Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations

The Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a theologian, independent preacher, and linguist on land gifted by the Narragansett sachem Canonicus. Roger Williams, fleeing from religious persecution in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, agreed with his fellow settlers on an egalitarian constitution providing for majority rule "in civil things" and liberty of conscience. Roger Williams named the colony Providence Plantation, in recognition of agriculture as the basis of its economy and believing that God had brought him and his followers there. Williams named the other islands in the Narragansett Bay after virtues: Patience Island, Prudence Island and Hope Island.

Source: Wikipedia