Bacon's Rebellion

Quick Facts: Who was Bacon's Rebellion?

Subject:

Bacon's Rebellion

Known for:

A 1670s armed uprising in Virginia against Governor Berkeley's policies and perceived neglect.

Verified Source:

2Day Chrono-Wiki & Primary Historical Archives

Origins & Early Life

Bacon's Rebellion was an armed rebellion by Virginia settlers and their indentured servants and slaves, that took place from 1676 to 1677. It was led by Nathaniel Bacon against Colonial Governor William Berkeley, after Berkeley refused Bacon's request to drive American Indians out of Virginia. Thousands of Virginians from all classes (including those in indentured servitude and slavery) and races revolted against Berkeley, chasing him out from Jamestown and ultimately torching the settlement. The rebellion was first suppressed by a few armed English merchant ships from London whose captains sided with Governor Berkeley and the English loyalists, against the rebellious English settlers of Virginia, and their servitude/enslaved allies. Government forces led by Herbert Jeffreys arrived soon after and spent several years defeating pockets of resistance and reforming the colonial government to be once more under direct Crown control.

Career & Major Achievements

While the colonial forces did not succeed in the initial goal of driving the American Indians out from Virginia, it did result in Berkeley being recalled to England, where he died shortly thereafter. Bacon's rebellion was the first rebellion in the British Thirteen colonies and North American colonies overall, in which discontented frontiersmen colonists took part. A somewhat similar uprising in Maryland involving John Coode and Josias Fendall took place in 1689. The alliance between European indentured servants and Black Africans (a mix of indentured, enslaved, and Free Negroes) under the English settlers of Virginia, had disturbed the European colonial upper class. They responded by hardening the racial caste of slavery in an attempt to divide the two races (European servants and black African slaves), in an attempt to prevent subsequent united uprisings against them, with the passage of the Virginia Slave Codes of 1705.

Enduring Legacy & Impact

Starting in the 1650s, when high tobacco prices encouraged both tobacco planting and immigration, colonists began cutting forests as well as trying to farm tobacco on land already cleared by Native Americans. Whereas decades earlier, Native Americans had been able to trade foodstuffs which they had grown and captured for trade goods, colonists had learned to farm grain and raise livestock for themselves; furs (caught and prepared by natives or frontiersmen) became the new primary trade good. Tensions arose because native croplands were not only attractive to the colonists' generally free-roving pigs (which damaged their crops), but easily switched to tobacco. Because colonists' farming methods drained fields of nutrients (both because of erosion and because fertilization was rarely practiced or effective for more than another century), new fields were constantly sought. Furthermore, more emigrants were surviving their indentures and thus wanted to establish themselves with their new skills as tobacco farmers.

Chronological Milestones & Life Events

1. 1676: 1676 Milestone — Bacon's Rebellion was an armed rebellion by Virginia settlers and their indentured servants and slaves, that took place from 1676 to 1677.
2. 1689: 1689 Milestone — A somewhat similar uprising in Maryland involving John Coode and Josias Fendall took place in 1689.
3. 1705: 1705 Milestone — They responded by hardening the racial caste of slavery in an attempt to divide the two races (European servants and black African slaves), in an attempt to prevent subsequent united uprisings against them, with the passage of the Virginia Slave Codes of 1705.

Historical Fact-Check Quiz: Bacon's Rebellion

True or False: “The primary catalyst for Bacon's Rebellion was the colonists' desire to drive out all American Indians from Virginia.”

Answer (FALSE ❌): While driving out Native Americans was a goal, the rebellion was fundamentally fueled by economic grievances against Governor Berkeley's policies and land distribution.

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Frequently Asked Questions about Bacon's Rebellion