They Say: Bacon's Rebellion

Many people say that Nathaniel Bacon had every right to rebel against the Virginian government and he's a hero because of it. The government in the Virginia colony was favoring the Native Americans and ignoring the settlers. For example, Howard Zinn states that "They wanted the colony's leaders to fight the Indians, but the politicians...wouldn't fight...they were using some of the Indians as spies and allies against the others."(A Young People's History of the United States. pg. 36) The government's refusals to help the settlers only made them angrier and want to rebel even more. Bacon purposely misled the angry colonists, saying that the governor and Indians were to blame for everything, so that they would help in the rebellion. When Governor William Berkeley learned of Bacon's plans, the governor called him a traitor and had him arrested. When Bacon was arrested his followers went into Jamestown. The governor released Bacon hoping that he wouldn't attack the Indians. His plan failed. As soon as Bacon was free he and his militia started to attack and raid the Indians in the area. Nathaniel Bacon the settler who led Bacon's Rebellion. He was angry with the Virginian government for favoring the Indians and not protecting the settlers from them. He completely changed how people viewed Native Americans.

While some think that Bacon’s Rebellion was the right thing to do, many others say that it only had a disastrous effect on Native Americans afterwards. Before the rebellion many people didn’t completely mistrust the Indians. After Bacon’s Rebellion, the colonists wanted nothing to do with them anymore. The government became more strict and controlling of the native peoples. As Michael J. Puglisi states, “many Indian groups…living on assigned lands at the will and direction of the provincial governments.” (“Whether They Be Friends or Foes”: The Roles and Reactions of Tributary Native Groups Caught in Colonial Conflicts. pg. 76) The government even demanded one group supply them with warriors for their militia. This was insulting because the government had killed the chief and was now asking his widowed wife to supply soldiers for them. The colonists were even cruel to the tribes that were only kind and peaceful to them. Colonists even mistreated natives that had, in the past, served as spies, scouts, and soldiers for them. Native tribes were accused of crimes they did not commit and were put on trial for it. They demanded that the Indians were to be confined to their own towns when King Philip’s War went on. They claimed it was for their own protection, but the Native Americans knew better. Virginians went even further and sent over 500 Native Americans to live by themselves in islands in Boston Harbor. While there, the Indians had no means to provide for themselves and suffered because of it. Bacon’s Rebellion led to even worse mistreatment of Native Americans. It didn’t solve any problem, it only worsened it.