Ironically, Newport and the rest of Rhode Island started out as part of the western coast of Africa—more than 500 million years ago. Tectonic forces gradually moved what is now Rhode Island toward the North American continent, where it collided and stuck, creating the Appalachian Mountains in the process. A series of ice ages changed the landscape over time through the approach and retreat of glaciers, which scraped a channel into the earth that separated Aquidneck Island from the mainland. About 3,000 years after the glaciers cleared out, humans moved in; evidence indicates that people have been living in the greater Newport area for somewhere between 10,000 and 12,000 years. These hunter-gatherers transitioned into the native tribes more familiar today, with the Narragansett (members of the Algonquian tribe) and Wampanoag Indians being the primary occupants of the Rhode Island area before the new neighbors moved in.
The first European known to have visited the Narragansett Bay area was Giovani Verrazzano, who briefly touched down in the region during an expedition in 1524. Fur traders came next, peacefully doing business with the native people for many years. A defining moment for Newport was the advent of religious dissidents who had been expelled from Massachusetts and many of whom were following Anne Hutchinson, who in 1638 founded Pocasset (later Portsmouth) on the northern end of Aquidneck Island with a small group led by William Coddington and John Clarke. In 1639 Coddington and Clarke moved south and established Newport.
As more settlers moved south to Newport, they adopted the predominant beliefs that church and state should be separated and that all people should be free to practice the religion of their choice. This atmosphere of tolerance attracted an eclectic mix of religious refugees, including members of the Society of Friends (also known as Quakers), Irish Catholics, and the Jewish community. In 1663 Newport and three other towns were chartered by England's King Charles II as the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantation, which free-thinking Newporters didn't much care for.
By the 1690s, Newport was one of the principal ports in North America. Most of the trade was legitimate, but pirates were a common sight in Newport. The state's reputation as a haven for individualists and pirates earned it the nickname "Rogues Island." By the 1760s Newport was also notorious for being the major slave-trading port in the British Empire—the "Triangular Trade" was an endless cycle of Caribbean molasses being imported to Newport, where it was made into rum that was shipped to Africa to trade for slaves, who were transported to the Caribbean to be sold for molasses that would make its way back to Newport. "Surplus" slaves who weren't traded for molasses were brought back to North America and sold in the south to work on plantations. Freedom appeared to be a limited commodity in colonial times.
During the 1700s Newport rivaled Boston, New York, and Philadelphia as a major trade and cultural center. It also developed as a resort colony, attracting vacationers from the Carolinas and Caribbean seeking to escape the heat and humidity of summers there. At the same time Rhode Island merchants chafed at the restrictions placed upon them by the British government. This tension came to a head in 1763 when the British sent vessels to police Narragansett Bay against smuggling activities. Several skirmishes broke out between the colonists and the British Navy; the British exacted their revenge in 1765 during the American Revolution by seizing the town of Newport and occupying it for nearly three years. As a result of this occupation, Newport's maritime trade collapsed. Although the city ranked as a leading whaling center from 1775 to 1850, its economy did not fully recover for nearly a century.
With the aid of the French, Newport was regained by the United States; French troops remained in the area until 1783 to ensure that it stayed in U.S. control. This time of instability left the city out of the industrial leaps that had occurred in other parts of the country, and Newport began to rely increasingly on its image as a summer resort. Writers, architects, scientists, and artists converged on the scenic area.
In 1774, Newport outlawed slavery, shattering the Triangular Trade. As part of the Union during the Civil War, Newport was designated the site of the U.S. Navy; the Naval Training Station, the Torpedo Station (now the Naval Underwater Systems Center) and Naval War College were established there during the 1880s, creating an important naval presence that continues to this day. Following the Civil War, in a time Mark Twain called the Gilded Age (1890 to 1914), income tax was an unknown concept. Wealthy families such as the Astors, Vanderbilts, and Morgans began to build opulent mansions they referred to as cottages in Newport to entertain each other during the brief summer season. At the cottage of Mrs. William Astor, where the ballroom held exactly 400 people, the legend of the Four Hundred was born, becoming America's first social register.
Newport's economy was given another boost by World War I as its shipyards built combat and cargo ships, but the city suffered heavily when the stock market crashed in 1929. The decline continued through the 1970s as the Newport Naval base was closed and the city lost 15 percent of its population. However, modern Newport is still a center of naval activities, housing the Naval War College and other training schools.
Newport today retains the cachet of a seaside resort, but the city today has more affordable housing than any other community in Rhode Island, and the military presence remains influential in the culture and the economy. The city has reinvented itself as a destination for all tourists, not just the wealthy, offering family-oriented activities and sightseeing excursions. Restoration of historic buildings has been a priority in recent years, from the Cliff Walk past staggeringly massive mansions to the downtown Brick Market. Newport hosts yachting events, tennis tournaments, golf championships, and a broad variety of festivals that honor the city's ethnic heritage.
In the summer of 2007, tall ships will again dock at Newport; the accompanying festival will include concerts, art exhibits, block parties, and fireworks as well as the breathtaking spectacle of dozens of towering ships parading on Narragansett Bay, in celebration of Newport's seafaring history and future.
Historical Information: Newport Historical Society, 82 Touro St., Newport, RI 02840; telephone (401)846-0813