Warwick was colonized by Europeans 1642. Samuel Gorton claims that Narragansett Nation Sachem Miantonomi sold him the Shawhomett Purchase for 144 fathoms of wampum. This included the towns of Coventry and West Warwick, Rhode Island. However, the transaction was dubious from the start. Sachems Sacononoco and Pumham claimed that Miantonomi had sold the land without asking for their approval. They took their case to Boston, where they placed their lands under Massachusetts rule. In 1643, Massachusetts Bay Colony sent a militia force to Shawomett to arrest Gorton and his followers. After a tense standoff, all but three of the Gortonists surrendered to the Massachusetts forces. This event caused the other three colonies on Narragansett Bay (Providence Plantations, Portsmouth, and Newport) to unite and get a British royal charter allowing them to form the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations.