Bacon’s rebellion was a revolt that took place in 1676 in Virginia Colony, North America. This uprising was led by Nathaniel Bacon, a 29 year old farmer who led about a thousand Virginians against the friendly policies of the then Virginia Governor, William Berkeley towards Native Americans (Wertenbaker, 2010, p. 8). The Governor was of the opinion that if they retaliated to the aggression from the Indians, the result would be a full scale war which he thought could be averted through dialogue.
The rebellion was caused by the presence of Native Americans in the colony who were said to be hostile to the whites. The genesis of all these was a myriad of economic problems that the colonial farmers were facing at the turn of 1675. Some of the problems were the declining tobacco prices which was the main cash crop, competition from Maryland and Carolinas, rising prices from English produced goods, the English market was increasingly becoming restricted, losses from the naval wars between the English and the Dutch and unfavorable weather conditions such as floods, hailstorms, hurricanes and dry spells too. All these created hard times for the colonialists and the conflict between them and the Indians came as a way to vent out their frustrations.
What really happened is that the Native Americans and the colonials used to do business. A deal went bad after which the Doeg Indians raided the plantation of Thomas Matthews in the northern frontier near the Potomac River. This raid was brought about by the non-payment of some goods that Matthews had procured from these Indians for which they allegedly stole hogs in return. Quite a number of the Doeg Indians were killed in that scuffle that took place in July 1675. For a long time there had been disputes between the two groups but this incident was the proverbial final straw that broke the camel’s back. In retaliation, which was against the Governors wishes, Bacon and his “army” of farmers went on to indiscriminately attack the Indians irrespective of their tribes and killed quite a number of Susquehannock Indians. What ensued was a series of retaliatory attacks and counter attacks from both sides. Indentured servants also joined the rebellion. After months of battle with the Indians, Bacon and his forces averaging 500 went to Jamestown, the colonial capital and burned it to the ground after overpowering Governor Berkeley’s men after which they retreated. A couple of months later, on September 19, 1676, Bacon died of dysentery and leadership of the rebellion was taken over by John Ingram but it was short lived as many rebels drifted away while the rest were defeated by Berkeley’s men.
Rebels who were captured were shot, their leaders hanged and their properties taken over. Later on a committee from England did an investigation and handed the report to the King Charles II who decided to relieve William Berkeley of his governorship and he was recalled to England. This rebellion was seen as the beginning of the American Revolution, a quest for America’s independence.
As a result the colonials went on to hold and monopolize the highest offices, the best lands and slaves to replace the indentured servants who took part in the rebellion in Virginia. One of the reforms that took place during the rebellion was the right to bear arms by common man. This was for protection against hostile communities but once Berkeley regained power, he repealed it. The rebellion also strengthened the ties between Virginia and North Carolina as the Albemarle settlements offered refuge to the rebels.
REFERENCES
Wertenbaker, T. (2010). Bacon’s Rebellion, 1676. New York, NY: General Books LLC.
