Providence Plantations
Rhode Island's first permanent settlement
Providence Plantations, was established at
Providence in
1636 by English clergyman
Roger Williams and a small band of followers who had left the repressive atmosphere of the
Massachusetts Bay Colony to seek
freedom of worship. Canonicus and Miantonomi granted Williams a sizable tract of land for his new village. [1]
"Providence Plantations" refers to the mainland portion of the state wich was originally all part of the town of Providence and "Rhode Island" referring to Aquidneck Island on which Newport is located.
References
1. "The Colonial Era" http://www.state.ri.us/rihist/earlyh.htm