Bacon's Rebellion

In 1676, Doeg Indians attacked white Settlers for trying to settle in their land. Nathaniel Bacon, an aristocrat, was extremely worried so he rounded up other landowners, and against the will of the governor, Sir William Berkley, he struck out against the Indians. Berkley declared Bacon and his men rebels thus starting Bacon’s rebellion. The rebellion would not have happened if there was not so much hate against the Indians, if the white Settlers were not forcing Indians to convert and assimilate, and finally if the government actually had control of its people.The geography of the land was barely a reason for the rebellion, ultimately it was the disatisfaction of the people and failure of the government.
Firstly, the Settlers have always throughout history hated the native Americans. A good example would be Christopher Columbus’s and Hernando Cortez’s treatment of the Indians. Columbus took back Indians as slaves to show that they found Asia so they could trade with them again. Trading with a people does not mean enslaving them and using them as labor later on. During the Pequot War white Settlers

under the command of Captain John Mason surrounded a palisade with Indians in it and lit it on fire. Hundreds of Indians died due to the burning or whilst trying to escape and those who did escape were hunted down, captured, and then sold into slavery. During Virginia’s expansion they had to suppress local Indians that tried to hinder their expansion efforts. Sir Thomas Dale led unrelenting attacks against the Powhatan Indians, note this is all in the name of expansion, and also kidnapped the Powhatan chief’s daughter. There were more intrusions and atrocities made against the Indians in the name of expansion and search for wealth so taking in the fact that Settlers hate the Indians and vice versa is not at all confusing if the past is reread.
Secondly, if the white Settlers did not try to assimilate the Indians into their culture and society. Since the very beginning explorers came to the New World not only to become rich but also to spread their faith. Christopher Columbus said himself that his voyage was a religious one. The settlers had so many different cultures and faiths and they were never able to accept the Indians faith. Puritans believed that the solution to their “Indian” problem was to “civilize” them and by civilize them they mean assimilate them into the white culture and faith. John Eliot, a missionary, translated the Bible into an Algonquian language so the Indians could read the Bible and convert to the white man’s faith. The white Settlers were not ready to accept the Indian faith anytime soon due to all the Missionaries, Jesuits, and Monks arriving into the New World.
Finally, it was the failure of the government that caused Nathaniel Bacon fight against the Indians and to eventually rebel against Sir William Berkley.

Bacon already had a grudge against Berkley due to Berkley not allowing Bacon the right to get into the fur trade. Berkley failed to appease men of his council, Nathaniel Bacon, because he wanted to have the fur trade monopolized for himself. When Bacon went against the Indians, Berkley failed to stop him then and there which allowed Bacon to siege and eventually gain control of Jamestown. Eventually Bacon died and Sir William Berkley came back with the King’s men and gained authority again. The governor, Sir William Berkley, could have prevented Bacon from rebelling in the first place but failed to do so and he never stopped Bacon from taking the colony from him resulting in the failure of the government and the

governor.
In conclusion, the people’s dissatisfaction was shown through them hating the Indians, hating and wanting to change the Indian’s faith, and their dissatisfaction with the government. Sir William Berkley’s failure as governor shows the failure of the government because he had the ruling hand in the colony. The Bacon’s Rebellion was just another occurrence of the Settlers not listening to the governing body and killing Indians because they wanted to prove that they were stronger than the Indians and that they came to take and conquer.