Throughout history, many very important conflicts have risen, sometimes causing dramatic changes in power and cultures around the world. In particular cases, these conflicts are aroused by the very ideas and hopes of these changes. Colonial Virginia in the 1670’s was a place where change was desired in many forms. Indentured servants and the lower class wanted better lives and more rights, while men of the higher classes longed for more power and profits. Nobleman Nathaniel Bacon was one of these men in the upper class. Bacon claimed to support the needs and wants of the lower classes to help him gain this power and profit. However, Governor William Berkeley was in the way of Bacon’s trip to the top. This creates a rebellion and feud that will …show more content…
change the lives of colonists in Virginia. Both Sir William Berkeley and Nathaniel Bacon fight for what they believe to be true to help gain support from the colonists, therefore, gaining political power. On the thirtieth of July, 1676, Nathaniel Bacon, leader of a group of lower class Virginians, released a document that accused the Governor of Virginia of multiple disobediences and cases of corruption.
This document was titled The Declaration of the People. Bacon supported the colonists’ ideas that Berkeley was not putting tax money back into the people and towns of Virginia after he had raised taxes. Berkeley was also accused of political corruption, monopolizing the beaver fur trade, and failing to protect colonists from enemies, such as Indian tribes. Bacon and his followers state that these actions are of wrong doing to the King and are examples of treason. Bacon ended his proclamation writing, “And we doe further demand that the said Sir William Berkeley with all the persons in this list be forthwith delivered up or surrender themselves within fower days after the notice hereof…” (Declaration of the People). The document then goes on stating, in short, that all people who aid the listed in escaping will be labeled traitors and punished consequently. The colonists in Virginia that held these opinions supported Nathaniel Bacon and his release of this document. This support gave Bacon his desired political power within
Virginia. After Bacon releases his document and politically gains, Sir William Berkeley becomes concerned and feels threatened about his own political power. In response to Bacon, Berkeley releases his own document. In this document, Berkeley denies all of the allegations and claims to have protected the people well, calling God as his witness. Berkeley continues, writing, “…if I have I am soe conscious of humane frailty, and my owne defects, that I will not onely acknowledge them, but repent of, and amend them, and not like the Rebell Bacon persist in an error…”(Declaration of Sir William Berkeley). Berkeley subsequently declares that Nathaniel Bacon’s actions are evidence of treason against the King, so he is, therefore, a traitor. Berkeley supports his claims by contrasting his former thirty-four years in office to Bacon’s two years in the colony. He believes that Bacon is less trustworthy because he is less known. Berkeley then expresses is patriotism writing, “Yett I must further enlarge, that I cannot without your helpe, doe any thinge in this but dye in defence of my King, his laws, and subjects, which I will cheerefully doe, though alone I doe itt, and considering my poore fortunes, I can not leave my poore Wife and friends a better legacy then by dyeing for my King and you…” (Declaration of Sir William Berkeley). Berkeley continues providing evidence for what he believes are acts of treason on Bacon’s and the members of the rebellion’s parts’. He concludes in describing an instance in which Bacon was offered three pardons and denied them. Berkeley writes that Bacon denies the pardons because he believes that he is above the law. The rebellion and releasement of the two documents provided multiple examples of the hostility felt between Nathaniel Bacon and Sir William Berkeley and each of their supporters. This hostility indicated that a peaceful solution to the situation was highly unlikely. Bacon’s demand for Berkeley and his men to surrender and Berkeley’s account of the attempt to pardon Bacon furthermore support this idea. There were opportunities, fair or unfair, for both sides to compromise and reach a peaceful solution. These failed. Throughout this rebellion, political power was the main motivator behind Nathaniel Bacon’s and Sir William Berkeley’s actions. Each man wanted to have support of the colonists. To gain this support, each defended his opinions in declarations. Because the men could not achieve a peaceful solution to their differences, the rebellion continued. However, as a result of the rebellion, the upper class treated the lower class better. This change furthermore changed throughout history and resulted in new culture for Americans.
A fundamental difference between the New England and Southern colonies was the motives of the founders. In 1606, the Virginia Company was formed, motivated primarily by the promise ...
I believe colonial New England had more of an effect on the American character than Virginia for several reasons. First they promoted more of the values that have transcended into modern day America such as religious toleration, their educational ideas and their focus on the importance of family. And we shouldn’t forget the fact that the American Revolution began in New England so in essence the America we know today would not exist without New England.
Bacon was a man of opportunity and when a farmer that tried to trade with Native Americans was killed, it became his ticket to making it big in the New World. Only the governor, William Berkley, was allowed to trade with the Native Americans and nobody else. When the farmer was killed, William Berkley denied the upset colonists their desire to fight back. In doing so, it led Bacon to challenge his authority. He began to rally up colonists living in the backcountry where the colonists had no representation, no opportunity to achieve a fortune, and lived in a hostile environment. Everything those colonists did not have would be Bacon’s leverage in convincing them to support him and his cause. He had led 1,000 men to fight with him in hopes to rule the colony and would make changes to their benefit. William Berkley then branded Bacon as a rebel and sent for British troops. Bacon and his supporters then went into the backcountry where he eventually died of
In the early stages of North American colonization by the English, the colony of Jamestown, Virginia was founded in 1607 (Mailer Handout 1 (6)). Soon after the Massachusetts Bay Colony was founded in 1629 (Mailer Handout 2 (1)). These two colonies, although close in the time they were founded, have many differences in aspects of their lives and the way they were settled. The colonies have a different religious system, economic system, political system, and they have a different way of doing things; whether that be pertaining to making money, practicing religion, or electing governors. Along with the differences, there are also a sameness between these two colonies. Each colony has been derived from England and has been founded by companies
Breen, T. H., and Stephen Innes. Myne Owne Ground: Race and Freedom on Virginia 's Eastern Shore, 1640-1676. 25th anniversary ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005. 142 pages (kindle edition).
Gary B. Nash argues that the American Revolution portrayed “radicalism” in the sense on how the American colonies and its protesters wanted to accommodate their own government. Generally what Gary B. Nash is trying to inform the reader is to discuss the different conditions made by the real people who were actually fighting for their freedom. In his argument he makes it clear that throughout the revolution people showed “radicalism” in the result of extreme riots against the Stamp Act merchants, but as well against the British policies that were implemented. He discusses the urgency of the Americans when it came to declaring their issues against the British on how many slaves became militants and went up against their masters in the fight for a proclamation to free themselves from slavery. But he slowly emerges into the argument on how colonists felt under the
On the brink of revolution, the colonies were divided amongst themselves. Two factions with different ideologies “The Patriots” & and the “The Loyalist”, to know these factions we must first know another. Because both parties played a pivotal role in the “American Revolution”.
In “Bacon's Declaration in the Name of the People” and “The declaration and Remonstrance of Sir William Berkeley his most sacred Majesties Governor and Captain General of Virginia”, they were pretending to be for the people and the king. They put on a facade to cover up their true intentions. Both Nathaniel Bacon and William Berkeley were insistent on discrediting the other by suggesting disloyalty. There was no way to end their debacle calmly.
During the late 16th century and into the 17th century, European nations rapidly colonized the newly discovered Americas. England in particular sent out numerous groups to the eastern coast of North America to two regions. These two regions were known as the Chesapeake and the New England areas. Later, in the late 1700's, these two areas would bond to become one nation. Yet from the very beginnings, both had very separate and unique identities. These differences, though very numerous, spurred from one major factor: the very reason the settlers came to the New World. This affected the colonies in literally every way, including economically, socially, and politically.
During the 1700's, people in the American colonies lived in very distinctive societies. While some colonists led hard lives, others were healthy and prosperous. The two groups who showed these differences were the colonists of the New England and Chesapeake Bay areas. The differentiating characteristics among the Chesapeake and New England colonies developed due to economy, religion, and motives for colonial expansion. The colonists of the New England area possessed a very happy and healthy life. This high way of living was due in part to better farming, a healthier environment, and a high rate of production because of more factories. The colonists of the Chesapeake Bay region, on the other hand, led harder lives compared to that of the colonists of New England. The Chesapeake Bay had an unhealthy environment, bad eating diets, and intolerable labor.
"Governor William Berkely on Bacon's Rebellion 19 May 1676." American History From Revolution to Reconstruction and beyond. http://www.let.rug.nl/usa/documents/1651-1700/governor-william-berkely-on-bacons-rebellion-19-may-1676.php
Often when looking at American history, people tend to lump all the characters and actors involved as similar. This is especially the case in regards to Early American Colonial history. Because the Puritan communities that grew rapidly after John Winthrop’s arrival in 1630 often overshadow the earlier colony at Plymouth, many are lead to assume that all settlers acted in similar ways with regard to land use, religion, and law. By analyzing the writings of William Bradford and John Winthrop, one begins to see differing pictures of colonization in New England.
From 1750 until 1800 the colonial United States endured a period of enormous achievement along with a substantial amount of struggle. Before 1750, the new colony’s first struggle was between the colonists and England over who would have leadership within the New World. Once settled, the issues emerged from within the colonies themselves, particularly with the “belongings” they brought and imported. African American slaves were seen as property, and were not given any innate rights such as liberty or freedom when following their master to the New World. The revolution for the colonists from England began, with new freedoms received by the colonists; the slaves began to question their rights as humans. Innate rights such as liberty and freedom
...ve in Virginia did not mean immigrants were free from its rule. Upon departing England, those leaving would take an “oath of allegiance and supremacy” (Virginia Ship’s List). This meant that the people owed their loyalty to the monarch of England, not to Virginia itself. The colonists of Virginia could have been frustrated that their head official was chosen by a single person, a person who had no place within their community. In fact, Berkeley, the governor the monarch of England elected, “brought high taxes on the people, increased his power at the expense of local officials and created a monopoly on Indian trade” (Divine, 85). This abuse of power is possibly one of the causes of rebellions, specifically Bacon’s rebellion. This republic government leading the Virginia Colony was an increasingly stark contrast to the Massachusetts’ Colony’s democratic government.
The American Revolution has too often been dominated by the narrative of the founding fathers and has since been remembered as a “glorified cause.” However, the American Revolution was not a unified war but a civil war with many internal disputes that wreaked havoc and chaos throughout America. In his book, The Unknown American Resvolution, Gary B. Nash attempts to unveil the chaos that the American Revolution really was through the eyes of the people not in power, including women, African American slaves, and Native Americans. In his book, Gary B. Nash emphasizes their significance in history to recount the tale of the American Revolution not through the eyes of the privileged elite but through the eyes of the people who sacrificed and struggled the most, but were left forgotten, in their endeavors to reinvent America.