Bacon's Rebellion By Schweikart

Most colonies had a powerful royal governor appointed by the King of England. These royal governors often held massive power, being able to do things that even the king could not do, such as vetoing legislation and dismissing judges. They also served as the military commander for their province. In most colonies, adult, white, and land-owning males were permitted to vote in elections. The New England colonies’ governments were dominated by religion. They followed a unique form of church government known as congregationalism, where the people, known as the saints, pledged to follow God’s law. In the Middle colonies, a document called Duke’s Laws guaranteed religious toleration and created local governments. The colonies had Councils and Assemblies that gathered to initiate legislation. In the Southern colonies, one of the first representative-style governments was created. The House of Burgesses was created in 1619 in Virginia by Sir Edwin Sandys, and was created mostly to make the colony more attractive to wealthy

The Chesapeake was shaped economically by tobacco, Bacons rebellion, by John Smith. The tobacco dominated in this particular region since 1618 it was very profitable and people grew it best on leveled grounds with 80% of Chesapeake homes laying ½ of a riverbank and most 600 feet of the shoreline, bottom line is tobacco was their destiny it was their money for food and other essentials. This shaped Chesapeake since it made up pretty much its entire economy so when tobacco falls, the world falls for them. The Bacon's Rebellion was a popular revolt in colonial Virginia in 1676, led by Nathaniel Bacon because of high taxes, low prices for tobacco, Sir William Berkeley the governor, provided the background for the uprising, which was precipitated by Berkeley's failure to defend the frontier against attacks by Native Americans. This shaped the region since we gained land, furs, and harvest. John smith was young, 28, but had experience fighting Turks and Spanish, and had enough experience to assume control in Virginia, he organized work bands, and ensured sufficient food and shelter for winter; he also became the colony's best Indian negotiator, and when he was captured by Indians in late 1607, he showed bravery and courage, and the chief's daughter, Pocahontas saved Smith's life. This shaped Chesapeake since he provided help for the colony and when he left for England the colonies went on a

Virginia governor William Berkeley decided that the colony was to be Anglican. Puritans and Quakers were chased out of the colony

Contrary to the pilgrims of New England, those who settled in the Chesapeake area colonized the region for more economic purposes. Many people who settled in the Chesapeake were down-on-their-luck English citizens living in swamps and slums hoping to stake it out in the New World, because it couldn’t be much worse than the conditions they faced back in England. Most received their tickets to America through indentured servitude, paying for their trip with a few years of free labor for a wealthy master. Document C is a roster of indentured servants bound for Virginia who are all set to work for the same master. Indentured servitude had long lasting effects on the colonies, the most impactful being Bacon’s Rebellion in 1676 (Document H). This uprising was caused former indentured servants who had no land or property of their own once their work contracts expired. Because the land westward was populated by Natives and therefore almost impossible to acquire, the dissenters focused against the rich and powerful members of the colonies. The successful uprising led to reforms such as work regulations explained in Document E, as well a shift away from indentured servitude and towards slavery of blacks. Other settlers besides indentured servants were aspiring traders and gold-hunters mentioned in Document F. While traders had little success early on and treasure hunters definitely didn’t find their fields of

Bacon's Rebellion in 1676 was the first rebellion in the colonies and it largely resulted in the hardening of racial lines with slavery. The plantation owners and farmers now saw it as a dangerous asset to have white indentured servants as workers and also saw having slaves as a much higher profit. By the establishment of the Virginia colony and its use of producing the tobacco cash crop, boatloads of slaves were brought to work and profit the upper class plantation owners. What became known as the Middle Passage became nothing more to the white upper-class than profit and population increase. At the end of the seventeenth century, it was established that 40,000 people lived in Virginia however the number of slaves brought to the colony was unknown.

Bacon’s Rebellion helped originate slavery in Jamestown, Virginia in the Chesapeake region. Nathaniel Bacon was a white land owner in this town who brought together indentured servants and other poor whites to overthrow their elites due to the

Sir William Berkeley arrived in Virginia in 1642 to act as the Colonial Governor of Virginia. He was the King’s envoy in Virginia, though he was a selfish royalist who believed in himself before the King. He brought together some

When the governor denied Bacon military commission, Bacon gathered his neighbors and proceeded with attacking any Indians he could find. Bacon was then expelled from the council and

For the New England colonies like Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island, they had the Mayflower Compact. Their political and government structure had a interrelation between politics and religion. It dictated the economic, political, and social lives of colonists. Each town had meetings, elected legislatures, debated, and issued laws. Voting was allowed to white men who went to church. New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware, or the Middle Colonies, elected representatives to assemblies. The assemblies would then elect government officials which passed laws and did the decision makings. The Middle Colonies had religious tolerance that was founded by William Penn and practiced by the Quakers and it played a minor role in politics and economy. For the Chesapeake colonies, the House of Burgesses was founded in Jamestown where

Bacon’s Rebellion made a huge impact on the people of Virginia which changed the people’s views and also the society. Before Bacon’s Rebellion

Lastly, another influencial example of the democratic activities of English colonists is the Virginia House of Burgesses (Document 6). The House of Burgesses was the very first legislature and would play a key role in the development of legislatures in other colonies. Furthermore, the representatives were chosen by eligible voters, giving the people their own voice in government, comparably to the present-day United States elections. The House of Burgesses, though it only had 22 representatives, would act as a “rough draft” for modern

2) Bacon’s Rebellion, King Phillip’s War, and the Pequot War all derided from the yearning of land, and land agreements with both local landowners and Natives. Bacon’s Rebellion essentially was due to the inadequate amount of land now-freed indentured servants could attain. A few large families or companies owned all of the land leaving none for future businessmen in hopes of making a profit off of agricultural endeavors. The impact of Bacon’s rebellion was the end to Indentured Servitude within the colonies and, more importantly, the introduction of Slavery within Virginia.

In 1676, Nathaniel Bacon rebelled and held a revolt in Colonial Virginia. High taxes, low prices for tobacco, and resentment against special privileges given those close to the governor, Sir William Berkeley, provided the background for the uprising. These factors made the rebellion inevitable. All of the chaos was precipitated by Governor Berkeley's failure to defend the frontier against attacks by Native Americans. Bacon commanded two unauthorized but successful expeditions against the tribes and was then elected to the new House of Burgesses, which Berkeley had been forced to convene. Berkeley then sent out a warrant for his arrest and Bacon was put in jail. Bacon soon was released and he immediately gathered his supporters,

Nathaniel Bacon took charge. When he led his men into town to form an assembly,

Telling of his hero status and aristocratic lifestyle, Bacon is displayed as an honorable man. Despite not being granted approval, Bacon carried out an aggressive attack of the Indians. Rather than harming his intended target, Bacon killed friendly, peaceful Indians. After this horrid display of aggressiveness, Bacon left Jamestown. When he returned, he found a militia formed by William Berkeley and proceeded to burn the houses of Jamestown. Schweikart makes it seem as though Bacon acted alone. Zinn barely mentions Bacon’s rebellion. When he does mention it, he uses it to prove a point about the fraternization of blacks and whites. Zinn claims that colonists thought the only thing worse than slave rebellions were rebellions in which blacks and whites came together. This was the case for Bacon’s rebellions, although this was never mentioned in Schweikart’s text. Zinn states that “two despised groups,” namely black and white servants, joined forces. This led to laws being passed to prevent the intermingling of whites and blacks in any way. This contrast in texts leaving nothing but a confused reader and an unclear