What was one reason for the establishment of the colony of Rhode Island? (1 point)
Thomas Hooker left Massachusetts to start a new charter granted by the King of England.
Roger Williams believed in religious tolerance which wasn’t practiced in Massachusetts.
Colonists fled Massachusetts in search of better farmland.
John Winthrop left Massachusetts in hopes of spreading his Puritan beliefs.
Roger Williams believed in religious tolerance which wasn’t practiced in Massachusetts.
France took the lead in colonizing the Upper Midwest region. From the early sixteenth century on, French soldiers, missionaries and fur traders left their slight mark upon the St. Lawrence valley, the upper Great Lakes and points west. For the early French explorers, the more continent they discovered the more their hopes were frustrated. They had hoped that the vast St. Lawrence-Great Lakes waterway was part of a Northwest Passage to the wealth of the Orient. The French presence was asserted by a network of forts, trading posts and missions dotting the lake and river routes traversing the continental interior.
—Library of Congress
Question
Use the excerpt to answer the question.
Based on your text and this reading, why was land near water so important for French settlers?
(1 point)
Responses
Settlers relied on water routes for transportation.
Settlers relied on water routes for transportation.
Settlers used water routes to hunt for food.
Settlers used water routes to hunt for food.
Settlers depended on water from rivers and lakes for their crops.
Settlers depended on water from rivers and lakes for their crops.
Settlers continued to look for a Northwest Passage across the continent.
Settlers relied on water routes for transportation.
Roger Williams believed in religious tolerance which wasn’t practiced in Massachusetts.
The correct answer is: Roger Williams believed in religious tolerance which wasn’t practiced in Massachusetts.
To arrive at this answer, we can eliminate the other options one by one:
- Thomas Hooker leaving Massachusetts to start a new charter granted by the King of England refers to the establishment of the Connecticut Colony, not Rhode Island.
- John Winthrop leaving Massachusetts in hopes of spreading his Puritan beliefs refers to the establishment of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, not Rhode Island.
- Colonists fleeing Massachusetts in search of better farmland is not a specific reason for the establishment of Rhode Island.
Therefore, the remaining option of Roger Williams believing in religious tolerance, which wasn't practiced in Massachusetts, is the most accurate reason for the establishment of the colony of Rhode Island.