First we must understand that Rhode Island and Massachusetts are almost inseparable in their history, European and Native. As for the English, Providence’s founders were in fact Plymouth’s and Salem’s cast-offs. Rhode Island was first thought a convenient banishment-ground then a growing threat to Massachusetts, and a cold war brooded between the colonies throughout the colonial era.
Furthermore, many of the tribes who lived in Rhode Island also lived in and/or heavily interacted with Massachusetts. The indigenous inhabitants of area were several tribes of the Algonquian Indians, including the Wampanoag, the Narragansett, and the Pequot, among others. Memorably, the names of cities, rivers, etc. reflect the predominant thriving Indian culture in the early years of colonization, including the following: Narragansett Bay, Massachusetts, Massasoit, Nantucket, Mashpee, Natick, and I could go on. One has but to view a map of the area and be overwhelmed by everything from gold courses to creeks that bear names which are obviously Algonquian. When the English arrived just east of Rhode Island in Massachusetts, they were certainly not alone.
The entire Massachusetts May and Narragansett Bay areas were heavily populated with Algonquian speaking peoples. The various tribes had different dialects but seemed able to easily communicate among themselves. The tribes shared many aspects of their culture. They were hunters, fishers, and farmers. They had already cleared much of the land just inland, where they had built a multitude of villages boasting tens of thousands of people in total. They had a complex government system, and even a road system. Though previous bouts with European sicknesses had reduced the numbers of some tribes, the result was hardly a vacuum domicilian in general, but simply the opportunity for other tribes to increase their power over of the others (I am referring here chiefly to the rise of the Narragansett as the dominant tribe in Rhode Island.)
As for the English settlers in Providence, I'll focus on the "first contact" of Roger Williams and his group of immigrants with the native tribes. Of course, the Indians had previous contact with the English, French, and Dutch, some of it relatively fair trade, and some of it unfriendly. There had been occasional kidnapping on both sides, and even a few deaths. Both sides were still trying to maintain some form of civility however, mainly as they both sought trade with each other, and at any rate Williams' little band seemed to have little trouble living alongside the Indians. Surely this was largely owing to the fact that that group of people were not seeking gold or glory, and while they were in a way seeking God, their main objective was not evangelicalism. They were not seeking territory expansion, only a home for their small company; their leader did not consider the King of England to be sovereign over the land, and therefore only lived on land they had fairly purchased from the natives; and also, Williams himself being a brilliant linguist, he soon required no interpreter when speaking with the various tribes.
The founding of Providence by Roger Williams and his “twelve friends,” however, hardly represents the whole of Rhode Island’s history. As the colony grew, and England’s interest was piqued, greed from various directions began to overtake the colony’s once peaceful and almost unnoticed beginnings.
SOURCES:
Conforti, Joseph A. Saints and Strangers: New England in British North America. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press. 2006.
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