<P> The Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations received its royal charter in 1663, and Benedict Arnold was elected as its first governor at Newport . The Old Colony House served as a seat of Rhode Island's government upon its completion in 1741 at the head of Washington Square, until the current Rhode Island State House in Providence was completed in 1904 and Providence became the state's sole capital city . Newport became the most important port in colonial Rhode Island, and a public school was established in 1640 . </P> <P> The commercial activity which raised Newport to its fame as a rich port was begun by a second wave of Portuguese Jews who settled there around the middle of the 18th century . They had been practicing Judaism in secret for 300 years in Portugal, and they were attracted to Rhode Island because of the freedom of worship there . They brought with them commercial experience and connections, capital, and a spirit of enterprise . Most prominent among those were Jacob Rodrigues Rivera, who arrived in 1745 (died 1789) and Aaron Lopez, who came in 1752 (died May 28, 1782). Rivera introduced the manufacture of sperm oil which became one of Newport's leading industries and made the town rich . Newport developed 17 manufactories of oil and candles and enjoyed a practical monopoly of this trade until the American Revolution . </P> <P> Aaron Lopez is credited with making Newport an important center of trade . He encouraged 40 Portuguese Jewish families to settle there, and Newport had 150 vessels engaged in trade within 14 years of his activity . He was involved in the slave trade and manufactured spermaceti candles, ships, barrels, rum, chocolate, textiles, clothes, shoes, hats, and bottles . He became the wealthiest man in Newport but was denied citizenship on religious grounds, even though British law protected the rights of Jews to become citizens . He appealed to the Rhode Island legislature for redress and was refused with this ruling: "Inasmuch as the said Aaron Lopez hath declared himself by religion a Jew, this Assembly doth not admit himself nor any other of that religion to the full freedom of this Colony . So that the said Aaron Lopez nor any other of said religion is not liable to be chosen into any office in this colony nor allowed to give vote as a free man in choosing others ." Lopez persisted by applying for citizenship in Massachusetts, where it was granted . </P> <P> From the mid 17th century, the religious tolerance in Newport attracted numbers of Quakers, known also as the Society of Friends . The Great Friends Meeting House in Newport (1699) is the oldest existing structure of worship in Rhode Island . </P>

Who was the colonial leader in rhode island that welcomed a jewish community to newport