Narragansett Bay
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Narragansett Bay is a bay and estuary on the north side of Rhode Island Sound, forming an expansive natural harbor as well as a small archipelago. The three largest islands in the bay are Aquidneck Island, Conanicut Island, and Prudence Island.
The largest cities in the State of Rhode Island have their waterfronts on the bay. Providence, the state capital and its largest city, sits on the west side of the head of the northern most arm of the bay. Newport is on Aquidneck Island. The area of the bay is 147 square miles.
[edit] Early history
The first recorded visit by Europeans to the bay was probably in the early 16th century. At the time, the area around the bay was inhabited by two different and distinct groups of natives. The Narragansetts occupied the west side of the bay. The Wampanoag lived on the east side, occupying the land out to Cape Cod.
It is accepted by most historians that first contact by Europeans was made by Giovanni da Verrazzano, who entered the bay in his ship La Dauphine in 1524 after visiting New York Bay. Verrazzano called the bay "Refugio". The bay has several entrances, however, and the exact route of his voyage and the location where he laid anchor is still a subject of dispute among historians, leading to a corresponding uncertainty over which tribe made contact with him (see [1], [2]). He reported that he found clearings and open forests suitable for travel "even by a large army."
In 1614, the bay was later explored and mapped by the Dutch navigator Adriaen Block, after whom nearby Block Island is named.
The first recorded European settlement was in the 1630s. Roger Williams, a dissatisfied member of the Plymouth Colony, moved into the area around the year 1635. He made contact with the Narragansett and set up a trading post on the west side of the bay. At the same time, the Dutch had established a trading post approximately 12 miles to the southwest which was under the authority of New Amsterdam in New York Bay.
In 1643, Williams traveled to England and was granted a charter for the new colony of Rhode Island. He also wrote a dictionary of the Narragansett language, Keys to the Indian Language, which was published in England that same year.
Captain James Cook's Endeavor is believed to have sunk in the bay after being sold in 1775 by the Royal Navy.
