If you got a little bite of history that fit into a Slick Tract you may want to know more about Roger Williams, Sachems Cononicus and Miantonomo, Anne Hutchinson and the Puritans of Massachusetts this is an ongoing resource where links will be added as I find them.
Massachusetts was founded by Christians who wanted to practice their religion. They didn’t tolerate people whose practice was different.
This is a history of the tragic King Philip’s War, that burned Providence to the ground and scattered the Narragansett survivors to small pieces of the land they had inhabited for time untold.
Following King Philip’s War, native prisoners of war were sold into slavery in the Caribbean, along with people caught up in the conflict who tried to surrender to the English. This kept the conflict active, as Indians saw no safety in trying to make peace. Details of the conflict, and female Sachems who lead their people in resistance are here ‘Why shall wee have peace to bee made slaves’ Linford D. Fisher
This town is full of Roger Williams nerds, if you are one of them, or just have an opinion, comments are welcome. Roger Williams, his wife Mary and others made great sacrifices to establish the freedom of belief we all enjoy today. Some, like Quaker, Mary Dyer, gave their lives rather than submit to state religion. But this is not a simple story where the good guys win. The colonists were all moving into Native land, often violently. During the 1600’s the American Slave Trade was being constructed. Roger Williams was part of this and Rhode Island was a central point in the Triangle Trade in people, sugar and rum. Freedom of conscience, as Roger Williams called it Soul Liberty, has saved our country from the religious wars that devastated Europe. Recognizing freedom as an inalienable human right required a Civil War.