Find out more about our country's beginnings with Fred Zilian, Ph. D. After summarizing events in the American colonies leading up to the American Revolution, this lecture will examine the early acts of resistance by Rhode Islanders, the colony’s declarations of renunciation and independence, its privateering era, the two occupations of Aquidneck Island to include the Battle of Rhode Island, and its overall military contributions. The lecture will conclude with a summary of its overall contributions and the Revolution’s impact.
After a 21-year career as an infantry officer in the Army, Fred Zilian was an educator at Portsmouth Abbey School, 1992-2015, where he taught history, ethics, and German. He was an adjunct professor (history and politics) at Salve Regina University, 2016-2022. He now lectures on a wide variety of subjects and offers tours of Newport & Boston and of the Battle of Rhode Island (1778).