Articles of Confederation funnies

Reading over the Articles of Confederation I found this particularly funny phrase: "... unless such State be infested by pirates..." Too bad there aren't more pirate infestations nowadays.

Also I'd forgotten that Article XI of the Articles of Confederation allows Canada to join the US without approval of the states. Pirates and eating up Canada -- they really were the good old days.

Last, can anyone tell me what the proper name for Rhode Island actually is? I've always known it as "Rhode Island," but the official Rhode Island state web site says the name is "Rhode Island and Providence Plantation," and so does the Constitution (see article I). I'm sure there's a good reason for that silly long name, but I'm too tired to look it up. Perhaps I'll update tomorrow.