People And Events: Bacon's Rebellion

According to “People and Events: Bacon’s Rebellion” in 1676 Virginia a group of men that included white frontiersman, along with many servants and slaves led a rebellion that forced the governor to flee after the rebels had set fire to Jamestown, which at that time had 40,000 people. King Charles I sent a thousand soldiers to Jamestown hoping to quell the situation and establish order back into the colony of Jamestown. This uprising was led by Nathaniel Bacon and would later become known as Bacon’s Rebellion.

Bacon was a wealthy Englishman living in the Virginia backcountry who was extremely anti-Native American and felt that they must be viewed strictly as enemies. Bacon’s views were shared by many other Virginia residents and he banded many of them to his cause. However, the governor of the Virginia colony William Berkeley saw things differently. Berkeley wanted to live peacefully with the non-hostile Native Americans in order to avoid a war in which "all the Indians against us.” (Bacon’s

Rebellion). Not trusting Bacon’s intention Berkeley refused to permit him the authority to lead soldiers.
Bacon then took a group of men and convinced the Occaneechees, who were a friendly tribe to capture the warriors from an unfriendly tribe.

Once the Occaneechees returned with the warriors Bacon and his followers gunned them all down. As a result of Bacon’s actions Berkeley had him charged with treason, but when Bacon returned to Jamestown Berkeley ha him pardoned rather than having him executed. This may have been due to the fact that Bacon had brought fifty men into the city with him and Berkeley was afraid of the damage they may have done. Bacon continued his crusade against the Native Americans and eventually he returned to Jamestown with 500 men forcing Berkeley to give him permission to lead soldiers (commission). Berkeley would later declare it void, which would cause Bacon to return to Jamestown setting the city the city ablaze and causing Berkeley to flee. English soldiers eventually arrived to quell the rebellion and Bacon and a number of the rebels were

executed.
The elite, who realized that how dangerous whites and blacks uniting could be, feared that the poor people they were oppressing would rise up against them. This fear contributed strongly to the chance in perception of blacks as servants to blacks as slaves. This was coupled with the fact that Virginia needed people to work the plantations in order to grow corn for the people to eat and to grow tobacco to export. Many people were starving and the Virginia government and the elite feared that they would make trouble. In order to try to prevent this the Virginia Colony had two companies of English soldiers remain to guard against future trouble, and their presence was defended in a report to the Lords of Trade and Plantation saying: "Virginia is at present poor and more populous than ever. There is great apprehension of a rising among the servants, owing to their great necessities and want of clothes; they may plunder the storehouses and ships." (Zinn Persons…Condition). The Virginia colony also passed laws that made it impossible for people to travel from one state to another without papers stating that they were free men. Any person without this documentation were rounded up and extradited back to their home state. (Zinn Persons…Condition).