so he called the area "red island" or, as the dutch would say, "roodt eylandt." he also named one of the islands "block island" in honor of... himself. >> rhode island is known as "little rhody." it's approximately 1,200 square miles. and rhode island was started when roger williams left massachusetts in search of religious freedom. he had hope that he would find the religious freedom that had led him to come to the new world. >> williams succeeded in establishing a settlement in 1631. thankful for his good fortune, he named it "providence." today providence is the capital of rhode island. and "hope" is the state motto. >> so the flag includes hope, this golden anchor -- which is a reference to the coastline of rhode island -- and also 13 stars to represent the 13 states, the original states. >> here's one more interesting fact. although rhode island is our smallest state geographically, it has the longest name of any state. its official title is "state of rhode island and providence plantations." in this case, the term "plantations" refers to resettling people i