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The colony of Rhode Island was founded when a man named Roger Williams was put on trial for protesting against the forced religious worship of Massachusetts. He was ordered back to England, but escaped and headed south with some followers. There, he bought land for his own settlement, which he named Providence, which meant "The guidance and care of God." In this new colony, Williams promised religious freedom and no forced worship. Later, many other settlements would be established near providence, and in 1647 those settlements merged to form the colony of Rhode Island.