Major Conflicts
Block Island was first noted in the journal of Giovanni da Verrazzano in 1524; it wasn't until 1614 that the first Europen contact took place. The initial foreign discovery of the island took place in 1636, upon the arrival of Captain Oldham's voyage. The Oldham incident, as it is known, is the extreme outlier among the relationship history among the natives and colonists. In 1636, Boston trader John Oldham ventured to the island and was struck down by the Manisseans, who had boarded his vessel under the pretense of examining his goods. The natives murdered John Oldham. In an effort to inflict rue upon the native people, Colonel Endicott's conquest from the Massachusetts Bay Colony set out in a retalitory state. One hundred soldiers arrived at the island to punish the tribe for their crime. Proceeding a brief standoff at the shore, the Manisseans fled to escape the settler's advances with firearms. The Settlers spent several days burning down the Manisseans' camps and fields, and looting their resources and means of trade. As per an agreement among the people, the colonists inherited the land to compensate for the natives' murderous task. The Narragansett chiefs were forced to agree to this agreement, as it was the only way they saw possible to end the violence the settlers were inflicting upon the Manisseans.
Ownership
Prior to British arrival, the sole occupants were the Manissean Indians, presumed to have held the land for hundreds of years. Initially founded into a colony, this status was again changed in 1658 to represent the ownership of private individuals. This trasaciton was observed and recorded in the following firsthand account,
"1672, Nov. 3d, Block Island, granted in 1658, by Massachusetts, to John Endicott, Richard Bellinger, Daniel Dennison, and William Hawthorne, is now incorporated by the R.I. Assembly under the name of New Shoreham."
The gentlemen listed above received the Island as a token of great sorrow regarding the Oldham affair. The natives saw the genuine title transfer of the island as a consideration for the damages inflicted in the matter. The final change of ownership of the island took place in the year 1660, when Messrs. Endicott, Bellingham, Dennison, and Hawthorne sold to a group of men established as the first settlers.
Block Island was first noted in the journal of Giovanni da Verrazzano in 1524; it wasn't until 1614 that the first Europen contact took place. The initial foreign discovery of the island took place in 1636, upon the arrival of Captain Oldham's voyage. The Oldham incident, as it is known, is the extreme outlier among the relationship history among the natives and colonists. In 1636, Boston trader John Oldham ventured to the island and was struck down by the Manisseans, who had boarded his vessel under the pretense of examining his goods. The natives murdered John Oldham. In an effort to inflict rue upon the native people, Colonel Endicott's conquest from the Massachusetts Bay Colony set out in a retalitory state. One hundred soldiers arrived at the island to punish the tribe for their crime. Proceeding a brief standoff at the shore, the Manisseans fled to escape the settler's advances with firearms. The Settlers spent several days burning down the Manisseans' camps and fields, and looting their resources and means of trade. As per an agreement among the people, the colonists inherited the land to compensate for the natives' murderous task. The Narragansett chiefs were forced to agree to this agreement, as it was the only way they saw possible to end the violence the settlers were inflicting upon the Manisseans.
Ownership
Prior to British arrival, the sole occupants were the Manissean Indians, presumed to have held the land for hundreds of years. Initially founded into a colony, this status was again changed in 1658 to represent the ownership of private individuals. This trasaciton was observed and recorded in the following firsthand account,
"1672, Nov. 3d, Block Island, granted in 1658, by Massachusetts, to John Endicott, Richard Bellinger, Daniel Dennison, and William Hawthorne, is now incorporated by the R.I. Assembly under the name of New Shoreham."
The gentlemen listed above received the Island as a token of great sorrow regarding the Oldham affair. The natives saw the genuine title transfer of the island as a consideration for the damages inflicted in the matter. The final change of ownership of the island took place in the year 1660, when Messrs. Endicott, Bellingham, Dennison, and Hawthorne sold to a group of men established as the first settlers.