How Rhode Island Differed from the Massachusetts Bay Colonies

Rhode Island, founded by Roger Williams in 1636 after his banishment from Massachusetts, diverged sharply in five ways:

1. Religious freedom – welcomed all faiths; Massachusetts enforced Puritan orthodoxy.
2. Democratic governance – General Assembly (1663) allowed all male property owners to vote; Massachusetts was a Puritan theocracy.
3. Trade-based economy – Narragansett Bay enabled shipping, shipbuilding, commerce; Massachusetts was agrarian.
4. Flexible social structure – accepted dissenters, Quakers, Jews; Massachusetts had rigid hierarchy.
5. Peaceful Native relations – Williams negotiated land purchases, alliances; Massachusetts had recurrent wars (Pequot, King Philip's).

Rhode Island became a haven for nonconformists and a model of church-state separation.