Thirty-nine freemen, expressing their determination "still to…

Thirty-nine freemen, expressing their determination "still to hold forth liberty of conscience," sign another agreement in 1640.

Thus a government unique in its day is created—a government expressly providing for religious liberty and a separation between civil and ecclesiastical authority (church and state).

The colony is named Providence Plantation, due to Williams's belief that God had sustained him and his followers and brought them to this place.

When he acquires the other islands in the Narragansett Bay, Williams names them after other virtues: Patience Island, Prudence Island and Hope Island.