Conversations at the castle 2026
Our popular Lectures on the Lawn series now called Conversations at the Castle continues this year! Usually occurring on a Tuesday or Thursday night 6-730pm(ish). These events are free, however a $5 donation is suggested. Bring a lawn chair and enjoy a night of history.
Thurs., May 14th 6:00 p.m.
Guest Speaker: Elizabeth Caden
"Rhode Island Quakers in the War of Independence" Quakers almost from their founding refused to participate in military activities, and Rhode Island Colony generally honored that position of conscience. The War of Independence challenged their position and forced hard decisions. This talk will explore how the Quaker community coped with the War of Independence, and with changes to civilian life in the colony due to the British occupations and disruptions to maritime trade.
Elizabeth Cazden is a retired lawyer and Quaker historian based in Providence, RI. She has written and spoken in both academic and public settings on Quaker history, with a special focus on New England Quakers' participation in the enslavement of Africans and in land expropriation from Indigenous communities. She is also an active Quaker, having served in many capacities for New England Yearly Meeting and national and international Quaker organizations.
Tues. June 9th 6:00 p.m.
Jamestown historian Peter Fay : The Untold Story: Rhode Island African Americans as Loyalists
The pivotal role African Americans played in helping the British suppress rebel resistance in Rhode Island in the early years of the War of Independence has been largely overlooked. In 1775, General Nathanael Greene of Warwick condemned the burning of rebel houses in Jamestown, noting that “Col. Joseph Wanton's Negroes piloted [British Captain] Wallace’s crew about the island and pointed out the houses to burn.”
Peter Fay examines why such acts of agency by Black loyalists have been largely excluded by historians, while narratives of Black patriotism, especially the celebrated Black Regiment, have been elevated. Recovering these untold stories from the historical record and examining their erasure will shed much light on the racial-political lens through which America still views itself today.
Tues., June 23rd 6:00 p.m.
Historian Christian McBurney will give a presentation. The second American Revolution: Rhode Island’s role in the Abolition movement in the North, 1763 to 1784. RI historian Christian McBurney will speak on the RI and Providence Plantations’ role in the abolition movement in the North during the Revolutionary period. McBurney has authored several books on RI history and is the founder and editor of the Online Review of Rhode Island History.
Tuesday September 15th at 6pm
East Greenwhich in the American Revolution
Matt Carcieri East Greenwich Historian gives a talk on East Greenwich’s response to the American Revolution. Through a focus specifically on the events of 1775 in to 1776, the talk will reveal the daily experiences of the residents of East Greenwich and the Revolutionary Rhode Island in the early years of the conflict.
Tues., Sept. 29th 6:00 p.m.
TBA
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