ABSTRACT
In Virginia Colony in 1676, an armed uprising occurred, led by a wealthy Virginian named Nathaniel Bacon. This uprising is frequently referred to in the history books as Bacon’s Rebellion. Despite his family’s wealth and social position, Bacon was able to marshal the forces of poor frontier planters, first against native Indian tribes, who were alleged to have practised indiscriminate raids on the planters and their families, and later against the then Virginia Governor William Berkeley. Bacon appeared to whip up a campaign against Governor Berkeley by claiming that he had refused to use his power to charge the Virginia militia with defending the poor frontier planters against the alleged Indian attacks. Berkeley, Bacon argued, was deaf to the needs of the poor class, had populated the Virginia House of Burgesses with his wealthy friends and had ignored the ‘intrusions’ of the natives against the frontier planters, causing them unwarranted grief and contributing to their grinding poverty. At one point, Bacon’s ‘army’ laid siege to Jamestown, the colonial capital, effectively driving Berkeley into hiding. Then Bacon died, probably of disease, abruptly ending the campaign against Berkeley and the ‘offending’ natives.
