History of the Lands
Bartholomew Legate was the last man burned at the stake in Smithfield where Roger Williams grew up. Just like Roger’s father, Bartholomew was in the clothing industry and may have interacted with Roger’s father at his shop. Either way, Roger Williams was about ten years old when Bartholomew was burned at the stake for simply […]
Bartholomew Legate Burned at the Stake Read More »
The Mayflower Compact set out rules for self-governance for the English settlers who traveled to Colonial America aboard the Mayflower ship in 1620. Of the 102 passengers aboard the Mayflower only 41 were Pilgrims. It was this minority body that established the rules for which they tried to force on all. The majority of passengers
The Magna Carta in 1215 established the following principles: everyone is subject to the law, even the King, individuals have rights, everyone has the right to justice, and everyone has the right to a fair trial. The Magna Carta recognized individual responsibility in all, including the King, and it established that the law “should” be
The Great Quaker Debates occurred in 1672 on Aug 9, 10, 12, and 17 of August. Although Roger Williams welcomed those with differing opinions, he relished in the opportunity to present his viewpoint. Famously, in 1672 at the age of about 69 or 70, he rowed alone, all night from Providence to Newport to debate
The Great Quaker Debates! Read More »
In 1644, Williams published The Bloudy Tenent of Persecution. Historians consider it his most famous work. He wrote Bloudy after arriving in London in midsummer 1643. It was on sale by July 15, 1644. It is a fierce attack on religious and political intolerance in both Old England and New. He advocated for free thought and belief because
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Subtitle: A Briefe Discourse concerning that name Heathen Not only did Roger Williams write the first book on the local native americans, he supported them in ways that were 400 years ahead of his time. In 1645 Roger Williams wrote this small 25 page book. In it he documented that the English and Dutch refer to
Book: Christenings make not Christians Read More »
Roger was about 9 years old when the King James Bible was published in 1611 under the auspices of King James I of England. The King James Bible was the accepted standard from about 1650 through the early 1900s. This interpretation of the Bible was evolved from earlier versions but is a reflection of its times.
King James Bible Published Read More »
29 Generations Ago (from 2020 CE) Spaces between words started circa 800 CE. Over the next few centuries, writing evolved. By the invention of the printing press in 1440, we had punctuation pretty similar to today’s standard. About halfway, at the time of the Magna Carta in 1215, we still had mostly uppercase with spaces
Upper and Lowercase Starts Read More »
