RHODE ISLAND: THE MOST DEMOCRATIC COLONY IN POLITICS AND RELIGION

94. Roger Williams Plants Providence (1636). By the stern decision of Massachusetts, Roger Williams had been ordered to return to

England, but he preferred the dangers of the New England wilderness in winter and the companionship of savage Indians (871). "For fourteen weeks he was sorely tost in a bitter season, not knowing what bread or bed did mean." Sometimes he was without companions and without guides other than the sun and stars. At other times he had neither food nor fire, and no sleeping. place but the friendly trunk of a hollow tree. He finally reached the wigwam of his good friend Massasoit, where he rested for a time.

ROGER WILLIAMS ON HIS WAY SOUTH
TO FOUND RHODE ISLAND

In June, 1636, with five companions, he founded Providence as "a shelter for persons distressed in conscience." (See map, page 72.) The Indian chief gave him a tract. of land, and he in turn almost gave it away to settlers. Each month the people of the little community met to regulate their affairs, but only in civil matters, for no law passed by them touched religious belief or interfered with freedom of conscience.

95. Portsmouth and Newport Settled. Some banished friends of Mrs. Hutchinson, on invitation from Roger Williams, settled on the island of Rhode Island

and named their town Portsmouth (1637). (See map below.) Mrs. Hutchinson herself soon arrived, and there she expressed her opinions without check. On account of disputes among the leaders of the colony, William Coddington, a liberal-minded gentleman, led off a party and planted Newport. These two towns soon united and formed the "Colony of Rhode Island." In 1641 the people declared "that the government of this island is a Democracie."

96. Union Under One Charter (1644). Roger Williams now had great influence with the English government and obtained a charter from Parliament which united Providence, Portsmouth, Newport, and Warwick into one colony under the name of the Providence Plantations. This was a very liberal charter, for it permitted

the people to make their own laws and to govern themselves as they pleased. Freedom of conscience was in no way interfered with, and it is to the great honor of Roger Williams and Rhode Island that no one ever suffered in that colony on account of his religious belief. In 1663 a new charter was obtained from Charles II. which confirmed the rights and privileges of the colonists, and particularly asserted that no one should ever be made to suffer "for any difference in opinion in matters of religion." Rhode Island was so well contented with this new charter, which in all essential respects made her a republic, that comparatively few changes were made in it till 1842, when it became necessary to allow more people to vote.

EARLY SETTLEMENTS IN
RHODE ISLAND AND

THE PROVIDENCE
PLANTATIONS

NEW YORK

HOLLAND PLANTS A COLONY IN AMERICA

97. Henry Hudson; The Dutch Fur Traders. Henry Hudson, an English sailor employed by the Dutch East India Company,

failing in an effort to find a northeast route to India, turned his vessel, the "Half Moon," westward toward the shores of America. He entered the river which bears his name, and sailed up to the present site of Albany (1609). He traded with the Indians, noted the char

acter of the soil, the beautiful scenery, the great forests everywhere, and the abundance of rich fur-bearing animals. Hudson reported his discovery to the company.

The Dutch merchants were among the most enterprising in their day, and they soon had their boats in New Netherland, as the country was called, to take advantage of Hudson's discovery. By 1613 the fur traders had built four rude houses on Manhattan Island and about the same time they constructed a fort near Albany. (See map, page 78.)

98. A Lasting Indian Treaty (1616). The fur trade was the foundation of New Netherland's prosperity, but success in the fur trade demanded friendship with the Indians. The Dutch, through Henry Hudson, had made a good beginning, but their rivals, the French in Canada (§ 150), had made a bad one by attacking the

Iroquois, or Five Nations, who occupied New York. Hence these powerful tribes were glad enough to make a treaty with the Dutch fur traders. The Indians wanted arms and ammunition, and the Dutch wanted furs. These they agreed to exchange, and both were happy. For over one hundred years the powerful Five Nations stood as a barrier between the French and the valleys of the Hudson and the Mohawk. (See map below.)

99. The West India Company; New Amsterdam. News from the fur traders encouraged the formation in Holland of the West India Company. Under its authority settlers had no political rights, but were ruled by a governor and a council appointed by the company. Immigrants to New Netherland now came to stay and settled among the many trading posts. Besides those of Manhattan and Fort Orange, later Albany, the enterprising traders had built posts on the Delaware near the site of

Philadelphia, on Long Island, and later in the valley of the Connecticut. But Manhattan, which soon took the name of New Amsterdam, grew faster than the others. In 1626 Governor Peter Minuit purchased the whole of Manhattan Island from the

Indians. This land, now worth hundreds of millions, cost the old Dutch governor less than one cent per

acre.

100. The Patroons (1629). To increase population and to attract rich men to the colony, the company offered any of its members sending over fifty settlers

A MANSION OF A PATROON, ON THE FAMOUS VAN RENSSELAER ESTATE

the title of patroon, or patron, and a large grant of land. The settlers were to live on this plantation, pay no taxes for ten years, be furnished a farming outfit, and have the services of a minister and teacher. On the other hand, they were not to vote, hold office, or be tried by a jury. The patroon was to be their lawmaker, governor, and judge. The settlers were not to hunt, fish, or manufacture, or remove from the plantation for ten years. They had to sell their products to the patroon and grind their grain at his mill.

The most celebrated patroon was Van Rensselaer, who selected an immense estate on both sides of the Hudson near Fort Orange. Others located near New Amsterdam. In summer all lived upon their estates. In winter they resided in New Amsterdam, and, by their wealth and social position, aided in making it the most aristocratic of the northern cities.