Bacon's Rebellion Chattel Slavery

From seeing what freedom could do from indentured servants as in, Nathaniel Bacon, Plantation owners decided to settle away from them. Due to this. They moved to African slaves. When seeing that they were never free; the attraction to African Slaves became valid. The decreasing of indentured servants started due to the fear of more rebellions and the increase of African slaves

The topic of Bacon’s Rebellion has been heavily debated for centuries and is filled with much controversy. Bacon’s Rebellion, 1676-1677, was an uprising of the settlers in the colony of Virginia against the Natives and the governor (Rice 1). The settlers believed that the government was doing too little to protect them from Indian attacks. The leader of the rebels, Nathaniel Bacon, demanded a commission to fight the Natives and clashed with Governor Berkeley on several occasions when he was refused the commission (Stanard 75-80). Eventually, the tension became so intense that Bacon burnt Jamestown, the capital of Virginia (Rice 11).

For instance, Bacon declares on behalf of his people why they should have the right to obtain the Indian land they are being denied and states “that [Indians] have been for many years’ enemies to the king and country, robbers, and thieves and invaders of his majesty`s right and our interests and estates” (50). This shows Bacon`s determination to reveal their rights to obtain land but most importantly, why the land shouldn’t be reserved for Indians. Furthermore, he explains that Indians were not good people to their country and, as a result, the land should be given to people of their own. Bacon states that Berkeley is a traitor because he “violated and injured his Majesty’s interest here, by the loss of a great part of his colony” (52). In other words, Bacon is saying that Berkeley violated his power and, as a result, lost a vast amount of his colony.

Many slaves being shipped to America had been betrayed by their own race, kidnapped and sold into slavery. The conditions on the ship were horrendous and each man was chained to an area and given about six feet long by fifteen inches wide. The boats were extremely packed with close corners and no bathroom, and women or children got even less space than the men. Many a times, the crew tried to justify the chaining by stating the it was a form of protection to avoid an uprising. In one of the examples Rediker gave, the slave ship, with Captain Tomba, who was known for brutal beatings including whipping, handing out cruel punishments to scare the other slaves into not acting out.

Bacon's Rebellion- Bacon’s Rebellion took place in 1676. 1,000 freedmen took down an Indian revolt, torched Jamestown, and chased William Berkeley out of town (he was the governor). So What?

Virginia was facing many social issues with the emergence of a ruling class. For that reason, Bacon was able to gain support from disgruntled poor whites and indentured blacks. Bacon led a campaign against the Indians and the Virginia government with his militia of lower class citizens. 2. This document was signed during this organized rebellion on July 30, 1676.

Great question! I get the impression that Bacon was a spoiled brat who wanted to become powerful and rich. It appears that he wanted to increase his wealth with more land and the only way he could acquire this land was to eradicate the Indians. I assume that he resented the fact that Berkeley never fully accepted him into the elite inner circle. Bacon decided the way to gain power and to change the laws for his own advantage was to remove Berkeley and his supporters.

Bacon’s Rebellion is an example of how the English settlers began to act as an independent nation. Bacon's rebellion began over land disputes in Virginia. Governor William Berkeley was representative of the English crown. Bacon and other backcountry farmers feared that local Indian tribes were going to raid these farmers. Governor Berkeley took a defensive strategy that the farmers disagreed with.

From 1607 to the year before the Declaration of Independence, democratic society had been developing in the colonies over time through specific events. From religion to politics to social class, people looking to change the their lifestyle has done so with their own ideals in mind. Both the Zenger case of 1734 and Bacon’s Rebellion in 1676 are examples of people who found the government unjust taking matters into their own hands. While Bacon was more violent in his efforts compared to Zenger in his methods, both contributed to the development of a more democratic society in the colonies, and distancing from the monarchy of their matriarch. Nathaniel Bacon was the leader in a rebellion against what he deemed an unjust government.

Looking back at this time period we know that slavery wrong, but during this time it was the easiest way to gain profit through all avenues. From textile industry such as cotton, or farmed goods like tobacco, corn, and

(McCulley, 1987) Historians have found out that the real issue that caused Nathaniel Bacon’s rebellion was his stubbornness, selfishness and as well as, the unlucky choices and decisions Governor Sir William Berkeley made for appointment. People may specifically point fingers to a number of reasons for Bacon's rebellion, they may include the following: economic problems, competition

During the 18th century the slave trade prospered. Europeans manipulated Africans from the coast to attack nearby tribes and take captives (slaves). The slaves were exchanged for goods like guns and cloth. They were then shipped across the Atlantic in horrifying conditions. In spite of this the British forbidden the slave trade in 1807.

There was always a need for more slaves due to all of the work that the Europeans had. “Therefore, natural increase amount slaves were not enough even to maintain, let alone increase, the slave population and to keep up with the increasing demand for labor” (Forced Crossings). As a result, the slave trade reshaped the Africans way of life to a substandard level as they were forced into taxing work that ultimately changed their way of living, humanity and acceptance into

The scope of slavery varied based on how practical and profitable slaves would be in that time period and location. Slavery had many impacts on society as a whole and influenced political, economic, and cultural aspects which all demonstrate the development of slavery in the 17th and 18th century. By the 17th century many Indians had been killed off by diseases and many white indentured servants no longer were willing to work (Foner, pg. 94). At first, the majority of slaves were sent to Brazil and the West Indies with less than 5% sent to the colonies (Foner, pg. 98).

What ultimately led to the shift from white servants to black slaves was a series of uprisings. As the tobacco boom and the shortage of labor continued, Virginian landowners pushed legislation that would indenture servants for longer periods of time, these provisions were met with backlash and as a result, the colonies saw an influx of indentured servant rebellions. The largest of these rebellions was Bacon’s rebellion; since many of the whites who came to America as indentured servants had aspirations to becoming landowners themselves after their contracts expired, by the landowners extending it and making it more difficult for them to exit their service, in a way, they felt they were being duped by false promises (Takaki 58). Nathaniel Bacon led this rebellion and resulted in whites and blacks to take arms and rise against landowners in what would be the largest uprising until the American Revolution (Takaki 60). One of the concerns raised as a result of this rebellion is that whites were legally able to obtain while blacks could not.