Causes Of Cary's Rebellion

North Carolina is a unique state in regards to its history. First colonized nearly four hundred years ago, North Carolina has had a turbulent history. From the beginning, there were issues with the Native Americans. As time progressed, the colony continued to have issues, not only with Native Americans, but also problems with the British. Though North Carolina was a British territory, their shared history was one of a rebellious nature against the crown. By the time of the American Revolution there had already been four major rebellions in the North Carolina. While each conflict was fought for different principles, each one helped shape the state and in some case the country as a whole. The four major rebellions relevant to the state are Culpeper’s …show more content…
Like most of the conflicts of that time, it was about politics and religion. In the book, The North Carolina Experience, Lindley writes “In the eighteenth century, however, the proprietors were faced with the renewed chaos during the Cary Rebellion, another internal power struggle between political/religious factions, which resulted in the permanent removal of the Quakers from participation in the government.” The conflict surrounding Cary’s Rebellion was very similar to that of Gibb’s rebellion. Both struggles dealt with issues concerning the leadership of the state, one man trying to overthrow another in order to be governor of the state. It was not strictly political. Cary was a Quaker and the newly appointed governor, Hyde, was part of the Church of England. Hyde showed his legal papers to Cary, but he still refused to accept him as the governor of the state. There was a small skirmish between the two at a plantation near Bath, but eventually Cary was defeated. Like Gibb’s rebellion, this was an issue of the people in charge taking advantage of the system and putting someone into power that should not have been. The people in power were “yes” men and did not question their orders. Everything was done for the good of England. Religion always played a part in these conflicts. The Quakers came to America to escape persecution and if the governorship is lost to the Church of England they were afraid of being taken …show more content…
Some historians say that this rebellion was a major catalyst for the American Revolution. This rebellion took place from 1665 until 1771. Throughout this period there were several small acts of violence against the royal governor of the time, William Tryon. The first and only true battle took place on May 16, 1771, the battle of Alamance. While the regulators did outnumber the royal militia it was not an organized army and the Regulators were defeated quickly. All that were captured were given full pardon if they swore oaths of loyalty to the crown. By this time, the American Revolution is on the horizon and the colonies are on the verge of change. This rebellion was a precursor to the war and was the first sign of saying that the colonies would not stand for the treatment that England is giving the colonists. The main causes of the conflict dealt with a population increase of the wealthier class in North Carolina. As the wealthier class became more prominent and began to hold office in what was previously almost all farming areas, the lawyers and other wealthy people began to take advantage of the situation. This was the beginning of the end as the colonist saw the British exploiting them. By the late 1760’s, the colonists are feeling the pain from the intolerable acts. Alan D. Watson states, “the Regulation reinforced a pattern of antiauthoritarian behavior that