And that's because on Monday, Gov. The Rhode Island Foundation spearheaded a nonprofit group advocating for the change with an initial $75,000 grant. The claim: Rhode Island changed its name to remove a racially insensitive phrase Rhode Island Gov. The state seal, found on government buildings and the state letterhead, includes an anchor, the word "hope" and the phrase "the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations." Between Roger Williams’ arrival and the end of King Philip’s War (about 40 years), the settlers had taken nearly all of the Narragansett territory. 1. Rhode Island approved a ballot measure to change the state's name to just "Rhode Island" from "Rhode Island and Providence Plantations." A Bristol slaver told his nephew, “I would plow the ocean into pea-porridge to make money.” Rhode Island's official name is "The State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations," and the state may remove that last part, to avoid slavery connotations. The word “Plantations” in Rhode Island history giving rise to the name has nothing to do with slave ownership or slave plantations. Professor emeritus J. Stanley Lemons of Rhode Island College said the meaning of plantation at the time was any settlement, ... “Plymouth Plantation, or Ulster Plantation, or Roxbury Plantation, or Providence Plantation, has zero to do with slavery,” Lemons told WJAR-TV. Abbr. …commission, which in 1644 incorporated Providence Plantations, afterward Rhode Island. Rhode Island is the smallest in area, the eighth least populous, but the second most densely populated of the 50 US states behind New Jersey. "Whatever the meaning of the term 'plantations' in the context of Rhode Island's history, it carries a horrific connotation when considering the tragic and racist history of our nation." To understand this larger English colonial world that shaped Rhode Island and the words used in its colonial title, we can begin with the Oxford English Dictionary, which states that as early as 1626 in Virginia, ‘plantation’ was understood to mean “An estate or large farm, esp. in a former English colony, on which crops such as cotton, sugar, and tobacco are grown (formerly with the aid of slave … Rhode Island Gov. Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo signed an executive order on Monday taking the 'first steps' to change the state's full name: 'The State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations.' Rhode Island To Change State's Controversial Full Name Voters in Rhode Island have passed a ballot measure that will drop the words "Providence Plantations" from the official state name. Claim: The state of Rhode Island is moving to drop the word "Plantation" from its official name. Submit a … The permanent name change would require voters to approve altering the Rhode Island Constitution in November.“Whatever the meaning of the term ‘plantations’ in the context of Rhode Island’s history, it carries a horrific connotation when considering the tragic and racist history of our nation,” Metts told the Providence Journal.“The images that come to mind when I hear the word ‘plantations’ are of … The city of Warwick, R.I., is named for him. Because of the large size of the plantation, cheap labor (like slaves) are often needed to tend the farm. Rhode Island, officially the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, is a state in the New England region of the United States. Rhode Island is bordered … One of the original Thirteen Colonies, Rhode Island was … Rhode Island voters on Tuesday approved shortening the state’s official name, removing the centuries-old phrase “and Providence Plantations.” In 1635, Williams was banished to England by the Massachusetts Bay Colony for his beliefs in the separation of church and state and freedom of religion. Rhode Island’s official full name is State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. RI or R.I. A state of the northeast United States on the Atlantic Ocean. Rather, at the time Rhode Island was founded, the term plantation simply signified an early settlement: The Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations was one of the original Thirteen Colonies established on the east coast of America, bordering the Atlantic Ocean. Instead, he fled and lived with the Narragansett Indians in what would become Providence Plantation (meaning "settlement"). "Whatever the meaning of the term ‘plantations’ in the context of Rhode Island’s history, it carries a horrific connotation when considering the tragic and racist history of our nation." Read our editorial standards. Rhode Island was originally a colony to designed raise crops on this plantation system. State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations synonyms, State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations pronunciation, State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations translation, English dictionary definition of State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. The "plantations" part of the state’s full name — The State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations — and its connotation of slavery has come under increased criticism following widespread … "We can't ignore the image … Gina Raimondo has signed an executive order to take the first step in order to get rid of the state’s full name, which includes the word “plantations,” the New York Post reported on Tuesday.. Even the use of the word “plantation” to refer to farming and planting is problematic in Rhode Island, given that in order to create a plantation farming colony, settlers ended up taking tribal land from the native Narragansetts. Gina Raimondo has issued an executive order stripping the word "plantation" — a loaded term associated with slavery — from official state documents and symbols. Rhode Island slave traders transported more than 100,000 Africans into bondage. Providence Plantations was the first permanent European American settlement in Rhode Island.It was established by a group of colonists led by Roger Williams and Dr. John Clarke who left Massachusetts Bay Colony in order to establish a colony with greater religious freedom. In this office he attempted to secure a guarantee of religious liberty in the colonies. This is the meaning it has today, and the main reason why activists have previously called for Rhode Island to take “plantation” out of its name. During the 17th century, "plantation" had a different meaning and was defined as a new colony. Founding of Rhode Island . It was an English colony from 1636 until 1707, and then a colony of Great Britain until the American Revolution in 1776, when it became the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations (commonly known simply as Rhode Island). We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Historians say the term “plantations” in Rhode Island doesn’t reflect … Rhode Island State Names (Etymology of Names) Rhode Island Name Origin and State Nicknames. The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations - many Americans are just finding out that this is the official name for the state of Rhode Island.