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RHODE ISLAND’S WARS: IMPERIAL CONFLICTS AND PROVINCIAL SELF-INTERERSTS IN THE OCEAN COLONY, 1739-48 A Thesis presented to the Faculty of California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts in History by Greg Rogers June 2010 © 2010 Greg Rogers ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ii Committee Membership TITLE: Rhode Island’s Wars: Imperial Conflicts and Provincial Self-Interests in the Ocean Colony, 1739-48 AUTHOR: Greg Rogers DATE SUBMITTED: June 2010 COMMITTEE CHAIR: Thomas Trice, PhD. Professor of History COMMITTEE MEMBER: Matthew Hopper, PhD. Professor of History COMMITTEE MEMBER: Kathleen Murphy, PhD. Professor of History iii Abstract Rhode Island’s Wars: Imperial Conflicts and Provincial Self-Interests in the Ocean Colony, 1739-48 Whether in terms of political and military threats or economic and demographic growth, this thesis argues that Rhode Island’s involvement in this period of imperial warfare was characterized by self-interest on a variety of levels. The government’s military plans, the expansion of provincial power, attempts to raise expeditionary forces, the use of privateers, and the indirect participation of non-combatants all depict a colonial society very interested in its own local political and economic interests. Although literally “provincial,” these interests exhibit the Atlantic and global networks that the smallest of the New England colonies was situated in. These two different sets of concerns, the political and economic, sometimes clashed and at other times combined as politicians, merchants, sailors, soldiers, and citizens participated in the dual conflicts. The War of Jenkins’ Ear and King George’s War may have been imperial in origin, but personal and colonial interests were paramount to regional New England and imperial British concerns. Keywords: Rhode Island, New England, Politics, Colonial America, King George’s War, War of Jenkins’ Ear, Military History, War and Society, Privateering, Merchants, Maritime iv Acknowledgements This thesis is the result of a good deal of support, assistance, and constructive criticism from a variety of individuals located on both coasts of this country. At Cal Poly, Dr. Thomas Trice was immensely helpful in his numerous readings of my work, suggested changes, introduction to maritime history, and encouragement. I am frequently impressed by his dedication to all of the graduate students within the History Department. Dr. Matthew Hopper provided encouragement, criticism, acquainted me with the “Military Revolution,” and I am grateful for his eagerness to be a part of my defense committee. Dr. Kathleen Murphy was also extremely helpful, lending me her expertise on colonial America and the Atlantic World, closely reading my draft and providing several important insights that I incorporated into the final version of this work. My fellow graduate students at the Claremont Graduate University “Ruptures of War” conference were very encouraging while also suggesting some ways in which my argument could be further refined and fleshed out. My Cal Poly experience was a very positive one, largely due to the camaraderie of my fellow history graduate students. In Rhode Island, I would like to thank Ken Carlson at the State Archives for helping me to navigate a plethora of primary source materials. His assistance greatly enhanced the detail of this thesis. In addition, I would also like to thank Jordan Goffin at the Rhode Island Historical Society’s research library for assisting with my work. In northeastern Connecticut, Mary Falzo and Lauren Bissett were very gracious hosts; without them I would have been unable to conduct my research in Providence. Last but certainly not least I would like to thank numerous family and friends on both sides of the country. Their encouragement and support cannot be overstated. v Table of Contents List of Figures and Tables …………………………………………...………………… vii Introduction …………………………………………………………………………….. 1 Chapter 1. Growth and Vulnerability: The State of Colonial Rhode Island in the Mid-Eighteenth Century …...…….. 14 2. The Provincial Government at War: Spain, France, and Massachusetts ……... 31 3. Recruitment, Monotony, and Debacle: Rhode Island’s Soldiers at Home and Abroad …………………………...…… 61 4. War and Society: Privateering Prisoners, Work, and the “Babel on the Narragansett” ………..… 92 Conclusion ……………………………………………………………………………. 111 Bibliography ………………………………………………………………………….. 120 vi List of Figures and Tables Figure 1. Colonial Rhode Towns and Boundaries ………………………………..…… viii Figure 2. Rhode Island’s Civil Defense ……………………………………………...… ix Figure 3. Imperial Atlantic Expeditions …………………………………………….….. x Table 1. Governors of Rhode Island during the Dual Conflicts ………………….……. xi Table 2. Abbreviations of Sources ……………………………………………………... xii vii Figure 1. Colonial Rhode Towns and Boundaries viii Figure 2. Rhode Island’s Civil Defense ix Figure 3. Imperial Atlantic Expeditions x Table 1. Governors of Rhode Island during the Dual Conflicts John Wanton May, 1734 July 5, 1740 (died in office) Richard Ward July 15, 1740 May, 1743 William Greene May, 1743 May, 1745 Gideon Wanton May, 1745 May, 1746 William Greene May, 1746 May, 1747 Gideon Wanton May, 1747 May, 1748 William Greene May, 1748 May, 1755 xi Table 2. Abbreviations of Sources See the bibliography for full citations. Roman numerals indicate volume numbers while Arabic numerals denote page or document numbers. The Correspondence of the Colonial Governors of Rhode Island CCGRI Governor and Council Records GCR Petitions to the Rhode Island General Assembly PRIG Records of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations RCRI xii Introduction Between 1739 and 1748 the colonists of British North America, especially in New England, endured incessant war. The initial conflict, the War of Jenkins’ Ear, began in 1739. Sparked by grievances leveled at Spain before the House of Commons by harassed mariners, most notably of which was the eponymous Robert Jenkins, the war set off a series of naval engagements, expeditions and invasions that reached from the colony of Georgia to the shores of South America. This conflict widened in 1744 as the British Empire became entangled in the War of Austrian Succession. Britain and her allies soon faced a host of enemies in addition to Spain, including France, Prussia, Sweden, and smaller Italian and German states. As was the case with both earlier and future wars of the seventeenth and eighteenth century, these overlapping conflicts were global in nature, with actions taking place in Europe, the western hemisphere, and on the high seas. Colonial North American involvement began with the War of Jenkins’ Ear and intensified greatly in 1744 with the start of King George’s War, a conflict that pitted the colonists against the French for the next four years. During this time New England soldiers and sailors conducted several expeditions against the colonial possessions of their enemies. In 1740 they were involved in the botched amphibious assault on Cartagena, a strategic trading post in the Spanish colony of New Grenada. 1 Five years after this stunning failure, New England forces again took to the sea and landed at another enemy colonial strongpoint: the French fortress at Louisbourg located on the northeastern shore of Cape Breton Island. Among the participants in these endeavors were contingents of men from the colony of Rhode Island. Despite having one of the lowest populations of Britain’s 1 Cartagena is located on the Caribbean coast of modern day Columbia. 1 mainland colonies 2 and being the smallest in size, Rhode Island was actively involved in this period of war. The 1740s were a time of both growth and vulnerability for the colony. On the one hand, Rhode Island colonists were a people on the move. The colony’s merchant and privateer ships cruised the Atlantic and Caribbean, raiding enemy commerce and conducting a lucrative trade with the West Indies, Britain and the coastal ports of the mainland colonies. On the islands, peninsulas and mainland of the colony during this period, highways were being constructed, bridges being built, and a number of new towns formed as the population continued to climb at a steady pace. Providence and Newport, the colony’s dual urban centers, were also expanding, creating a considerably urban population, especially when compared to the other British possessions of this period. 3 At the same time the colony was also facing a number of threats that endangered its borders, safety, and the relative independence of its government. Because of the wars the people of Rhode Island felt that their security was directly threatened by the possibility of raids or even invasion. This fear was felt not only by the governor and assembly but also by vulnerable groups such as the merchants of Newport and the inhabitants of Block Island. In addition to these wartime perils, Rhode Island faced political threats abroad and close to home. During the years leading up to the start of hostilities in 1739, the charter of the colony, which allowed for self-governance of the colony, came into question by the increasingly scrutinous imperial metropole. At the 2 In 1740, Rhode Island is estimated to have had a little over 25,000 inhabitants. It only ranked higher than Georgia, New Hampshire, and the semi-autonomous Delaware. Jack P. Greene, ed., Settlements to Society 1607-1763: A Documentary History of Colonial America (New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 1975), 238. 3 By 1748 over one-third of the population of Rhode Island lived in either one of these cities. Lynne Withey, Urban Growth in Colonial Rhode Island: Newport and Providence in the Eighteenth Century (Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 1984), 115. 2 same time the colony was embroiled in a bitter and long lasting dispute with neighboring Massachusetts. Years of litigation, claims, and counter-claims occurred as they battled for possession of a collection of small towns located near eastern Rhode Island and southeastern Massachusetts. Given this context of war, vulnerability, and growth, a study of Rhode Island during this period raises several questions.
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