Bacon's Rebellion

In this paper, we will explore how Europeans on the frontier of settlement often had contentious relationships with others. These outsiders often came into conflict with natives, such as in King Phillip’s war, but also came into conflict with those away from the frontier, such as in Bacon’s rebellion. People on the outside of society were usually outsiders in other ways, too. In many places, frontier settlers tended to be poor former indentured servants, many of whom harbored a resentment towards their former masters and a desire for wealth, whether from East or West. This force was the dominating factor behind most of the conflicts in the early colonial era. But in all of these conflicts that were real, the insiders won out in the end, and

consolidated power even more. Here, we will explore three real conflicts and one work of the historical fiction, those being Bacon's rebellion, King Phillip's war, the Salem Witch Trials, and the Scarlet Letter.
Bacon's rebellion was a rebellion in Virginia in 1676 which Nathaniel Bacon led, and who it is named after.

It shows the historical trends of conflict between those on the frontier and insiders, and elite consolidation of power, excellently. Bacon’s rebellion had many proximate causes, but no main objectives or driving cause. The story of it is inextricably tied up with the situation in Virginia and the facts in the frontier. Virginia before the rebellion was small and highly unequal. Slaves and landless freemen could not vote. To vote, citizens had to also pay a poll tax unaffordable to almost all. The legislature contained not a single person who had arrived after 1640. For poorer Virginians, the only options to rise up in society were to move to the frontier, and steal land from the Indians. Naturally, this was not appreciated. The frontier was a near constant thicket of raids and counter

raids.
In 1675 and 1676, two raids killed 25 Indians and 60 settlers, which were high numbers when the population of free men was barely 10,000. The colonial assembly, back on the coasts, attempted to take control of the situation, directing war and trade alike. This was not appreciated. Nathaniel Bacon, though a wealthy, powerful gentlemen, not a man of the same social class as the commoners, moved to exploit their anger. He condemned the governor's moves, and lead an attack against Indians that killed more than a hundred of them, men, women, and children alike. The governor, William Berkeley, then removed him from the colonial council for his illegal actions. Berkeley attempted to defuse the situation by calling for new elections with all free men able to vote. He also raised an army and marched to stop Bacon. But he was not able to find Bacon. He tried to get Bacon to return, and hinted at a pardon. Bacon rejected the offer out of hand, and continuing on his course. Meanwhile, the new elections Berkeley had called happened, but unfortunately for him Bacon was elected. The new assembly made the changes allowing landless freemen to vote permanent, and stripped a number of powers from the governor. Bacon then marched with an army of 500 men into the capital, and demanded a military commission. The governor refused to grant it to him, so Bacon had his army aim at the governor until the assembly relented and granted him one. He then returned to the frontier, where the situation was falling apart. Upon arriving, he wrote and publishing a list of grievances against the governor which accused him of being weak and pro-native. This did not help tensions in either conflict. As tensions rose between Bacon and Berkeley, Berkeley raised an army of 1200 men to face Bacon's army, but they refused to fight. Bacon returned to Jamestown, burned it to the ground, and forced Berkeley to flee across the river. He freed slaves if they fought for him. He seemed poised to take control. A naval squadron from England had been dispatched to aid Berkeley, but it seemed like it would be no avail. Then, before they arrived, Bacon died of dysentery. A follower named John Ingram tried to take control of his army, but it quickly fell apart. The remaining pockets of rebels were quickly defeated. Upon hearing of the events, the king recalled the elderly Berkeley to England, where he died shortly afterwards. A rebellion in Maryland followed, which was also put out, and the elites moved to reestablish control there, too, in a classic example of consolidation of power. The rebels were stripped of the rights they had won, poll taxes were restored, and landless men were stripped of the vote. Both rebellions end with the elites returning to their previous position.
Though the causes were complex and the results anticlimactic, there is a central thread running through it. The former indentured servants in Virginia were landless and had few rights. Meanwhile, the socioeconomic ladder there was incomplete. They could only gain wealth and power by taking it from someone else, whether it be natives or richer earlier settlers. In Virginia, they chose both and failed, and the insiders of society won out, and consolidated power. In other cases, they would make different choices, but from the same motives, and with similar results.
Another early conflict that shows the same tensions was King Philip's war.

Though early relations between Puritans and Indians tended to be good, they became worse as time wore on. New settlers arrived in great waves, and those already there had many children. In 1630, there were 1800 Europeans in New England. In 1680, there were 68,000. This is a rate of population growth that is astoundingly high. And as these populations grew, the good land on the coast was claimed and bought up. New settlers had to move to the frontier, where they inevitably came into conflict with natives. The colonists had entered into a treaty of mutual protection with the Wampanog tribe, but they continued to settle in Wampanoag lands. The colonial assembly had passed a law banning the sale of land to or from Natives. When the Wampanoag leader's brother broke this law, the colonists attempted to arrest him, based off of the testimony of a native ally, John Sassamon. The leader's brother was acquitted, but then Sassamon died, of what the colonists suspected was murder. They proceeded to hang several Indians, including a native potentate. This did not help the tension. A band of Pokanoket raided the Plymouth town of Swansea, laid siege, and killed the people there. Massachusetts Bay officials counterattacked a native settlement. Over the next several years, the New England colonies fought an alliance of native tribes. Though the natives had several early victories, and even managed to attack deep into

colonial territory at points, English demographic dominance and aid from their allies the Mohawk tribe (who had a longstanding rivalry with the Wampanoag), lead to an eventual victory, though at a heavy cost. The leader of the Wampanoag was captured and killed. One out of every ten adult men in New England died. For the Indians, it was far worse. Fully one third of them died in the aftermath, and many tribes were destroyed as political forces. Both the Indians and the frontiersmen, the outsiders of society, were devastated by the war. Second and third generation colonists suffered far more than the earlier settlers. On the other hand, the insiders, especially in the center of the colonies, suffered little, and the losses of their opponents led to a general consolidation of power under the elites. Elites in Britain, too, moved to consolidate power under themselves, limiting colonial power and autonomy after the war. The king revoked the colonial charter of Plymouth and attempted to do so for Connecticut. King Phillip's war also shows how frontier conflicts lead only to further elite consolidation.