Bacon's Rebellion Essay

In 1676, Nathaniel Bacon rebelled and held a revolt in Colonial Virginia. High taxes, low prices for tobacco, and resentment against special privileges given those close to the governor, Sir William Berkeley, provided the background for the uprising. These factors made the rebellion inevitable. All of the chaos was precipitated by Governor Berkeley's failure to defend the frontier against attacks by Native Americans. Bacon commanded two unauthorized but successful expeditions against the tribes and was then elected to the new House of Burgesses, which Berkeley had been forced to convene. Berkeley then sent out a warrant for his arrest and Bacon was put in jail. Bacon soon was released and he immediately gathered his supporters, marched to Jamestown, and convinced the demeaning Berkeley into granting him a commission to continue his campaigns against Native Americans. Bacon took control of the colony, but then died of a sudden death. Nevertheless, Nathaniel Bacon is a legend for his rebellious nature, and the response of the colonists was inevitable. Bacon's Rebellion can be interpreted in a variety of other ways, but it all began as a power struggle between two stubborn and selfish leaders.
The rebellion was essentially motivated by the oppression of indentured servants, and as a response to the economic recession. The situation was unavoidable, and would have happened eventually, but Bacon’s Rebellion can be attributed to a myriad of causes, all of which led to dissent in the Virginia colony. There were a substantial number of issues within the colony. During that time, the economy was an immense issue. The main agricultural crop was tobacco. Tobacco prices were declining and competition between the colonies was extreme. Commercial competition was growing between Maryland, Virginia, and the Carolinas and the English market became increasingly restricted. Rising prices of English manufactured goods caused a great deal of problems for the