In June 1675 warriors of the Wampanoag sachem, or elected chief, Metacom—known to New England colonists as King Philip—laid siege to the Plymouth Colony town of Swansea, killing settlers, burning homes and igniting a conflict known today as King Philip’s War. Although the murder trial and execution of a trio of Wampanoags by the English had been a pretext for the war, tensions had long been building between the tribe and colonists in Plymouth and adjacent Massachusetts Bay. “The pent-up passions of many years, fanned into flame, were past suppression,” one observer later noted.
Bordering Massachusetts Bay and Plymouth to the south and west was the tiny colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations (united by royal charter in 1663). Of all the English colonies it was the smallest in population, the most divided in sentiment and the least effectively organized for the carrying out of any public policy. Yet it was at this point that Rhode Island, which had been excluded from the military alliance of the United Colonies of New England, was thrust into conflict with the powerful native Narragansetts and their fellow Algonquians the Wampanoags.
Settlers in Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, as well as those in the United Colonies of Massachusetts Bay, Plymouth and Connecticut, all sought to keep the Narragansetts—who occupied most of present-day Rhode Island—neutral in the war and prevent them from joining forces with Metacom. To that end colonial officials, at the urging of Rhode Island founder Roger Williams, held several councils with the Narragansetts and their sachem, Canonchet (or Quanonchet). The Narragansetts also realized war with the English would be a disaster, and Canonchet assured the colonists he had not allied with Metacom.
During the summer of 1675, however, Wampanoag refugees drifted south into Narragansett territory, and Canonchet gave them shelter. In response, including Canonchet, who agreed to turn over the enemies of the English they were harboring by October 28.
