Timeline

Early 1500s:

There were 5 Indigenous tribes living in Rhode Island in the early 1500s: the Pequots, Nipmucs, Niantics, Narragansetts, Wampanoags. The Wampanoag dominated the east side of Narragansett Bay, and the Narragansett, ruled about ⅔  of what is now Rhode Island on the west side. The Nipmuc were in the northwest corner of Rhode Island, with the Niantic along the southern coast. The Pequot were found between the Narragansett Bay and The Connecticut River. All these tribes were thought to be Algonquian-speaking, and were all referred to as Narragansett once Rhode Island was colonized.1 

1524: 

Giovanni da Verrazzano was born in 1485 in Tuscany Italy, and died 1528. He was an Italian navigator and explorer for France, and he was encountered by the Narragansett in 1524.Verrazzano’s ship anchored in Narragansett Bay and two  Narragansett sachems made Verrazzano and his crew their guests of honor. The Europeans attempted to trade steel and cloth with the Narragansett, but they were only interested in their little trinkets and bells.2 

1616-1619:

An unknown epidemic came to light at this time. The disease severely damaged the population of Wampanoags, as it hit the Native Americans of Cape Cod and elsewhere in Massachusetts. Other tribes of Indigeous Peoples’ were not documented to have been affected.1

1620:

In the early 1500s, the Narragansett tribe was about 5,000 people. Their territory stretched to about ⅔ of what is now the state of Rhode Island. In the 1620s they decided to expand their territory. They did this at the expense of weaker tribes, such as the Wampanoag who had just suffered from the epidemic. The claimed parts of present-day Providence, Lincoln, Cumberland, and Smithfield.3

1632:

The Pequot and Narragansett tribes battled for control over what is now Richmond and Charlestown. The Pequot defeated the Narragansett and took control of the territory. Shortly after, smallpox struck the Pequot tribe and their numbers were reduced from around 16,000 to about 3,000.3

1635:

William Blackstone, the first European to live in the Boston area, landed in Boston in 1623. In 1630, the Puritans arrived and found him living on land that they had a patent for. The Puritans of Massachusetts Bay Colony drove him out and had his house destroyed. Blackstone then migrated to what is now Cumberland, and became the first European to settle in Rhode Island in 1635.4

1636:

The year following European settlement in Rhode Island, Narragansett sachem Canonicus and his nephew Miantonomi granted Roger Williams land rights to establish his colony, which would later become Providence. Williams learned the Algonquian language and became a peacemaker between the Indigenous tribes of Rhode Island and the European settlers. 

Additionally in this year, a Boston trader was murdered on Block Island. The murderer was assumed to be a Pequot, due to the fact that the Pequots and Narragansett had previously fought for control of this land. Tension between Pequots and settlers had been building, and this was the breaking point. This began the Pequot War, a war fought between the Pequot tribe and the European settlers. The settlers were joined by members of the Mohegan and Narragansett tribes. Between 500-600 members of the Pequot tribes were either burned alive or killed in an attack on one of their forts by the English and their allied tribes.

1638:

Williams fled to Rhode Island in 1635 after being banished by Massachusetts Bay Colony for his views regarding religion and the separation of Church and State. Shortly after, Anne Hutchinson was also banished from Massachusetts Bay Colony for her religious views and preachings. Williams helped Hutchinson and many of her followers in the purchase of Aquidneck Island (would become Rhode Island), and they founded Pocasset (modern day Portsmouth) in 1638.3

1639:

The initial settlements in Rhode Island were wildly unstable. Full of very religious individuals with strong opinions, Providence experienced multiple secessions in its early years. In 1639, William Coddington and eight other well known families left Providence. They traveled to the south end of what was Aquidneck Island and founded what is now known as Newport. It soon became one of the most flourishing seaports in colonial North America because of it’s harbor.5

1643:

Another succession from Providence in its early years resulted in the establishment of Shawoment (modern day Warwick) by Samuel Gorton. Consisting of 20 scattered villages it was a primarily residential suburb. Shawomet was later renamed Warwick after Robert Rich, 2nd earl of Warwick. Rich supported Gorton’s idea to gain protection of a royal charter against the Massachusetts Bay colony.

Later in 1643, neighboring colonies formed the United Colonies of New England, a military alliance that was also known as the New England Confederation. These colonies outwardly excluded Rhode Island from the alliance, and denied the validity of Roger Williams purchases from the Indigenous Peoples.6

1644:

The neighboring colonies of Plymouth, Massachusetts Bay, and Connecticut frequently attempted to break apart and claim Rhode Island. Plymouth attempted to claim Aquidneck Island, Connecticut Warwick and everything south of it, and Massachusetts Bay the modern day Cranston-Warwick area. These disputes lead to fraudulent land syndicates claiming all the land previously controlled by the Narragansett. With the newly formed New England Confederation, Williams went to parliament seaking a charter. This charter sought to unite Providence, Newport, Portsmouth, and Warwick under one colony. William Coddington, however, blocked the merging of colonies until 1647, when a loose confederation was established. Coddington secured a patent in 1651 that made him governor for life over the Warwick and Portsmouth settlements along with the rest of the Conanicut and Aquidneck islands.5

1663:

The monarchy in Britain was restored in 1660 following the Commonwealth period, and the 1644 charter for Rhode Island was deemed invalid. John Clarke, friend of Roger Williams who helped him with the William Coddington incidents, remained in England and acted as Rhode Island’s agent. In 16663, Clarke obtained a second charter for Rhode Island, this time from King Charles II. This charter guaranteed the experiment of Rhode Island and remained intact until 1842, when it was replaced by a state constitution.5 

1675:

The Narragansett maintained a peaceful relationship with the settlers suntil 1675, when King-Phillip’s war began. The Wampanoag tribe, among others, had been rebelling against colonists expansion. The war had not affected Rhode Island until December, when the European settlements launched an attack on the Narragansett, who had remained neutral until this point. This attack would become known as the Great Swamp Massacre, and 700 Narragansett were killed, including women and children.7

1676:

Post massacre, the Narragansett joined the war. Led by their war chief Canonchet, the tribe destroyed a company of English soldiers in March of 1676. Although Roger Williams’ attempted to negotiate, the Narragansett burned Providence to the ground. Despite their efforts, the English settlers killed Canonchet and defeated the Narragansett. The remaining members of the tribe left their homeland and joined other tribes such as the Mohegan and Niantic, and all tribes took the Narragansett name. The end of King Philip’s War signified the end of the Native American way of life in Rhode Island as it had existed before European settlement, and all of the territory was opened up to colonization.7

1680s:

After the end of King Phillip’s war, King James II attempted to consolidate all of the colonies with New York and New Jersey. His quest was to join them all under a common governor, and Rhode Island was reduced to just a county in the Dominion of England in the process. He demanded that all colonies surrender their royal charters, but Rhode Island (among others) hid their charter.8

1689:

The Glorious Revolution, also called the The Bloodless Revolution, took place in England from 1688 to 1689. Part of this revolution was the overthrow of King James II, a Catholic, who was replaced by his daughter Mary and her Dutch husband. After Mary and her husband William took power in England, colonies in New England who had refused the surrender of their royal charters reinstated them. Rhode Island reestablished its separate existence at this time.9

1689-1763:

Despite the reestablishment of the Rhode Island colony, the crown continued to interfere with some local matters. This intervention pushed Rhode Island to become entangled in larger imperial affairs. England and France fought a series of imperial wars in North America from 1689 to 1763, and Rhode Island was a part of all of them. This drew Rhode Island out of isolation and the colony completely transformed its economy. Many towns in Rhode Island were some of the largest in all of England’s colonies, and the colony formed a substantial trade network outside of the British imperial regulations.10

1775:

Many well known events like the Sugar Act and the Boston Tea Party contributed to tensions between North American colonies and Great Britain. After the tea party, Rhode Island sent aid to its neighbor colony Massachusetts. The first shots of the American Revolution were fired in 1775, and Rhode Island instantly dispatched its militia to aid in the war.10 

1776:

Rhode Island was among the first and most enthusiastic colonies to resist British rule. They were the first to call for a continental congress in 1774. They were also the first to eliminate an oath of allegiance to the British crown that had been required of colonial officials in 1776.10

1783:

The colonies declared independence at the end of the American Revolution, and they began to draft their laws. Rhode Island was in favor of the Articles of Confederation because it created a weak central government. The colony was in favor of the independence it had under this first draft of the U.S Constitution. Rhode Island refused to send delegates to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787 in an attempt to block the strengthening of the central government.10

1790:

Rhode Island repeatedly defeated attempts to ratify the U.S Constitution upon completion of its drafting. It was the last of the original 13 states to do so, and did not ratify it until more than a year after it had gone into effect.10