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Roger Williams (1604-1683) was educated at Pembroke College, Cambridge and ordained in the Church of England. In 1630, he sailed for North America in search of religious liberty. Finding the same religious restrictions in Boston as he had in England, he established a schismatic church. He was asked to leave Boston and Massachusetts in 1635 and he took refuge with the Indians, with whom he would remain friends and fight for their liberty as well. He called the new settlement Providence, and established there the first Baptist church in the colonies. In 1643 he went back to England securing a new title for the colony. While there he wrote his remarkable and world-changing pamphlet, The Bloudy Tenent of Persecution, published in 1644 to great critcism and cries of heresy.
Williams returned to his colony soon called "Rhode Island" to champion religious liberty throughout the colonies. His heroic fight never ceased. His cause, however, would never ease. He fought for religious liberty not only for Protestants, but for members of all religions including Native Americans and Muslims.
Not published for over 100 years, this text is now made available under the editorial direction of Richard Groves. The book includes a foreword by Edwin Gaustad and a series foreword by Walter B. Shurden.
