who settled in the colony of rhode island
List of early settlers of Rhode Island Narragansett people lived throughout the Rhode Island colony
History of the Puritans in North America Williams' actions so outraged the Puritan leaders of the Massachusetts Bay Colony that they expelled him from the colony. In 1636, the exiled Williams founded the colony of Providence Plantation. He was one of the first Puritans to advocate separation of church and state, and Providence Plantation was one of the first places in the Christian world to recognize freedom of religion.