Vol. I Chapter 11
Bacon's Rebellion
Revolutions are dynamic. The individuals leading it do not all have the same exact goal. There are competing directions as the revolution proceeds. Grievances against the existing order pile up over time until the situation boils over into revolution.
The revolutions in the colonies were not class struggles in the sense of poor against rich, but rather the oppressed versus the oligarchy. In Virginia, the settlers wanted a war against the Indians to grab their land, and they wanted to throw off the tyranny of mercantilist restrictions: taxes, monopoly, feudal landholdings, oligarchic rule, infringements on their liberty.
In Bacon's Rebellion, even neutral parties were persecuted. Indians were treated collectively as a race. Nathaniel Bacon raided the Indians, gaining popularity with the whites. He got elected to the House of Burgesses, and got legislation passed against the Indians, but also more freedom overall (for whites.)
Governor Berkeley would not give up and continued against Bacon. This forced Bacon to go all the way for independence from the Crown. Bacon called a convention and assumed power as dictator over the colony. He forced the assembly to take an oath to resist English troops. He terrorized the population. Bacon died in October 1676, ending the revolution.
Berkeley tried and hanged leaders involved in the revolution. The assembly repealed Bacon's laws, hung more rebels by acts of attainder, and forced others to beg for their lives.
Both sides demanded loyalty oaths. This punished people caught in the middle. Royal commissioners were sent to make peace and finally removed Berkeley.
The Green Spring oligarchy continued to rule. Petitions were punished severely.
Revolutions are dynamic. The individuals leading it do not all have the same exact goal. There are competing directions as the revolution proceeds. Grievances against the existing order pile up over time until the situation boils over into revolution.
The revolutions in the colonies were not class struggles in the sense of poor against rich, but rather the oppressed versus the oligarchy. In Virginia, the settlers wanted a war against the Indians to grab their land, and they wanted to throw off the tyranny of mercantilist restrictions: taxes, monopoly, feudal landholdings, oligarchic rule, infringements on their liberty.
In Bacon's Rebellion, even neutral parties were persecuted. Indians were treated collectively as a race. Nathaniel Bacon raided the Indians, gaining popularity with the whites. He got elected to the House of Burgesses, and got legislation passed against the Indians, but also more freedom overall (for whites.)
Governor Berkeley would not give up and continued against Bacon. This forced Bacon to go all the way for independence from the Crown. Bacon called a convention and assumed power as dictator over the colony. He forced the assembly to take an oath to resist English troops. He terrorized the population. Bacon died in October 1676, ending the revolution.
Berkeley tried and hanged leaders involved in the revolution. The assembly repealed Bacon's laws, hung more rebels by acts of attainder, and forced others to beg for their lives.
Both sides demanded loyalty oaths. This punished people caught in the middle. Royal commissioners were sent to make peace and finally removed Berkeley.
The Green Spring oligarchy continued to rule. Petitions were punished severely.
posted by Jason Livermore at 7:05 PM
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