The Rhode Island Colony was founded by Roger Williams in 1636 after he was banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony for having ideas which were considered too progressive for the Puritan society there. Many other Puritan dissenters also moved there, such as Anne Hutchinson, who was famous for speaking out and threatening the patriarchal structure of the colony. As a result, the citizens of Rhode Island were much more freethinking and independent than those of Massachusetts. In fact, when he founded the colony, Williams implemented his radical ideas, such as universal male suffrage, separation of church and state, and equal opportunity. The colony practiced tolerance of all religious beliefs and sought to be as fair as possible. Williams even paid the Native Americans for the land the colony was situated on, which was virtually unheard of at the time. While the colony was, in most ways, very different than the Massachusetts Bay Colony, it was similar geographically. As in much of New England, the land in Rhode Island was rocky and poor for sustaining large crop surpluses. There was, however, good access to the sea and its benefits. This colony also, therefore, relied on fishing and shipbuilding to acquire income.
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