Bacon's Rebellion: Unique And Misguided Events In Colonial History

One of the most unique and misguided events in colonial american history in Bacon’s rebellion. What makes it so interesting is that it did not consist of a lower class rising up against the elite because they were feeling oppressed. Instead a fear of an outside force, the native Americans, drove 17th century Virginians to take sides in a racial war. What started as a conflict between one planter and a small group of natives escalated until both sides were massacring the other and Virginians were split. They either followed Nathaniel Bacon, a young but well off gentleman, who thought that they should kill all the Natives against royal decree, or Governor Berkeley, who tried to follow orders and maintain peaceful relations with the natives. Since Bacon and his followers were breaking the lay Berkeley was forced to take action against them, but Bacon had so much support that he marched against Jamestown and forced Berkeley to flee. …show more content…
Although there was much aggression and settlers were pitted against each other many refused to actually fight other colonists, they would only fight Indians. The rebellion ended when Bacon died of natural causes. The root of this rebellion is found deep in american history, and there were many tensions that led up to it. Another fascinating aspect of the rebellion is the analysis of who joined what side. Although this started as aggression towards Indians there are interesting trends as to who followed Nathaniel Bacon and why. Lastly the consequences of the rebellion are just as unique as its beginning. Altogether this was a pivotal moment in american history and perhaps a time when colonists vented off some of the steam that had been building since their