What Were The Causes Of Bacon's Rebellion

Hatred was brewing within Virginia, but nothing major broke out until a violent fight spread in the middle of Jamestown between a group of Native Americans and English Settlers. This fight, which was said to have killed 2 settlers and injured many more, was the moment the rebellion truly started (Charles II.). Although the fight was between something small, Bacon used the tension and vulnerability in the colony to spread his message and

You may ask yourself, what even is a rebellion? A rebellion is the act of defying a group of people or a certain person and turning your back on them. Nathaniel Bacon’s rebellion put a mark on everything. This was probably one of the biggest rebellions in history. This dates back to the 1600’s. Little did Bacon know that he affected peoples life’s forever and would be talked about in present day.

In 1676 an uprising occurred known as Bacon’s Rebellion. This Rebellion was lead by Nathaniel Bacon. Virginians who resented Governor William Berkley’s friendly policies towards the Native Americans rose against him by joining the rebellion. “.. For then having expressly countermanded and sent back our army by passing his word for the peaceable demeanor of the said Indians, who immediately prosecuted their evil intentions, committing horrid murders and robberies in all places, being protected by the said engagement and word past of him the said Sir William Berkeley.” (Bacon’s Rebellion: The Declaration) The Declaration of the People of Virginia criticized Berkeley’s administration and its policies. Berkeley was accused of appointing friends

Bacon’s Rebellion is well known to students of colonial America, although no-one has succeeded in writing a convincing account of it. The first question historians asked was who was responsible for the widespread anarchy that followed the breakdown of government authority in the colony between 1676 and 1677. One historian attributes the rebellion to Nathaniel Bacon, and describes Governor Berkeley as a man doing his best to implement sensible policies. Another sees the Rebellion as prefiguring the American Revolution, with Bacon as an early George Washington, already defying British authority. Historians writing more recently explain that neither the rebel nor the governor could have controlled the dangerous economic situation in Virginia where

Thesis: Rice appears to have two major arguments in his book. The first argument is that Bacon’s Rebellion had a lasting impact on early America. He ties the rebellion to later anti-Catholic sentiment and ultimately how the English colonists responded to the Glorious Revolution. His second argument is that race played a significant role in unifying colonists, specifically by giving them an outside enemy and reducing some internal class tensions. This argument culminates in his assertion that Bacon’s Rebellion was critical for the development of the Old South.

1. Nathaniel Bacon was a wealthy Cambridge educated English aristocrat who arrived in Virginia in 1674 after a scandal in England. His family sent him to Virginia where he received a substantial land grant and a seat on the council by his cousin by marriage Governor Sir William Berkeley. Bacon became angry when Berkeley refused him a commission to lead a campaign against the Indians. Virginia was facing many social issues with the emergence of a ruling class. For that reason, Bacon was able to gain support from disgruntled poor whites and indentured blacks. Bacon led a campaign against the Indians and the Virginia government with his militia of lower class citizens.

King Philips War and Bacon’s Rebellion were two pivotal points in early American history. Ironically, they both shared many similarities between them. There are three main points of discussion in comparison of the two conflicts: 1) why the fighting started, 2) what they were fighting over, and finally 3) who they were fighting against. Each of these conflicts resulted in tragic loss of many lives of settlers and Indians and caused even more tension between the English and the Native Americans.

In July 1676, Bacon issued the Declaration of the People of Virginia, a list of complaints against Berkeley. Berkeley tried to rally public support by holding new assembly elections and extending the vote to all freemen, but the new assembly went against the governor, instead passing laws to make government more responsive to the common people and to end greedy office holding (Nash 59). In September 1676, Bacon’s men drove the governor and his supporters across Chesapeake Bay to refuge on the eastern shore and burned Jamestown to the ground to discourage their return. A few weeks later, Bacon suddenly died of dysentery, leaving the movement leaderless. Soon thereafter, an English naval squadron arrived to restore order (Garraty 43).

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 on

In Bacon’s “Manifesto” where he justifies his rebellion against Governor Berkeley, he says, “Let truth be bold and all the world know the real foundations of pretended guilt… Let us trace… [the] men in authority and favor to whose hands the dispensation of the countr[y’s] wealth has been committed.” (Document H) All-in-all, Bacon was dissatisfied with Governor

The English also made a number of bad choices, one of which was how they chose to treat the Indians. The English didn’t try to make a truce even when they encountered the peaceful Indians, a small action that would have saved many of the colonists’ lives. Not only would this help their relations, but it

All is well for the native relationship, until John Smith, who had set up a firm trade between settlers and colonist, had returned to England in 1609. In document C it tells of “120 men stationed near the falls the Indians kill ‘neere halfe’”, and within the same month, “of 100 men at Nansemond Indians kill 50”. Besides physically killing, the natives also refused to give settlers food or water or help in any way, which led colonist to starvation. Jamestown could have had a much smoother start, if only they had a better relationship with native

The colonists were taking the Native American's property and taking advantage of the native Americans in the trade by getting them drunk so they could get more land. King Philip, the religious leader the Native Americans.

In conclusion, the March of the Paxton Boys, Regultor Movement, Shay’s Rebellion, and the Whiskey Rebellion had different causes and events that lead up to the start of each one. Violent protests errupted from these events and cause grievances to be expressed by these eighteenth century settlers. Poltical, economical, and social issues were the main causes of the retaliation among the settlers. Therefore, what came of these rebellions were economic grief and issues among the settlers and their

Howard Zinn discussed the actuality of Colonial America, in which the wealthy handled poor whites, black slaves, and Native Americans as undesirables. Zinn’s thesis was the idea of plutocracy, government by the wealthy, controlling American society. Class lines hardened, distinctions between rich and poor became sharper. Wealth equated to power, slaves, and estate subsequently, fortifying their superiority over the disadvantaged. This inequality of wealth and power caused disapprobation among the impoverished populace and defiances such as Bacon’s Rebellion undertook.