Rhode Island Map Other towns began to be founded in Rhode Island, all of them by religious dissidents from the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Anne Hutchinson, William Coddington, and John Clarke founded Portsmouth on the north end of Acquidneck Island in 1638. Coddington, Clarke, and their followers then broke away from Portsmouth to found Newport in 1639. Following several years of wrangling with the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the Plymouth Colony, and the existing Rhode Island towns, Samuel Gorton founded Warwick in 1643. Although Hutchinson, Coddington, and Clarke had spoken with Roger Williams about obtaining land from the Narragansett tribe, the four towns existed as separate entities rather than a unified colony, making them vulnerable to control from Massachusetts Bay. Best countries to visit in march Like other settlements in Rhode Island, Newport was founded (in 1639) by religious dissidents from the Massachusetts Bay Colony. By 1730, as seen here, the town flourished in shipping and the Triangle Trade. (Brown Brothers, Sterling, Pennsylvania) In 1644, England was ruled by a Puritan-dominated Parliament, rather than the Crown. Encouraged by this, Providence, Portsmouth, and Newport agreed to send Williams to England to obtain official recognition. A patent was granted, and the Rhode Island towns were united. The patent defined Rhode Island’s boundaries and extended religious freedom to all of its people. The first General Assembly of the colony met in 1647, and official laws were drawn up. As Rhode Island’s religious freedoms became better known, the colony became a refuge for members of other religions. In 1656, a community of Jews settled in Newport. They were followed in 1657 by Quakers fleeing persecution in Boston.
