Nathaniel Bacon Jr. described the reasons for the rebellion that he was a part of, Bacon’s Rebellion, which occurred in 1676. Jamestown was an English-founded colony in America. William Berkeley was eventually forced to take over the colony after Bacon’s actions.
The rebellion began as a dissatisfaction and evolved into something bigger. There were many factors involved, among them the anti Indian sentiment prevalent, Berkeley’s favoritism towards Indians, and Bacons’s premature actions. The anti-Indian stance is the most ill-founded. This sentiment is partially true, as there were some small raids carried out by Indians. However, they also blamed other factors on Indians that had nothing to do with them. One of those was the economic problem they were facing at the same time. It was a combination of depreciating tobacco prices, increasing competition from nearby colonies, and British-imposed trading laws. The Indians were used as a scapegoat by the settlers because of the economic problems they faced. Berkeley’s clear favoritism of merchants with little or no contact with Indians did not help. Berkeley, in an effort to maintain peace and to stop raids, called a long assembly to try and keep things calm. The town then allied against the Indians they considered bad. Long Assembly decided to create a protection zone around the city in order for it to be protected. But this came at a cost, as the citizens did not agree with what the assembly wanted. Trading with Indians was also highly regulated. Only a select few merchants, many of whom were Berkeley’s close friends, were allowed to do so. Nathaniel Bacon Jr., one of those traders negatively affected by these regulations, protested vigorously before turning his ire on the Indians. Bacon made his own men to hunt down the Indians he thought had wronged him and his colony because Berkeley did not do a good job of addressing it. As a first step, Bacons’ group drove the Pamunkey Indians of their land. Berkeley was trying to leave it to them. Berkeley responded to Bacons actions by sending 300 men to Bacons HQ to force him and his 200 men out. Berkeley then issued two petitions. One stating that Bacon’s soldiers would be pardoned should they leave Bacon and return home. Bacon ignored Berkeley’s petitions and headed after the Occaneechi Indians. Berkeley offered Bacon a pardon, but Bacon had to return to England to get it. Bacon did not receive this pardon from Berkeley because the House of Burgesses, to which Bacon was recently elected due to his heroics of the people reputation, rejected the offer. Bacon came to the House of Burgesses in June of 1676 but was caught by Berkeley and taken to Berkeley. Berkeley pardoned Bacon after he apologized. Berkeley may have wasted his grace as it was only the prelude to the rest. Bacon was to take over Berkeley’s seat at the table. Bacon, during a heated discussion about how best to handle Indians, stormed the house. He returned with his men and demanded a Berkeley commission to go hunt Indians. Berkeley called Bacons’ bluff by exposing his chest and saying, ‘Here shoot at me before God. Shoot fair’. Bacon realized that he would be better off not shooting Berkeley, so he ordered his men to attack the House of Burgesses. Bacons plan succeeded and Berkeley relented, giving Bacon all the power he needed to fight Indians. Berkeley’s power was weakening at this stage, so he left Jamestown. He washed away all his sins. Bacons was the leader for a short time, roughly between July and September of 1676. Bacon delivered his Declaration of the People, which he had written to the people of Jamestown by the 30th of July. Bacon argued that Berkeley was corrupt, showed favoritism to him, and only served his interests by being governor. The people of Jamestown also took an oath after his declaration to show their support, both verbally and physically. Berkeley’s soldiers managed to sneak in and disable Bacons ship, even though Bacons had taken precautions. Bacon lost support rapidly after this. Nathaniel Bacon died on October 26th, 1671 from the Bloody Flux as his influence and health decreased. Berkeley returned to power quickly after Bacon’s death and was able reassert control over the populace. Despite the fact that he had previously given Bacon numerous chances, Berkeley did not extend this same kindness to other rebels who had assisted Bacon in his rise to prominence. Berkeley hung 23 dissidents in total and revoked several prominent Bacon supporters’ property rights. Berkeley died in England shortly after his return, but not before an investigative panel sent back a detailed report on the rebellion. There were a few discoveries and misconceptions that grew out of the rebellion. This confrontation was a catalyst for the revolution that would occur nearly 100 years later. The role was the same, as a group rose up against the government for their own interests. While the roles may have been similar, there were differences between the two sides. Bacon was able to achieve his goal because of the prejudices against Indians and corruption within Berkeley’s administration. Berkeley’s Men made an interesting discovery on their way to Jamestown. The hallucinogenic properties of Datura Stramonium, the Jimson weed was discovered. According to a legend, soldiers who ingested this weed suffered for 11 days. Bacon’s rebellion was an intricate conflict that included many mistakes, both tacit and tactical. This is a very important chapter of America’s history. It shows that Americans are willing to fight a corrupted government. This early part of American history is very important for historians, and Americans alike. It shows the American people drifting from the British Empire and becoming more self-reliant even a century before the Declaration of Independence.
