In 1676, Nathaniel Bacon led one of the biggest rebellions in the pre-American Revolution period. He, along with hundreds of white frontiersmen that supported his cause demanded that the Virginian governor William Berkeley step down from power. When Berkeley refused to abide by the terms of Bacon's “Declaration of the People,” Bacon and his supporters burned down the city of Jamestown, and the governor was forced to flee. This rebellion would come to be known as “Bacon's Rebellion.” Furthermore, Bacon can be seen as a parallel of the white frontiersmen, poor farmers and indentured servants in Virginia Colony, and Governor Berkeley can be seen as a parallel of the British, the government, the Virginia House of Burgesses, the masters of said …show more content…
indentured servants, and the wealthy landowners. This was all caused by a complex chain of oppression in Virginia at the time, as well as a power struggle that developed between Bacon and Governor Berkeley. Nathaniel Bacon emigrated to Virginia Colony in 1673.
He had come from England, unaware of the problems in Virginia Colony. Bacon purchased land in the northern frontiers of Virginia Colony. Bacon would also be named to the governor's ruling council. In 1676, Bacon, tired of Native Americans trespassing onto Virginians' property, sought permission from the governor to start a militia, which would go and attack the Natives. Berkeley, suspicious of Bacon, denied the request, opting instead to negotiate a peace treaty between Virginians and the Natives. Bacon ignored the governor's veto, and proceeded to gather up white frontiersmen that were also facing similar problems to be his militia. When Governor Berkeley heard news that Bacon and his small militia were directly violating his requests not to attack the Natives, he began to accuse Bacon of treason. Bacon was arrested, and spent some time in prison. When Bacon was released from prison, the battle continued between the two …show more content…
men. The chain of events that led up to Bacon's Rebellion began when Bacon had hired an overseer to watch over the land he had purchased. One day, a tribe of Natives trespassed onto the property, killing the land overseer in the process. This was what enraged Bacon to the point of asking the governor permission to attack the Natives west of Virginia Colony. Prior to the rebellion, the lower class was being heavily oppressed by the higher classes and the government. The lower classes were completely ignored by the government when they complained of Natives trespassing on their farms. Also, taxes were much higher for the poorer colonists than those paid by the wealthier colonists. Many of these underclassmen were indentured servants.
Indentured servants were people that wanted to immigrate from European countries to the colonies, but could not afford to do so. In exchange for having the costs of the trip pre-paid, the person would owe several years of service to a master in one of the thirteen colonies. “They were often imprisoned until the ship sailed, to make sure they did not run away.” (Zinn 42.) The trip from Europe to the colonies had very similar conditions to those faced by Africans during the Middle Passage to the Americas. Gottlieb Mittelberger, a German musician, wrote that the ship he rode to the colonies was “full of pitiful signs of distress––smells, fumes, horrors, vomiting,... sea sickness, fever,... scurvy, cancer, mouth-rot, and … all of them caused by the age and the high[ly] salted state of the food, especially of the meat, as well as … the very [dirty] water... Add to all that shortage of food, hunger, [and] thirst...” (Zinn 42.) When the future servants arrived in the colonies, they were sold to masters in a very similar style to when Africans would be sold to southern plantation owners. Treatment of indentured servants was also extremely similar to the way Africans would be treated on the plantations. Servants could be cruelly beaten, whipped, killed, and it wouldn't be unusual for female servants to be raped. Masters would not receive any convictions or repercussions if they were to be tried in court. Masters even controlled
their servants' lives. Female servants could be forbidden to marry, under penalty of being convicted of adultery, and their children labeled as bastards. These same indentured servants would make up a significant portion of the rebels who joined Bacon. A complex chain of oppression was happening in Virginia at the time of the rebellion. “The Indians were plundered by white frontiersmen, who [in turn] were taxed and controlled by the Jamestown elite.... The whole colony was being exploited by England, [who] bought the colonists' tobacco at prices it dictated and made 100,000 pounds a year for the king.” (Zinn 41.) Many say that the peak of Bacon's Rebellion was the burning of the city of Jamestown in September 1676. The fire was so great, that Governor Berkeley himself had to flee the burning city. However, less than one month later, on the 26th of October, 1676, Nathaniel Bacon died of dysentery. His supporters tried to keep the rebellion going forth, but British ships had arrived in Virginia Colony by then. British officials were able to disarm and arrest the supporters; by now they had been made up of white frontiersmen, Negro slaves and indentured servants. The Negro slaves were returned to their owners, and the indentured servants were delivered to their masters, from whom they had escaped to form the rebellion. Bacon's Rebellion was caused by a number of contributing factors. Bacon's land was trespassed upon by foreign Native tribes. The Native tribes also murdered a watcher of the land that he had hired. Enraged, Bacon and a group of frontiersmen who had been having the same issues as Bacon, attacked the Natives even though Governor Berkeley had expressly said not to. Indentured servants had been treated very poorly by their masters, and said masters did not receive any punishments for the way they treated their servants. Nathaniel Bacon and his group of rebels wanted to directly attack the Natives because of what they had done to their personal property, while Governor William Berkeley opted to take a more broad outlook on the situation and negotiate a peace treaty to save from having an expensive war and raising even more taxes in Virginia Colony. Bacon's Rebellion would only be a brick in the wall of causes of the much larger American Revolution a century later.
Bacon’s Rebellion, King Phillip’s War and the Pequot War were similar in that there were conflicts with Natives over land, however they differed in the ways the wars were carried out and the results of the wars. Bacon’s rebellion was a result of the poorer classes moving west to cultivate land, however they encountered natives and the governor refused to protect them. Likewise the Pequot war was a direct effect of puritans moving westward, additionally all three wars resulted in the colonists as victors. During King Phillip’s war the natives destroyed a fifth of the towns in Masseuses and Rhode Island in contrast to the other wars where the natives did not cause as much damage to the colonists. Bacon’s Rebellion was significant because afterwards
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
Things in Jamestown were good. The people were fed, cared for, and happy. They created their own working government order, but, in a place where everything seems perfect, there is always one man to disagree. In this case, his name was Nathaniel Bacon.
In the Chesapeake region, Bacon’s Rebellion of 1676 led to major changes. This rebellion involved indentured servants revolting against the system, which put an end to indentured servitude and nearly annihilated the city of Jamestown. The servants believed their natural rights had been violated, so they rose up in revolution. As landowners began to fear mutinous servants, the plantation system expanded significantly. This relied heavily on the use of slaves from Africa, and greatly sped up the production of cash crops in the region.
James D. Rice’s Tales From a Revolution is perhaps one of the most important works on early Colonial America. This concise and informative narrative focuses on an important event in American History that has simply been overlooked by many Americans and historians, Bacon’s Rebellion, which occurred in 1676. This revolt played a significant role in the course of history at a pivotal time in early America. Rice focuses on much more than the actual revolt, giving a very vivid and easy to comprehend overview of the occurrences that took place before, during, and after this climactic and transformative event in history that would be one of the first of many rebellions and revolutions that would gradually pave the way for the foundation of America.
...able behavior far different from that of rebellion.” The colonists held their tongues as long as they could, but in 1676, their frustration grew too strong. Bacon and a thousand Virginians rebelled and overthrew the governor, in what is known as Bacon’s Rebellion. Shortly after the rebellion, Bacon died, and Governor Berkeley returned and viciously crushed the brigands.
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.
The British colonies in the 17th century were afflicted by many strenuous periods of tension that boiled over resulting in violent rebellions. Bacon’s Rebellion and the Stono rebellion are two such rebellions that rocked the colonies. These conflicts rose from tension between the governance of the colonies and those who they ruled over. The Stono Rebellion and Bacon’s Rebellion were both examples of the American people’s willful determination, unifying capability, and ability to fight back.
Virginia in 1676 was a colony in turmoil. For a number of years the popularity of Governor Sir William Berkeley had suffered, especially among smaller farmers and those living on the edge of the frontier. Issues of complaint included land ownership, requirements on voting rights, high taxes, low tobacco prices, restrictive Navigation Acts, and, most importantly, lack of protection from attacks waged by Native Americans. Berkeley’s attempts to negotiate peace with the Native Americans caused him to avoid confronting violations of treaty obligations for fear of making the situation worse. As a result, as a greater percentage of the white population began to infiltrate Indian lands, more and more Virginians, especially unemployed colonists who had formerly been indent...
With every piece of history, behind them were tensions. Bacon’s Rebellion took place in Jamestown, Virginia in 1676, led by Nathaniel Bacon. Sir William Berkeley, the royal governor of Virginia, adopted policies that favored the large planters. He also angered farmers on Virginia's western frontier because he failed to protect their settlements from Indian attacks. Nathaniel Bacon was upset due to how Berkeley was leading colony and led a rebellion against Berkeley's government. He raised an army of volunteers and conducted a series of raids against Indian villages a...
There are many situations in life where a rebellion is required for improvement. For instance, the Stono Rebellion, Pontiac’s War, Shay’s Rebellion, and Bacon’s Rebellion all had the same idea in common, they all wanted change. They all wanted to improve America’s society. The tactic in each rebellion was different, the motives were different, and not all the outcomes were successful. All of these rebellions also had unobvious internal struggles which either weaken or strengthen them. It is likely that Bacon’s Rebellion could have been avoided because it did not leave a positive impact on America’s society. Although, if the Stono Rebellion, Pontiac’s war, and Shay’s Rebellion never occurred the government would not be
...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 role of an indentured servant in the 1700s was not a glamorous one. They came to the New World knowing that, for a time, they would be slaves for someone they did not know and the risk of disease and death was high, but the opportunity that laid ahead of them after their time of servitude was worth everything to these settlers of the New World. They came to America for the same reasons as all of the other settlers. Religious freedom, land, wealth, and a new start were motives for both settlers and indentured servants but the one thing separating most settlers from the indentured servants was that they could afford their voyage across the Atlantic Ocean. Indentured servants couldn’t buy their ticket to the New World, but that didn’t stop
misery in no less than 32 children in our ship, all of whom were thrown into the sea.” (Gottlieb Mittelberger, Journey to Pennsylvania in the Year 1750). Once the indentured servants arrived to their destination, they would sign a contract in agreement to serve their designated master. There was no relationship between a master and a servant. It was in agreement that the servant would work
England at the time was over populated, and jobs were hard to find. So many people that could not afford the boat trip over to America offered themselves as an indentured servant for a period of time. This contractual term can last from four to seven years. Many colonists preferred having indentured servants over slaves, because they also helped ward off Native Americans from attacking settlers. The one big drawback of indentured servants was that they usually did not make it past the first year of their contract.