Bacon's Rebellion Essay

In the first place, Nathaniel Bacon's Rebellion was significant in early colonial history because it pronounced the grim collapse of Native American tribes that were residing in the Chesapeake region at the time. In his Declaration in the name of the people, Nathaniel Bacon cited several discrepancies against the Governor including, "For having protected, favoured, and Imboldned the

New England didn’t want to share the land with the natives, so they pushed them out. During King Philip’s war the English settlers defeated the natives. This completely wiped out the native population. The Chesapeake on the other hand didn’t want to cause any harm to the natives. The Governor of Virginia, William Berkeley, talks about sharing the land with the natives and that they are in no position to start a war “Doc 6”. Nathaniel Bacon didn’t agree with Berkeley, he believed the Indians were robbers and thieves “Docs 7”. Bacon began a rebellion against Berkeley, he formed a raiding party which attacked several Native villages similar to how the English settlers had dealt with the Indians. Similar to the relationships with the natives, the population of these colonial societies differed in some

The years of 1763-1765 were truly defining moments for colonist of the colonies, soon to become the United States of America. ‘’War! War! This is the only way!” American Colonist shouted,as they took to the streets proclaiming defiance of British rule. “We as a people shall fight for our freedom and have victory.No more shall we continue to let others control our countries and give our money to a monarch who has no concern for our right’s, dedication that was put forth to help fight and respect us as loyal subjects.We must fight for our freedom!” When American colonist waged war it proved to be the only way for the colonies to become free from Britian. In turn, the colonist were justified in breaking away from England because of: The

In “Bacon’s Declaration in the Name of the People”, Nathaniel Bacon lists every major offense of Sir William Berkeley, many of which collide with one another to display how the governor’s actions and inactions built upon each other to create turmoil for the people of Virginia. However, Berkeley defends himself and proclaims Bacon a traitor in, “The Declaration and Remonstrance of Sir William Berkeley his most sacred Majesties Governor and Captain Generall of Virginia”. In order to gain the king’s favor, both men write separate declarations, but one has everything to lose while the other has everything to gain.

From the terrifying tales of Native American attacks, Virginians learned to fear the Native Americans. They pleaded to the governor for protection from the Native Americans, but Berkeley refused to listen to their tales of Indians committing murders and thieving. It seemed to be that the Indians were the ones receiving protection from Berkeley. The Governor and his “grandees” were controlling the Indian beaver and otter fur trades, so he didn’t want to lose the profit he was making off of his business of trade with the Indians. Many white indentured servants were not happy with the Indians who had ownership rights of land, when they needed to find land to buy when their time serving was completed.

The event of Bacon’s Rebellion told by Schweikart showed that the success in colonization was the underlying cause of the rebellion. To start, in Jamestown, there were members elected for the legislative assembly that was divided into an upper house consisting of the governor and council with a lower house made up of burgesses. This participation in politics portrayed the theme of Politics and Power while Schweikart described the background of Bacon’s Rebellion with the white frontiersmen fearing the Indian’s attacks. Nathaniel Bacon Jr. became the governor of Virginia to be involved in the politics by leading the Virginian commoners to rebel for protection against the Indians. Moreover, the Virginians were angered by the fact that Berkeley

Bacon's Rebellion may have served as the first civil uprising within the early settlements of America. Led by Nathaniel Bacon, a militia of armed freedmen, slaves, and poor colonist banded together to fight against a government that they felt was corrupt and did not have their best interests in mind. This paper will examine some of the major causes that led to the rebellion such as the increased westward expansion by the colonists, the civil unrest growing between the social classes, rising taxes, and disputes between colonists and neighboring indian tribes.

Despite being thought to be corrupt, the assembly declared war on all "bad" Indians and set up a strong defensive zone around Virginia. The Long Assembly was accused to being corrupt because they traded with the Indians. Most of the traders were friends of the governor Berkeley The Indian wars, which came from this made people pay high taxes to pay the army and to get revenge on the colonists for being a cause of the

Berkeley saw Bacon’s action as a direct challenge to his own authority. The governor didn’t like his choices, and now refused to grant him anything. However the council, fearing the awful consequences of disrupting an unhappy individual who was ready armed and had the governor, council, and assembly entirely in their power, told the governor to accept his request. With much hesitancy the governor signed it, and put the power of war and peace into Bacon’s hands. This was not a good decision to make considering Bacon just came to the council and threatened them to grant his wishes. He then immediately marched off, achieving his end, which was in effect power to acquire a trust of the Indian trade for himself and his friends. The governor, having failed to raise an army against Bacon to fight his men, had no choice but to flee to the Eastern shore. He then gathered enough strength to return to Jamestown, where he proclaimed Bacon and his men. Berkley had called for new elections to the Burgesses for better aid of the Native American problem. Bacon was not serving his business in the House of Burgesses; instead he was at his plantation miles away. By then the governor had a small party with him. He aided them with clothes, arms and ammunitions, in order to cross the bay and oppose the rebel. Bacon feared that he could not fight against them then decided set fire to the town to solve

In the year 1676, colonists of Jamestown rose up and rebelled against their governor, Sir William Berkeley, following the slaughter of several hundred colonists by the Native Americans. Their leader, Nathaniel Bacon, claimed that he was fighting for the colonists best interests because it was his duty to protect them. Following Bacon 's lead, the rebellion began attacking all Native Americans, both hostile and peaceful. Was Bacon a hero for attempting to protect the colonists, and putting a stop to the attacks from the Native Americans? Or a traitor for attacking innocent people, and trying to take Jamestown from Berkeley and the other colonists? While Bacon claimed his actions were for the protection of the colonists, they do not justify his actions. Bacon attacked many peaceful tribes of Native Americans, and in doing so he put many colonists in danger. And Berkeley was not any better considering he was willing to sit back and watch it all unfold.

Berkeley did not care about the farmers. It was obvious that the only thing he

As Jamestown became more self-sustaining community, indentured servants began to live longer. As a result, the number of free servants increased. Even though, they still had some difficulties planting tobacco. "By the 1660s, freemen who wished to plant found themselves facing a difficult choice. They could move to the frontier, where it was often impossible to ship tobacco to market and the danger of Indian attack was ever present"(Hollitz, Contending Voices, 22). American Indian began to cause problems in freemen's lives. In addition, Bacon believed that the American Indians were enemies the government should not trade with them as he states in his manifesto," they have been for these many years enemies to the King and country, robbers and thieves and invaders of his Majesty's right and our interest and estes, but yet have by persons in authority been defended and protected even against his

I was surprised in how corrupt Berkeley was when he held position as Governor. I should have expected it, but something made me imagine that all of the colonists people working together. They are all trying to look for the same things in America such as new jobs, land, new beginnings and to be something on their own. As I said mention earlier, I should have expected this because politics tend to be liable to corruptions. I also feel as what if Berkeley improved the amount of slaves after this revolution and hardened the slave laws not only to boost the economy but to show his power and prevent a future revolution. Berkeley knew how close they were to winning the rebellion until Bacon died from a fever. After his death, I would have to

This dispute acted as a catalyst for the start and progression of the 14 month war that caused permanent damage for everyone involved. “The war permanently altered the political and demographic landscape of New England. Between 800 and 1,000 English and at least 3,000 Indians perished…” (American Yawp, 3). Another critical event to focus in on as well was Bacon’s Rebellion. Thomas Mathew was in debt to the Doeg Indians in which he refused to pay up what he owed them when they came over to collect. The Indians took it upon themselves to take a few of Mathew’s pigs so they would be even. But word got around that the Indians had stolen these pigs and the Colonists weren’t going to let the Indians push them around. This incident caused a numerous amount of raids/counter-raids that were based off of revenge. Innocent lives were lost from both sides which sparked a small group of colonists to deal with the issues themselves in defense of their families and homes. Sir William Berkeley, the Governor of Virginia, eventually put a stop to the “madness” crushing them in defeat. “But the conclusion of Bacon’s Rebellion was uncertain, and the maintenance of order remained precarious for years afterward. The garrison of royal troops discouraged both incursion by

Francis Bacon is widely regarded as the “Father of Modern Science” due to his contributions in science and discovery of the Scientific Method. Sir Francis Bacon was born to Nicholas and Anne Cooke Bacon on January 22, 1561, in London, England (“Bacon, Francis (1561-1626).” The New Book of Popular 1). He had no siblings, and his father Nicholas Bacon died at a young age (“Bacon, Francis (1561-1626).” The New Book of Knowledge 2). He was looking for work to help his mother, and without a father, it was hard for him to find work (Zagorin 134). At the age of 12, He was smart enough to attend Cambridge Trinity College to pursue a career in law (Doyle 1). It was when he became a young scientist that he thought through experimenting and observing nature one could come to a conclusion (“Bacon, Francis (1561-1626).” The New Book of Knowledge 12). Thesis Statement: As a successful politician, philosopher, and scientist, Sir Francis Bacon contributed to the growth of science and influenced modern thinkers.