1663. Benedict Arnold was elected as the first governor. Upon its completion in 1741, The Old Colony House, at the head of Washington Square in Newport, served as the seat of Rhode Island's government until the current Rhode Island State House in Providence was completed in 1904. At that time, Providence, Rhode Island became the state's sole capital city. Prior to that, Newport was the most important port in colonial Rhode Island, and a public school was established in 1640. The commercial activity that raised Newport to its fame as a rich port began with the immigration of a second wave of Portuguese Jews, who settled there around the middle of the 18th century. The new settlers had been practicing Judaism secretly for 300 years in Portugal, and they were attracted to Rhode Island because of its freedom of worship. Besides their religion, they brought with them commercial experience, connections, capital, and a spirit of enterprise. Most prominent among them were Jacob Rodrigues Rivera, who arrived in 1745 (died 1789). Rivera introduced the manufacture of sperm oil, derived from sperm whales. This became one of Newport's leading industries and made the town a wealthy, prominent whaling community. Newport developed 17 manufacturers of oil and candles, and enjoyed a practical monopoly of this trade until the American Revolution. Aaron Lopez is also credited with making Newport an important center of trade. He encouraged 40 Portuguese Jewish families to settle there, and within 14 years, Newport had 150 vessels engaged in trade. Lopez was involved in the slave trade, as were other shipping magnates, and the manufacture of spermaceti candles, ships, barrels, rum, chocolate, textiles, clothes, shoes, hats, and bottles. Although Lopez became the wealthiest man in Newport, he was denied citizenship on religious grounds, even though British law protected the rights of Jews to become citizens in England. Lopez appealed to the Rhode Island colonial legislature for redress and was refused with this ruling: Lopez persisted by applying for citizenship in Massachusetts, where it was granted. 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. In 1727, James Franklin (brother of Benjamin Franklin) printed the Rhode-Island Almanack in Newport. In 1732, he published the first newspaper, the Rhode Island Gazette. In 1758,