What Were The Causes Of Bacon's Rebellion

The Bacon’s Rebellion Bacon’s rebellion is a revolution that occurred in Virginia, which started in the year 1676. Nathaniel Bacon was the leader of this revolution who was born in England. Since he was very troublesome, his father sent him to Virginia from England with an expectation that he would mature and have a better life. During that time, William Berkeley was the governor of Virginia and also happened to be bacon’s cousin. The governor, Berkeley, treated Bacon with respect by giving him land and a seat in the council. There are many descriptions about how and what caused the rebellion to start. Low price of tobacco, high taxes for the poor and disputes over native Indian lands were some reasons that is known to ignite the revolution. Among the many reasons to which the rebellion started, the underprivileged farmers …show more content…
They were very bold but so was Governor Berkeley, it was a dramatic scene as all the people in the town were watching. It was a threat to Berkeley and the House of Burgesses surrendered. The governor fled to the east shore and came back to Jamestown with a greater army. He later stated bacon and his men as traitors. Bacon was furious after hearing that, he went to recapture the capital (Jamestown). As Berkeley had enough army, bacon feared that he could not beat the governor so he set fire to the town. Bacon controlled the colony, but later, he suddenly died of dysentery and without his leadership, the revolution also collapsed. The Bacon’s rebellion, as it got the attention of the upper class, feared and asked their government to control its people and prevent revolution. The government wanted to split the poor as they understood the power lies in working class people. Thus, the revolution convinced the white elites to go towards the system of racial slavery and the revolution also was an early signal of the Americans’ interest in