Colonial

In the vault at the South Kingstown Town Hall, tucked into the inside back cover of Town Meeting Records March 1798 to 1836 South Kingstown, there are several typewritten copies …
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At the current time, informed by our shared experience with Covid-19, most Americans now have more than just a passing familiarity with how our government and health-care system responds to …
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One of the most exciting European visitors to colonial America was the Very Reverend Dr. George Berkeley (1685-1753), who spent most of three years in Rhode Island. The rest of …
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After a slow beginning in the 17th century, the colony of Rhode Island came to dominate the slave trade in British North America in the 18th century.

Slavery by the …
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The 17th century brought enormous changes to the Western Hemisphere, commonly called the Americas. European explorers and settlers claimed land in North and South America for economic, sovereignty, political or …
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These three ministers helped shape colonial and revolutionary Rhode Island. The first was the minister of the Second Congregational Church in Newport, Reverence Dr. Ezra Stiles. The second was …
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Contrary to the popular image of Johnny Depp’s Jack Sparrow character as an amiable buffoon, pirates in their day were usually cruel thugs, petty criminals, and international terrorists. Pirates had …
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Napoleon Bonaparte said that history is the version of past events that people have decided to agree on. William Jackson was murdered in South Kingstown in 1751, and Thomas Carter …
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In colonial times, death was a common occurrence reaching into all families, regardless of wealth, social station and race. In seaport towns such as Newport, Rhode Island, influenza, scarlet …
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[From the Editor:  In the late 17th and early 18h centuries, Rhode Island was a haven for pirates.  That changed in 1723 when Charles Harris and twenty-five other pirates …
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