HST 205 Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Cockfight, Slave Codes, Navigation Acts
Document Summary
Led by nathaniel bacon in 1676, an armed force of unhappy white men, (landless, small farmers, & indentured servants) fought against indians on virginia"s western frontier. The men were upset with sir william berkeley"s refusal to allow whites to settle on. Indian land because he wanted to keep the indians at peace. The colonists were increasingly becoming poorer and had no hopes of gaining land due to berkeley"s inner circle of tobacco plantation owners who received favors and power. Indians were massacred and berkeley"s authority was questioned, but the rebellion was over when. The dissenters were hung (bacon died before due to illness), but the government was cautious and increased the number of slaves working instead of indentured servants in order to prevent future uprisings. Rebellion was significant because it demonstrated the significance of virginia"s elite and the tension between the elite and everyone else in the colony. Also, virginia increased slave labor as a direct result of the rebellion.
