Misplaced Pages

#721278

58-477: The oldest portion of the house is a 2½-story gable-roof block, three bays wide, with an entry in the rightmost bay. To the right of this section is a 1½-story gambrel-roofed addition, dating to the early 19th century. A single-story gable-roof ell extends from the rear of the main block. Dating to 1754, the house was the home of Esek Hopkins , the first commander-in-chief of the Continental Navy during

116-658: A privateer in the French and Indian War . In the interval between voyages, he was engaged in Rhode Island politics, served as a deputy to the Rhode Island General Assembly , and rendered efficient support to his brother Stephen , who became governor in 1755. In September 1764, during his time as a privateer and merchant, Hopkins took command of the slave ship Sally , owned by Nicholas Brown and Company . Hopkins had no prior experience in operating

174-718: A lack of popular support; consequently, it was dissolved by the British in 1963, with nine provinces eventually becoming independent sovereign states and four becoming current British Overseas Territories . "West Indies" or "West India" was a part of the names of several companies of the 17th and 18th centuries, including the Danish West India Company , the Dutch West India Company , the French West India Company , and

232-482: A prosperous family of Newport, thus increasing his influence in Rhode Island. The marriage produced 9 children, including John Burroughs Hopkins (1742–1796), a participant in the Gaspee Affair , who later became a captain in the Continental Navy ; and Susannah Hopkins (1756–1850), who married Jonathan Maxcy , a Baptist minister and second president of the formerly Baptist-affiliated Brown University , which

290-652: A resolution to have a schooner remade into a war ship and named the Hopkins, although there are no records that indicate his resolution was fulfilled. Hopkins' little fleet was mostly blockaded in Narragansett Bay by the superior British sea power for the rest of Hopkins' tenure as Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Navy, partly due to the fact that he had inadequate manpower to confront the enemy. A group of Hopkins' officers finally went directly to

348-541: A slave-trading vessel at the time, and the 15-month voyage would result in the death of 109 out of 196 slaves. In late 1765, Sally arrived at its first trading destination in the West Indies , but the surviving African captives were in such poor health that most sold for very little. Hopkins' disastrous command of Sally contributed to Moses Brown's turn against participation in the Atlantic slave trade . Hopkins

406-869: Is a volcanic island arc rising along the leading edge of the Caribbean Plate due to the subduction of the Atlantic seafloor of the North American and South American plates . Major islands of the Lesser Antilles likely emerged less than 20 Ma, during the Miocene . The volcanic activity that formed these islands began in the Paleogene, after a period of volcanism in the Greater Antilles ended, and continues today. The main arc of

464-716: Is estimated that nearly 70% of Cuba consists of karst limestone . The Blue Mountains of Jamaica are a granite outcrop rising over 2,000 meters (6000'), while the rest of the island to the west consists mainly of karst limestone. Much of Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands were formed by the collision of the Caribbean Plate with the North American Plate and consist of 12 island arc terranes . These terranes consist of oceanic crust , volcanic and plutonic rock . The Lesser Antilles

522-694: Is geologically the oldest of the three archipelagos and includes both the largest islands ( Cuba , Jamaica , Hispaniola , and Puerto Rico ) and the tallest mountains ( Pico Duarte , Blue Mountain , Pic la Selle , Pico Turquino ) in the Caribbean. The islands of the Greater Antilles are composed of strata of different geological ages including Precambrian fragmented remains of the North American Plate (older than 539 million years), Jurassic aged limestone (201.3-145 million years ago), as well as island arc deposits and oceanic crust from

580-779: The Achaemenid Empire ), and ultimately its cognate , the Sanskrit Sindhu , or "river", specifically the Indus River and its well-settled southern basin. The ancient Greeks referred to the Indians as Indoi ( Ἰνδοί ), which translates as "The people of the Indus". In 1492, Christopher Columbus and his Spanish fleet left Spain seeking a western sea passage to the Eastern world , hoping to profit from

638-577: The American Revolutionary War . After Hopkins died, his daughters inherited the property, and it remained in the family for the next century. Descendant Elizabeth West Gould died in 1907, and the property was donated to the City of Providence in accordance with her wishes in 1908, with the stipulation that it be converted into a museum. Accounts of the time recounted that the property was being restored to its original condition. The house

SECTION 10

#1732787001722

696-1120: The Americas . The Indies from both regions were further distinguished depending on the European world power to which they belong. In the East Indies , there were the Spanish East Indies and the Dutch East Indies . In the West Indies, the Spanish West Indies , the Dutch West Indies , the French West Indies , the British West Indies , and the Danish West Indies . The term was used to name

754-600: The Atlantic island nation of Bermuda , all of which are geographically distinct from the three main island groups, but culturally related. The English term Indie is derived from the Classical Latin India , a reference to the territories in South Asia adjacent and east to the Indus River . India itself derived successively from Hellenistic Greek India ( Ἰνδία ), ancient Greek Indos ( Ἰνδός ), Old Persian Hindush (an eastern province of

812-628: The Atlantic slave trade . Esek Hopkins was born in Scituate , in the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations , into one of the most prominent families of what is today's Rhode Island . At the age of twenty he went to sea and rapidly came to the fore as a good sailor and skillful trader. Before the Revolutionary War he had sailed to nearly every quarter of the Earth, and commanded

870-643: The Caribbean Sea , attacking Spanish and Portuguese shipping and coastal areas. They often took refuge and refitted their ships in the areas the Spanish could not conquer, including the islands of the Lesser Antilles, the northern coast of South America, including the mouth of the Orinoco , and the Atlantic Coast of Central America. In the Lesser Antilles, they managed to establish a foothold following

928-741: The Cretaceous (145-66 million years ago). The Greater Antilles originated near the Isthmian region of present-day Central America in the Late Cretaceous (commonly referred to as the Proto-Antilles), then drifted eastward arriving in their current location when colliding with the Bahama Platform of the North American Plate ca. 56 million years ago in the late Paleocene . This collision caused subduction and volcanism in

986-717: The Esek Hopkins House , is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places . Three United States Navy vessels have been named USS  Hopkins in his honor, two destroyers and a patrol boat. A statue of Hopkins by Theo Alice Ruggles Kitson was dedicated in 1891 on the site of the former Hopkins family cemetery at Charles and Branch Street. In June 2020, the Providence School Board voted to remove Hopkins' name from Esek Hopkins Middle School , citing Hopkins' association with

1044-453: The Florida peninsula of North America south-southeast to the northern coast of Venezuela . These islands include active volcanoes , low-lying atolls , raised limestone islands, and large fragments of continental crust containing tall mountains and insular rivers. Each of the three archipelagos of the West Indies has a unique origin and geologic composition. The Greater Antilles

1102-840: The Spanish Council of the Indies , the British East India Company , the Dutch East India and West India companies, the French East India Company , and the Danish East India Company . Many cultures were indigenous to these islands, with evidence dating some of them back to the mid-6th millennium BCE. In the late 16th century, French, English and Dutch merchants and privateers began operations in

1160-559: The Swedish West India Company . West Indian is the official term used by the U.S. government to refer to people of the West Indies. The term survives today mainly through the West Indies cricket team , representing all of the nations in the West Indian islands. The West Indies are a geologically complex island system consisting of 7,000 islands and islets stretching over 3,000 km (2000 miles) from

1218-1010: The Treaty of the Danish West Indies . The Danish West Indies became an insular area of the U.S., called the United States Virgin Islands . Between 1958 and 1962, the United Kingdom re-organised all their West Indies island territories (except the British Virgin Islands and the Bahamas ) into the West Indies Federation . They hoped that the Federation would coalesce into a single, independent nation. The Federation had limited powers, numerous practical problems, and

SECTION 20

#1732787001722

1276-714: The Western Caribbean Zone in place in the early-18th century. In the Miskito Kingdom, the rise to power of the Miskito-Zambos , who originated in the survivors of a rebellion aboard a slave ship in the 1640s and the introduction of enslaved Africans by British settlers within the Miskito area and in Belize, also transformed this area into one with a high percentage of persons of African descent as

1334-745: The public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships . West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America , surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea , which comprises 13 independent island countries and 19 dependencies in three archipelagos : the Greater Antilles , the Lesser Antilles , and the Lucayan Archipelago . The subregion includes all

1392-517: The American cause and to distress the Enemy by all means in your power." Hopkins took command of eight small merchant ships that had been altered as men-of-war at Philadelphia . After much deliberation about taking on the overwhelming British forces listed in his orders, Hopkins utilized the last portion of his orders. He sailed south on February 17, 1776, for the first U.S. fleet operation that took

1450-538: The Bahamas and the escape of Glasgow was used by politically charged legislators against him. Even with the impassioned defense of John Adams, the Continental Congress voted on 2 January 1778 to relieve Hopkins of his command permanently. Nevertheless, the first action of Hopkins, in Nassau, which proved later to be an effective method for the Continental Navy to use against an overwhelming British Navy,

1508-640: The British ships they conquered as their own. They therefore were able to pay their seamen and officers nearly twice the amount that the Continental Navy could pay their crews, since the items captured by Continental ships went for the good of the colonies. Even after the Congress built and outfitted several more ships for Commodore Hopkins to use, he could not find adequate personnel to man the ships. John Adams , Samuel Adams , Benjamin Franklin , Richard Henry Lee , Robert Treat Paine , and John Paul Jones came to

1566-422: The Congress while at the same time leaving their ships without permission. Later it was determined that the allegations the officers took to Congress could not be substantiated— not in time, however, to squelch what was to happen. Pressure on the nature of Hopkins' character and ability became increasingly significant. Even though John Hancock had congratulated Hopkins at the time, Hopkins' decision to go to Nassau in

1624-461: The Congress. What happened next in the ensuing months was politically complex and controversial. The Continental Congress and individual state governors through their legislatures allowed privately owned ships to help in the battle against Britain by issuing letters of marque . There were virtually thousands of these ships, which overtook British ships, contributing to the war effort at sea. These privateer ships were allowed to claim any items found on

1682-615: The Continental Congress, wrote Hopkins: "I beg leave to congratulate you on the success of your Expedition. Your account of the spirit and bravery shown by the men affords them [Congress] the greatest satisfaction..." Not only did Hopkins' expedition get needed war supplies for the Continental Army, but it showed the British Navy that they would have to divert their ships from the belligerent colonies to protect non-belligerent areas, thereby leaving fewer British ships to fight on

1740-527: The Lesser Antilles runs north from the coast of Venezuela to the Anegada Passage , a strait separating them from the Greater Antilles, and includes 19 active volcanoes. The Lucayan Archipelago includes The Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands , a chain of barrier reefs and low islands atop the Bahama Platform. The Bahama Platform is a carbonate block formed of marine sediments and fixed to

1798-454: The North American Plate. The emergent islands of the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos likely formed from accumulated deposits of wind-blown sediments during Pleistocene glacial periods of lower sea level. N.B.: Territories in italics are parts of transregional sovereign states or non-sovereign dependencies. These three Dutch Caribbean territories form the BES islands . Physiographically , these are continental islands not part of

Esek Hopkins House - Misplaced Pages Continue

1856-556: The Proto-Antillean area and likely resulted in continental uplift of the Bahama Platform and changes in sea level. The Greater Antilles have continuously been exposed since the start of the Paleocene or at least since the Middle Eocene (66-40 million years ago), but which areas were above sea level throughout the history of the islands remains unresolved. The oldest rocks in the Greater Antilles are located in Cuba. They consist of metamorphosed graywacke , argillite , tuff , mafic igneous extrusive flows, and carbonate rock . It

1914-428: The arrest of Richard Marven and Samuel Shaw , a pair of early whistle-blowers, due to their having reported his torture of British prisoners of war . Hopkins's subsequent institution of criminal libel proceedings against Marven and Shaw is single-handedly responsible for the resolution of Congress "That it is the duty of all persons in the service of the United States, all well as all other inhabitants thereof to give

1972-461: The city's parks department, and was placed on the Providence Preservation Society's "Most Endangered Properties" list in 1995, 2011 and again in 2015. In 2021, the Esek Hopkins house partnered with a local artist collective and a local dance company to serve as an outdoor space for dance performance and classes. In September 2021, the house was the site of an original dance opera titled "The Historical Fantasy of Esek Hopkins." The performance deals with

2030-423: The colonisation of Saint Kitts in 1624 and Barbados in 1626, and when the Sugar Revolution took off in the mid-17th century, they brought in thousands of enslaved Africans to work the fields and mills as labourers. These enslaved Africans wrought a demographic revolution, replacing or joining with either the indigenous Caribs or the European settlers who were there as indentured servants . The struggle between

2088-418: The defense of Hopkins. Nevertheless, on August 12, 1776, Congress censured Hopkins. Humiliation and an injured reputation followed. Many sources say it would have been better if Hopkins was relieved of his command after the censure, rather than resume his command with a disgraced reputation and a loss of respect from his officers. Yet shortly after this John Hancock, President of the Continental Congress, wrote

2146-436: The earliest information to Congress or any other proper authority of any misconduct, frauds or other misdemeanours committed by any persons in the service of these states, which may come to their knowledge." In spite of his Congressional dismissal, Hopkins was highly respected in Rhode Island and continued to serve the Rhode Island General Assembly through 1786, then retired to his farm where he died February 26, 1802. His home,

2204-448: The first U.S. amphibious landing. Marines and sailors landed in "a bold stroke, worthy of an older and better trained service," capturing munitions desperately needed in the War of Independence. The little fleet returned to New London on April 8, 1776, having also made prizes of two British merchantmen and a six-gun schooner , while failing to capture but severely damaging HMS  Glasgow on April 6. John Hancock , President of

2262-404: The fleet to Providence in the Bahamas . He felt that it would be much more advantageous to seize a prize for the Continental Army than take a chance of destroying the Continental Navy in its infancy. He knew that the British port in Nassau would be poorly guarded and had friends there who would help his cause. The Raid of Nassau , an assault on the British colony there March 3, 1776 was also

2320-424: The islands in the Antilles , in addition to The Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands , which are in the North Atlantic Ocean . The term is often interchangeable with "Caribbean", although the latter may also include coastal regions of Central and South American mainland nations, including Mexico , Belize , Honduras , Panama , Colombia , Venezuela , French Guiana , Guyana , and Suriname , as well as

2378-467: The legacy of Hopkins and slavery and adds fantastical elements. This article about a National Register of Historic Places listing in Providence , Rhode Island is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article related to a building or structure in Providence, Rhode Island is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Esek Hopkins Commodore Esek Hopkins (April 26, 1718 – February 26, 1802)

Esek Hopkins House - Misplaced Pages Continue

2436-425: The long run. If true, it might well be said that this raid was the first tweaking of this English concern and a tweaking which may have set the tone for those later English decisions. As such, the Raid of Nassau was not just a minor tactical victory but a great strategic victory as well." Hopkins's commission was terminated by the Congress on January 2, 1778, for a variety of reasons, perhaps including for his part in

2494-410: The lucrative spice trade emanating from Hindustan , Indochina , and Insulindia , the regions currently found within the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia , which were first simply referred to by Spanish and Portuguese explorers as the Indias (Indies) . Thinking he had landed on the easternmost part of the Indies in the Eastern world when he came upon the New World , Columbus used

2552-575: The naval force of our enemies that you may find there. If you should be so fortunate as to execute this business successfully in Virginia you are then to proceed immediately to the southward and make yourself master of such forces as the enemy may have both in North and South Carolina...Notwithstanding these particular orders, which it is hoped you will be able to execute, if bad winds, or stormy weather, or any other unforeseen accident or disaster disenable you so to do, you are then to follow such courses as your best Judgment shall suggest to you as most useful to

2610-410: The northern Europeans and the Spanish spread southward in the mid to late seventeenth century, as English, Dutch, French and Spanish colonists, and in many cases, enslaved Africans first entered and then occupied the coast of The Guianas (which fell to the French, English and Dutch) and the Orinoco valley, which fell to the Spanish. The Dutch, allied with the Caribs of the Orinoco, would eventually carry

2668-432: The slave ship Sally. Hopkins adopted, and helped to popularize, the " Gadsden flag " that depicts a Timber rattlesnake with 13 rattles representing the 13 Colonies with the phrase "Don't Tread on Me" on a Yellow background. He adopted the banner as his personal flag and flew it from the mainmast of his flagship USS Alfred while he was aboard. Hopkins married Desire Burroughs (1724–1794) in November 1741. She belonged to

2726-432: The struggles deep into South America, first along the Orinoco and then along the northern reaches of the Amazon . Since no European country had occupied much of Central America, gradually, the English of Jamaica established alliances with the Miskito Kingdom of modern-day Nicaragua and Honduras and then began logging on the coast of modern-day Belize . These interconnected commercial and diplomatic relations comprised

2784-436: The term Indias to refer to the Americas , calling its native people Indios (Indians) . To avoid confusion between the known Indies of the Eastern Hemisphere and the newly discovered Indies of the Western Hemisphere , the Spanish named the territories in the East Indias Orientales (East Indies) and the territories in the West Indias Occidentales (West Indies) . Originally, the term West Indies applied to all of

2842-416: The utmost diligence to proceed with the said fleet to sea and if the winds and weather will possibly admit of it to proceed directly for Chesapeake Bay in Virginia and when nearly arrived there you will send forward a small swift sailing vessel to gain intelligence....If...you find that they are not greatly superior to your own you are immediately to enter the said bay, search out and attack, take or destroy all

2900-457: The volcanic Windward Islands arc. Based on proximity, these islands are sometimes grouped with the Windward Islands culturally and politically. Disputed territories administered by Colombia . The United Nations geoscheme includes Mexico in Central America . These three form the SSS islands that with the ABC islands comprise the Dutch Caribbean , of which the BES islands are not direct Kingdom constituents but subsumed with

2958-406: The war front. John Paul Jones was a lieutenant at this time under Hopkins. Hopkins' decision to go to Nassau rather than pursue another part of his orders concerning Chesapeake Bay of Virginia and North and South Carolina, upset southern members of the Continental Congress, which added to the political, social, economic, religious, and philosophical differences already occurring between members of

SECTION 50

#1732787001722

3016-450: Was a Continental Navy officer and privateer. He served as the only commander-in-chief of the Continental navy during the American Revolutionary War , when the Continental Congress appointed him to the position in December 1775. Hopkins is known for carrying out the successful raid of Nassau in the Bahamas , which captured large amounts of military supplies. His legacy today has become controversial for due to Hopkins' involvement in

3074-405: Was a location of importance to the British both due to trade concerns and due to its pivotal role in naval conflicts with the English nemesis France. Paranoia over losing the West Indies would frequently deflect English interests and military assets away from the war in America. English preoccupation with this area would nearly cause her to abandon the war in 1778 and may well have cost her the war in

3132-464: Was appointed a brigadier general to command all military forces of Rhode Island on October 4, 1775. He immediately began to strengthen Rhode Island 's defenses with the help of his deputy, William West . A few months later, December 22, 1775, Hopkins was appointed Commander in Chief of the Continental Navy authorized by the Continental Congress to protect American commerce. On January 5, 1776, Congress gave Hopkins his orders: "You are instructed with

3190-403: Was found in most of the rest of the Caribbean. From the 17th through the 19th century, the European colonial territories of the West Indies were the French West Indies , British West Indies , the Danish West Indies , the Netherlands Antilles (Dutch West Indies), and the Spanish West Indies . In 1916, Denmark sold the Danish West Indies to the United States for US$ 25 million in gold, per

3248-412: Was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. Over the years, various plans were put forward over the years to convert the house into a museum. They all failed for lack of resources. Most recently, in 2011 the Providence Parks department put forward a plan to convert the house into a part-time museum; this has not yet come to pass. The building has suffered from inadequate maintenance by

3306-422: Was politically used against him. Substantiating this, John Paul Jones, who had been a lieutenant directly under Hopkins, gained great respect while continuing this same type of naval warfare against the much larger Royal Navy. "Furthermore, and perhaps most importantly, the Raid on Nassau brought the war to the English in an area where they felt more strategically threatened than the American Colonies. The West Indies

3364-422: Was then known as the College of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. Hopkins was the brother of Rhode Island governor Stephen Hopkins , a signer of the Declaration of Independence and first Brown chancellor in conjunction with the tenure of president James Manning . Hopkins was buried in the North Burial Ground of Providence, Rhode Island. [REDACTED]   This article incorporates text from

#721278