Warwick, city in central Rhode Island. Warwick is located in Kent County, on Narragansett Bay, near Providence. It is the second largest city in the state, after Providence. Manufactures include machinery, jewelry, primary and fabricated metal, and printed materials. The insurance industry and health-care services are also important. The Theodore Francis Green Airport, the New England Institute of Technology (1940), and a community college are in the city. It is also the birthplace of Nathanael Greene, an American general in the American Revolution (1775-1783). Founded about 1642 by the English minister Samuel Gorton and known as Shawomet, the community was renamed in 1648 for Robert Rich, 2nd earl of Warwick. It was badly damaged during King Philip's War (1675-1676), a conflict between colonists and Native Americans. In an event foreshadowing the American Revolution, the British revenue ship Gaspée was burned nearby in Narragansett Bay by Americans in 1772. According to the 1990 census, whites constitute 98 percent of Warwick's population; blacks, 0.8 percent; people of Asian origin, 0.8 percent; and Native Americans, 0.2 percent. Hispanics, who may also be counted among other groups, comprise 1 percent of the population. Population 87,123 (1980); 85,427 (1990); 84,094 (1998 estimate).
