why do they call RhodeIsland ( RhodeIsland )when its neither a road or an Island?

Answer 1

I got curious myself.

Here are some internet articles that may help:

From Wikipedia--
The state's common name, Rhode Island, actually refers to the largest island in Narragansett Bay, also known as Aquidneck Island, on which the city of Newport is located. Aquidneck Island is also locally referred to as Newport - though it in fact has three distinct townships on it. The origin of the name is unclear. Some historians think that Italian explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano, upon discovering Block Island, just southwest in the Atlantic Ocean, named it Rhode Island because of its similarity in shape to the Greek island of Rhodes.[citation needed] Later settlers, mistaking which island Verrazzano was referring to, gave the name to Aquidneck Island instead. Other historians believe that the name is derived from Roodt Eylandt, old Dutch for "red island," given to the island by Dutch explorer Adriaen Block due to the red clay on the island's shore.


How Rhode Island got its name
How We Got “The State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations”

How Rhode Island Got Its Name

The official name of Rhode Island is “The State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations”. It can be traced in this form back to the Royal Charter of 1663, granted to the Rhode Island colonists by King Charles II of England. In the Charter, it is the “Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations”. In 1524, the Italian navigator Giovanni Verrazano made the first verifiable visit to Rhode Island by a European adventurer. It is from Verrazano’s descriptions of the Rhode Island coastline and islands that the state derives the first part of its name. Verrazano made his famous trip, searching for an all-water route through North America to China, in the employ of the French king Francis 1 and several Italian promoters. After land-fall at Cape Fear, North Carolina, about March 1, 1524, he proceeded up the coast to the present site of New York City to anchor in the Narrows, now spanned by the giant bridge which bears his name. From there, according to his own account, he sailed in an easterly direction until he " discovered an island in the form of a triangle, distant from the mainland ten leagues, about the bigness of the Island of Rhodes " which he named Luisa after the Queen Mother of France. This was Block Island, but Roger Williams and other early settlers mistakenly thought that Verrazano had been referring to Aquidneck Island. Thus they changed that Indian name to Rhode Island, and Verrazano inadvertently and indirectly gave the state the first part of its name. In early May 1524 Verrazano departed to press on in a vain search for a Northwest Passage to the Orient. For ninety years following Verrazano's visit, most European voyagers to North America unsuccessfully sought that elusive Northwest Passage or productively fished the Grand Banks off Newfoundland. In either case, their travels kept them far off to the north of the Rhode Island coast. Not until 1614 were other significant visitations to Rhode Island made and recorded. In that year John Smith of Virginia fame explored and charted the New England coast and bestowed upon this region its name, while Dutch mariner Adriaen Block, en route to the Hudson River, visited Block Island and immodestly named it for himself. Rhode Island's first permanent settlement (Providence Plantations) was established at Providence in 1636 by English clergyman Roger Williams and a small band of followers who had left the repressive atmosphere of the Massachusetts Bay Colony to seek freedom of worship. Narragansett Indian Sachems Canonicus and Miantonomi granted Williams a sizable tract of land for his new village. Roger Williams named this land “Providence”, in tribute to “God’s merciful providence unto me in my distresse”. The word “Plantations” is an old English term meaning “new settlement or colony”. Other noncomformists followed Williams to the Narragansett Bay area and founded the towns of Portsmouth (1638), Newport (1639) and Warwick (1642). Because titles to these lands rested only on Indians deeds, neighboring colonies began to covet them. To meet this threat, Roger Williams journeyed to England and secured a parliamentary patent in March 1643-44 uniting the four towns into a single colony and confirming his fellow settlers' land claims. This legislative document served adequately as a basic law until the Stuart Restoration of 1660 made it wise to seek a royal charter.





The Royal Charter granted by King Charles the Second in 1663. Dr. John Clarke was commissioned to secure a document from the new king, Charles II, that would both be consistent with the religious principles upon which the tiny colony was founded and also safeguard Rhode Island lands from encroachment by speculators and greedy neighbors. He succeeded admirably. The royal charter of 1663 guaranteed complete religious liberty, established a self-governing colony with total autonomy, and strengthened Rhode Island's territorial claims. It was the most liberal charter to be issued by the mother country during the entire colonial era, a fact that enabled it to serve as Rhode Island's basic law until May 1843. The present name of the state, Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, was officially adopted in the Royal Charter of 1663.





“Rhode Island” – In 1524, Italian explorer Giovanni Verrazano compares what we now call Block Island to the Island of Rhodes.

“Providence Plantations” – In 1636, Roger Williams receives land at the head of Narragansett Bay from the Indian Sachems (chiefs) Canonicus and Miantonomi. Williams names this land “Providence” in tribute to God’s merciful providence towards him after his banishment from the Massachusetts Bay Colony. He and his followers then establish the settlement called “Providence Plantations”. The word “Plantations” is and old English term meaning “new settlement or colony”.

Statue of Roger Williams In the National Statuary Hall Of the United States Capitol Roger Williams: English clergyman who, in 1636, left the repressive atmosphere fostered by the puritans of the Massachusetts Bay Colony to found the first permanent European settlement in Rhode Island. This settlement, called “Providence Plantations” was the first organized colony in America to be founded on the principles of freedom of thought and worship.





Feds: Aquidneck Island's name is actually Rhode Island
July 1, 2004

PROVIDENCE, R.I. --After 25 years of research, the federal government has decided that the formal name for Aquidneck Island will remain Rhode Island.

The decision from the U.S. Board on Geographic Names resolves a petition filed in 1979 by David Shonting, then a Middletown resident. The former University of Rhode Island oceanographer became intrigued when he went sailing in Newport with some friends, and noticed some nautical charts had labeled Aquidneck Island as "Rhode Island."

Shonting researched the issue, and sent a petition to the board, a branch of the Interior Department, The Providence Journal reported.

The agency told him critical reasons for changing a name was "common usage" and "local preference," meaning which name residents and public officials would prefer.

The board sent letters civic and government groups, but received little response, and the case stalled. In 1999, the agency contacted Shonting, to see if he was still interested in pursuing his appeal. He said yes, and the agency renewed its investigation.

Among those backing the name change were the Aquidneck Indian Council, a Native American advocacy group, and the Newport Historical Society. They argued for Aquidneck Island, because of common usage and because the island was called Aquidneck centuries before colonists renamed it Rhode Island.

Opponents included the city councils of the three towns on the island -- Middletown, Newport and Portsmouth.

"The name Rhode Island is important," said Portsmouth Town Administrator Bob Driscoll. "It reflects back to the founding of the state. I think we'd lose a little bit of our heritage if we lost it. It's a matter of preserving our past."

In May, the board's Names Committee voted 3-3 on the appeal, with one abstention. The board contacted Gov. Don Carcieri, and asked him to weigh in. The governor chose Rhode Island.

On June 10, the Names Committee voted 8-0 to keep the island's name as Rhode Island.

Shonting started his appeal at age 45. He's now a 71-year-old retiree, and lives in Naples, Fla.

"It's not the reality that exists. It's nonsense to keep a name that nobody uses," he said.

-----So there's your answer. Kind of long, I know, but very thorough. I hated to copy out like that, but I'm short on time and wanted to get the information out to you before I had to go.

Answer 2

What a mess. From Wikipedia...the state's common name, Rhode Island, actually refers to the largest island in Narragansett Bay, also known as Aquidneck Island, on which the city of Newport is located. Aquidneck Island is also locally referred to as Newport - though it in fact has three distinct townships on it. The origin of the name is unclear. Some historians think that Italian explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano, upon discovering Block Island, just southwest in the Atlantic Ocean, named it Rhode Island because of its similarity in shape to the Greek island of Rhodes. Later settlers, mistaking which island Verrazzano was referring to, gave the name to Aquidneck Island instead. Other historians believe that the name is derived from Roodt Eylandt, old Dutch for "red island," given to the island by Dutch explorer Adriaen Block due to the red clay on the island's shore.
Despite most of the state being part of the mainland, the name Rhode Island leads some out-of-staters to mistakenly believe that the entire state is an island, sometimes confusing it with Long Island.

Answer 3

"The state's common name, Rhode Island, actually refers to the largest island in Narragansett Bay, also known as Aquidneck Island, on which the city of Newport is located. Aquidneck Island is also locally referred to as Newport - though it in fact has three distinct townships on it. The origin of the name is unclear. Some historians think that Italian explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano, upon discovering Block Island, just southwest in the Atlantic Ocean, named it Rhode Island because of its similarity in shape to the Greek island of Rhodes. Later settlers, mistaking which island Verrazzano was referring to, gave the name to Aquidneck Island instead. Other historians believe that the name is derived from Roodt Eylandt, old Dutch for "red island," given to the island by Dutch explorer Adriaen Block due to the red clay on the island's shore."

Answer 4

It is named after the chicken.... Rhode Island Red.