Pirates, privateers and 'slavers'

(Cranston Herald) Colonial Rhode Island differed economically from most of the other colonies, as it had very little arable land and no large staple crop to trade with England. For this reason, Rhode Islanders turned to the sea very early. The ocean provided the avenue by which the small colony became one of the most prosperous of the original 13. While most of the sea activity was of a legal nature, some early fortunes were made illegally or by quasi-legal means.  READ MORE