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Rhode Island was one of the 13 original states and was founded by Roger Williams after he was "encouraged" to live elsewhere due his disagreements with the Puritans over religious tolerance and friendship with the Indians.  Rhode Island because a state on May 29, 1790 and was the last of the 13 colonies to ratify the Constitution - however it was the FIRST colony to declare independence from England.  It is also the smallest state in the Union at only 1,045 square miles.  It does have quite a sizable population however, coming in at over 1 million people.  Providence is the capital city and is the same settlement started by Roger Williams after his banishment.

Although Rhode Island remained at peace with the Native Americans, the relationship between the other New England colonies and the Native Americans was more strained, and sometimes led to bloodshed, despite attempts by the Rhode Island leadership to broker peace. During King Philip's War (1675–1676), both sides regularly violated Rhode Island's neutrality. The war's largest battle occurred in Rhode Island, when a force of Massachusetts, Connecticut and Plymouth militia under General Josiah Winslow invaded and destroyed the fortified Narragansett Indian village in the Great Swamp in southern Rhode Island, on December 19, 1675.[21]  The Narragansett also invaded, and burnt down several of the cities of Rhode Island, including Providence, although they allowed the population to leave first. Also in one of the final actions of the war, troops from Connecticut hunted down and killed "King Philip", as they called the Narragansett war-leader Metacom, on Rhode Island's territory.

Today Rhode Island is known for its beautiful coast line and the Narragansett Bay that reaches inland for almost the entire length of the state.

Download the State of Rhode Island Reference Map

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