In the 17th Century settlers went about thinking up a name for Rhode Island based off old accounts from explorers. However, they may have named the entire state incorrectly...
I remember that I (a 14-year old Norwegian) was very confused when I was about 9 or so, when I was watching a Animal Planet documentary about an American that was helping out dogs in Afghanistan. Because, in the documentary they were always talking about that this man was from "Rhode Island", and me, at the time not knowing English very well or anything about the USA, thought that the only place named "Rhode Island" in English was Rhodes in Greece (because it sounded very similar to the Norwegian "Rhodos"). But I thought that the man could not be from Rhodes, because he was speaking American. So I was very confused 😂😂😂
@@Michiganman800I love the fact that pointing out the "offended on behalf of someone else" CAN be a valid discussion... what he did here is absolutely, yes, whiny projection. Love it. The original point about the word plantation is completely valid without whining about people getting upset about slavery. But the claim that Rhode Island didn't have slaves is patently false. They had the highest per capital ratio of slaves in the colonies and didn't start emancipation until the Gradual Emancipation Act of 1784.
They should have kept the part about Providence in the name. Now they have no claim to the mainland part of the state which is therefore terra nullius and may be claimed by anyone.
The name was officially changed in 2020, and but that point everyone just called it “Rhode island”, I never heard people refer to it by full name Even their anthem calls it Rhode Island, at this point everyone associates “Rhode Island with the state”, it makes more sense to just drop the “Providence Plantation” part
@@PaulVinonaama You might be right, I'm not that deep into phonemes I'm afraid. I just tried to give a better approximation, one that doesn't trigger me as being "off".
@@PaulVinonaama Like I said, I'm aware of the nuance, but I don't think an American unfamiliar with the language will pick it up. That doesn't say I don't agree with you. Note if it had been "angstschreeuw" I wouldn't have bothered to comment.
Hmm, I wonder if they got permission from the Federal governmemt for the name change? The state was officially admitted to these United States in 1790 with the name of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. Since this admission was an act of Congress, it seems that Congress would have to agree to the name change, most likely by passing a bill amending the original admission bill.
“rood” (meaning the colour red) in Dutch is pronounced “rhode” not “rude” as in the video. So we Dutch do say “rhode”. I’ve never made a link between the colour rood (red), Rhodos (Ρόδος) in Greece, and Rhode Island. Very interesting. According to google maps Rhode island (not Block island) is actually called Aquidneck. I never knew that. Not being from the US, I thought the island (Rhode) was a small state, and Providence was a city in its vicinity.
Greek 'rhodos' means 'rose' rather than 'red', but like 'rood' and similar words in many European languages, it comes from the same Indo-European root meaning 'red'.
For a brief while, Rhode Island was an actual island colony. During King Philip’s War, the Wampanoag Indians and their allies burnt down Providence and Warwick, forcing the entire settler population to retreat to Aquidneck Island. They lost a tenth of their population during the war.
As a fellow creator who makes similarish content, i really appreciate the visuals and editing style; simple yet unique. If this is what you can do on your 7th traditional video then I'll be excited to see what you have next in store for the channel. I like your stuff man, dont give up!
During the ratification of the current US Constitution (1787), RI was the last state to ratify it. And given the autonomus nature of the States under the Articles of Confederation it could be argued that if a state didn't ratify, it was no longer in the Union. As the RI legislature delayed in ratification many in the media called it "Rogue Island." And some called for it to be partioned amoung it's neighboring states
The other states started threatening to charge tariffs at the borders… It could have become something like Monaco or San Marino! Other small states were eager to ratify as it entrenched their rights despite their small size. Delaware famously ratified first. Why did Rhode island drag its feet?
@@joedellinger9437 Idk why RI specifically was the last. I do know the then "new constituion" (our current one) was controversial at the time. The "Federalists" support the Constitution. The "Anti-Federalists" opposed the Constitution. Their cheif concern was the expansion of the powers of the central government. There probably was also an implicit difference of vision over what America should be. A small mini-civilization on the edge of the world? Or regional or global power?
I should also point out that it had already been agreed that if 9 of the then 13 states ratified the Constitution, it would pass. And the Articles of Confederation had already been scrapped. So if RI had pressed it's soveriegnty it probably would have been war. There was no other compact between the states availible.
You can tell the name change was done in haste and based in purely in emotion, because they could've called it "Providence and Aquidneck" which is both sensible and accurate. Or call it "Williams' Land" after the guy that made the state in the first place (though that name would be pretty rubbish)
Thats exactly what I think of when I think of people talking about Americans being "woke" in a negative connotation. Now idk if the Providence "plantation" specifically had slaves if so that would be valid but coming from another English speaking country where "plantation" is just a word meaning a large monocrop farm its just wierd to me that "plantation" would be offensive unless its a specific slave plantation.
@@eduardomoraes2650 I come from somewhere that has basically a "backwards" story with slavery and colonialism. That is there were indigenous nations here who were colonizing, raiding, slavers who per capita at their peak could have rivaled the atlantic slave trade and it was the British who ended slavery from day 1 of having an official colony. So im finding that certain words that are negatively charged elsewhere like "plantation" ended up taking on neutral connotations here because we lucked out on all the colonizers being abolitionists. In some of the best fruit growing climate some of the more massive orchards got called "plantations" by their owners instead to put emphasis on their enormous size compared to what youd think when you hear of a fruit orchard. It makes sense in other places but yeah to us plantation is just a neutral word for an agricultural establishment like "farm" that doesnt have automatic implications of slavery just size. Also we get 3 seconds of US history here because school system is mostly about our own history so I would ass-u-me that plantations up north wouldnt have had slaves because slavery was illegal in the north and legal down south.
@@manilpwn Dutch double-vowels: oo = oh (like Roosevelt); aa = aw (like Baas, the common surname pronounced _boss,_ which also means boss); ee = ay (like Beethoven...ok, that's German but you know, Dutch/Deutsche, quite related)
I say to do it solely so future generations think there was a war between Rhode Islanders and a bunch of South African countries. We can make a bunch of shit up, like saying they primarily fought in the middle of the Atlantic since neither one quite had the budget to go all the way across, and the federal government didn't help Rhode Island because they hadn't paid their taxes in 60 years.
(At most) two months later: "Zimbabwe has officially ended all ties with the United States of America over the new name of Rhode Island, the people of Providence respond by waving the Northern Rhodesian flag in protest."
I once owned a very nice cottage in Block Island which I lost in a hostile divorce to an ex-wife from Rhodes, Greece, whose middle name is Providentsia. I mean what are the chances? I now live in another nice house, this one a bit larger, in Naples FL with my third wife who was born in Naples Italy!
I could imagine it being called Narragansett after the Narragansett Bay which is an integral part of the state’s culture and history and forms much of its unique shape. Much better name imo
Easiest answer was early Europeans explored the coast and thought they were on an island. "Isle of Rhodes" "Rood Eiland". Then the English named their plot of land "Providence" but was too vague and explorers where using maps of "Rhode Island" to chart the land so it became "Rhode Island and Providence" which is now the modern state of Rhode Island. Same issue happened to California which was named for an island but isn't.
Should've just called it Providence. Their capital can remain Providence so at the City/County/State level it would be Providence Providence Providence. This would be like Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Oklahoma.
@@joaovictorrocha7379 As a descendant of slaves in America, I ask, why should anyone currently living care about context? What try to erase what existed in the past?
@@answerman9933 the thing is, almost all the modern states in the Americas were built over a structure based on the exploitation of enslaved people as the means of material reproduction. those anomalies are still being felt to this day. just search for the demographics data of the most rich people of our countries contrasted to the most marginalized groups. I think it is important to try to build a society that does not enable that kind of symbols. I'm also a descendent of enslaved people (I'm Brazilian btw).
I can see why "plantation" is a dirty word, flip knows that caused enough agro in Ireland. Great video, you've possibly wound up a few Welsh nationalist, mind.
That’s the correct flag map of the Kingdom of England during the English colonisation of North America. Also it’s legally and constitutionality correct for the modern day as Wales is but an English principality incorporated in to the Kingdom of England which is one of two entities that make up the Kingdom of Great Britain which is also one of two entities which make up the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland which is now the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Yes, it’s more complex than that as both the entities of Great Britain and the UK are but legal entities or if you like, they are statutory entities. They only really exist in statute law and for some governmental aspects such as officers of state which were merged, because not all were merged, they don’t exist in the way that the three Kingdom’s of England(includes the principality of Wales), Ireland and Scotland do as they from the basis of the constitution which really is three constitution’s, three Kingdom’s/Crown’s held by one Monarch. The UK maybe a unitary state but it’s not nor has ever been a single entity in its own right.
It sickens me that the name Providence Plantation was removed for context that has nothing to do with the naming of the state. In case people don't know, a Plantation is simply a farming community and Providence Plantation was as the video states, just "god's farming community in the new world". Slavery had nothing to do with the naming of the state. While slaves have been brought to Rhode Island, the source of the name has nothing to do with cotton picking slavery in the south. Providence Plantation was the core foundation of the state and to remove it from the name for unrelated reasons is stupid sensibility.
@@billcook4768 It’s not about the name per say, it’s about the message. You must be quite dense to only have only taken away your comment from what they had.
@@billcook4768 Except we have been using it, it’s on my birth certificate. When people see that name they will question why that’s the full name of the state and likely look it up. The name change erases any form likelihood of curiosity that would come from that.
In 2020 they actually wanted to rename the state "Road Island" because Rhode was seen as racist dog whistle in reference to Cecile Rhodes and Rhodesia.
If you are just going to use part of the name, why not just call the state Rhode? It's still a longer name than Iowa or Ohio or Utah. And doesn't mislead people into thinking the whole state is an island rather than just a tiny little part of the state.
@@manilpwnThe most boring names are North/South Dakota. Why are there two of them for a place barely anyone lives? Indeed, they could be combined with Montana and Wyoming to create one with nearly enough people to be called a state called Mostly Prairie.
What? Roed Eiland/Rued island? Rood eiland in Dutch is the same as Rhode island in English. The Dutch boot is the same as the english boat. The Dutch doe is the English do. Please do not pretend to speak Dutch if you don't.
We don't talk about Arkansas, those people are nuts. Like if you go there you might never come back and all the locals will insist they never saw you and that whoever's looking for you should also leave before they find out where you are the hard way. I once read an account by an Arkansas man detailing how he shot a doe non-fatally and proceeded to do abominable things I can't ever repeat after hitting it in the head with his rifle butt to make it stop resisting. After finishing he of course butchered and ate it afterward, and proceeded to feed its meat to his friends and family without telling anyone else what he did to that poor animal. Oh and Bill Clinton's from there. Kinda explains a lot in hindsight.
An actual excerpt: "The first enslaved Africans entered Rhode Island sometime after 1638. Though their numbers were initially very small, they were conspicuous enough to attract the attention of the Rhode Island General Court, which in 1652 passed a law abolishing African slavery."
"Plantation" in itself isn't racist but in this context, it is because it refers to slave plantations. Not every plantation is based on slavery but this one is. Context matters.
@@modmaker7617 The farming colony of Providence wasn't founded just to farm slaves thou. Cotton farms in the south were built to house slaves. Plantation defined by the people of Rhode Island back then simply means a civilization built around farming. Context does matter and just because people don't like a word, doesn't mean anything to me. It sickens me that the name changed because of unrelated reasons.
@@androzani So it doesn't matter if others are offended, only if you are? When you're offended, then it's worthy? When did you become the King? Something must wrong with you if you're "sickened" by a name change, that has zero bearing on your life. You sound like a fool. Also, they didn't "farm slaves thou", whatever that means. But Rhode Island was heavily involved with slaves, as they had slaves, sold slaves, (look up Brown family and Slave trade, as in Brown University and Brown and Sharpe, and Newport slave markets), and that's where the name comes from. When the majority of the public living here, (I live in RI), decided to change it, they/we did, and somehow that majority decision "sickens" you? Really? "Sickens"? What about the people sickened by the name? They should just deal with it because it "doesn't mean anything to" you? So if it means anything to them, that doesn't matter, unless it matters to you? Grow up.
