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In 1650, there were ten thousand Indians living within what is now Rhode Island. The Narragansetts accounted for about 6000. In 1675, the Narragansetts joined with the Wampanoags in a war against the white settlers. By the end of King Philip's War, which lasted over a year, the Indians were decimated during many brutal battles including the Great Swamp. The surviving Indians sought refuge with the Niantics, who had remained neutral in the war. (There are now approximately 2000 Rhode Islanders that claim local Indian ancestry. In 1979, ancestral land in Charlestown was returned to them.)

In 1524, Giovanni da Verrazzano, a Florentine navigator, became the first European to explore Rhode Island. His comparison of Block Island to the Mediterranean island of Rhodes, unknowingly gave this future state it's name.