with Massachusetts leaders • He preached that all people should be allowed to worship how they pleased. • They attempted to banish him from the colonies. • Instead, he and his family fled to the Native American village on the Narragansett Bay • Roger Williams called his settlement Providence, meaning direction of god

5. Rhode Island Residents

6. Many people traveled to Rhode Island wanting religious freedom • There were many Native Americans in Rhode Island at the time, and they were cordial with the colonists. • A few rich families brought slave over from Africa for plantation work.

7. Beautiful Rhode Island

8. Early Europeans discovered that Rhode Island had a distinctive red clay soil • The colony name came from the dutch name for it, which was Rooyt Eyelandt, and it meant Red Island • The red clay soil, and hilly landscape was too bad for large scale agriculture

9. Rhode Island, however, was a wonderful shipping port • The winters were harsh, and the summers were humid

10. The Office

11. The economy was originally based on cattle and dairy farming • Also, some families grew crops • Common crops were squash, corn, beans, and tobacco.

12. Also, shipping was a humongous buisness for Rhode Islanders • Shipwrights built ships to cross the Atlantic and deliver goods to Africa and England • It was also a haven for pirates, and a slave trade center

13. The Faith of Rhode Island

14. Rhode island was founded as a place for religious freedom • It was populated with religious groups such as quakes, Baptists, Anglicans, Puritans, and Congregationalists

15. Our Wonderful Leaders

16. Rhode Island was governed by a Governor, Deputy Governor, ten assistants to the Governor, and a General Assembly that was elected from the different villages. • This assembly could make laws, call up a militia, and monitor trade

17. By: Kurt Sofia Taylor

18. THE END