Portfolio: Essay 1

Bacon's Rebellion

The definition of a rebellion is the act of defying authority by a person or a group of people. Throughout national and world history there have been times when this has occurred. Rebellions would occur especially when this country was first getting started. One example of this is Bacon’s Rebellion. It affected many people, colonists and Native Americans alike. The rebellion had disastrous consequences for both sides. No one really won, but everything was lost for one group of people. Colonists were fighting for their rights while Native American rights were lost. The consequences of Bacon’s Rebellion had major effects on the future of America. While some people think that Native Americans deserved what happened to them, Native Americans suffered at Virginian colonists’ hands after Bacon’s Rebellion.

Bacon’s Rebellion was a revolt by a group of poor settlers, former indentured servants, and slaves fighting against corruption in government and against Native Americans. “Bacon’s Rebellion was the result of discontent among back-country farmers against corruption in the government.” (Bacon’s Rebellion. wikipedia.com). Colonists were fighting for policies about Native Americans to change, lower taxes, and against corruption within the government. A young settler named Nathaniel Bacon led the revolt in 1676 Virginia. Bacon repeatedly went to the governor, William Berkeley, to gain commission to fight against the Native Americans and each time the governor refused. “Berkeley’s policy was to preserve the friendship of tributary Indians” (The Governor and the Rebel: A History of Bacon’s Rebellion in Virginia, pg. 22). One implication of Governor Berkeley’s policy when it came to Native Americans is that he wanted peace with them so that it wouldn’t affect their trade agreements. The colonists wanted to get back at the Native Americans for the attacks that had previously taken place on them. It angered many colonists that their own governor was favoring Native Americans over them. When Nathaniel Bacon and his followers attacked Jamestown and Native American tribes in the area, without commission, their goal was to drive the governor out and to slaughter Native Americans. His forces spared no one. When Bacon died suddenly it stopped the rebellion and allowed the government to take control again. Governor Berkeley may have taken back Jamestown but the treatment of Native Americans didn’t change at all.

Before Bacon’s Rebellion even occurred, Native Americans were being misused and mishandled. Colonial governments sometimes made peace treaties with Native Americans to get something or to make natives do something. A peace treaty was an agreement between a native tribe and colonists agreeing that neither would attack nor in any way harm the other group. Colonists often used these if they wanted something. Once they got what they desired, however, the treaties were usually broken. What colonists wanted the most from Native Americans was land. “The…peace treaty between colonists and natives…stripped Powhatans of their independence…lands…freedom of movement” (Michael J. Puglisi, pg. 76). Although Puglisi does not say so directly, it seems that colonial governments tried to restrict what Native Americans did in any way they could. Native Americans would also sometimes be accused and persecuted for crimes that they didn’t commit. “Nathaniel Bacon disregarded the Governor’s direct orders by seizing some friendly Appomattox Indians for “allegedly” stealing corn” (http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ops/bacon.htm). Common sense seems to indicate that Native Americans would be accused even if there was no evidence. “In a dispute over the nonpayment of some items…”[it led to]“a retaliatory strike by the colonists, they attacked the wrong Indians” (http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ops/bacon.htm). Many people would assume that colonists would attack Native Americans if they didn’t like how they acted or if tribes did something that the settlers found disrespectful. This treatment would be considered tame before the rebellion even occurred. After it occurred, however, Native Americans were treated worse than ever before.

Native Americans have always been treated severely, but after Bacon’s Rebellion it reached an all-time high. Before the rebellion occurred colonists would limit the amount of land natives could live on. This was so that colonists could have more land and the natives would be as far away from them as possible. After the rebellion colonial governments began to limit the natives’ land even more. “The Indians were sent to assigned towns, placed under the supervision of militia officers or selectmen…” (Michael J. Puglisi, pg. 83). Native Americans were placed in towns and settlements, by colonial governments, which separated them from the colonists. The government claimed it was for “security” but I don’t think it made a difference, safety wise. Neither colonist nor Native American was any safer after they were placed in separate towns. After Bacon’s Rebellion colonists started using the small land that Native Americans were forced to live on for their own purposes. “Some military leaders suggested fortifying the Praying Towns ‘as a wall of defence’ for the colony…that…strategy would have protected more populous towns from attack” (Michael J. Puglisi, pg. 79). Colonists used towns where natives were living as a defense blockage in case they were ever attacked by outside forces. When this planned was carried out, many Native Americans were killed. I believe that colonists were willing to sacrifice natives, even the ones they got along with, as long as it meant they were safe. Colonial governments’ control of Native Americans became even harsher after Bacon’s Rebellion occurred.

After the rebellion colonial governments became more controlling over what Native Americans did for them. Colonists would force tribes to provide them with warriors for their militia. Many of the tribes that were asked had suffered heavy losses at colonists’ hands. “Tottopottomoy’s widow…was…pressed on the issue of supplying men to support the militia” (Michael J. Puglisi, pg. 78). It is unbelievable for me to think that colonists would even consider doing this when they had just slaughtered so many people from the tribes they were asking. The colonial government thought that it wasn’t enough for Native Americans to be living in separate towns. They thought natives should be moved somewhere else completely. “‘For their own & country’s security.’ the Praying Indians should be moved to islands in Boston Harbor” (Michael J. Puglisi, pg. 80). Colonists wanted to move the Native Americans away from the land that they had known their entire lives. “Torn from their livelihoods and left with no means to provide for themselves” (Michael J. Puglisi, pg. 81). Colonists left the natives on an island where they had no food or shelter. They were unfamiliar with the new landscape so they didn’t know where or if they could hunt for food. While the Native Americans were living in those islands, they almost starved. Even though the colonists forced the Native Americans to live somewhere else completely and almost starved because of it, the natives still acted kind and humble. They never complained about anything that was happening to them. They just accepted it. The way that colonists were treating the Native Americans was inhumane.

While attacks on Native Americans by colonists were common before the rebellion, after the revolt occurred they became more harsh and frequent. After Bacon’s Rebellion, colonists found new ways to attack the Native Americans. “A series of unfounded indictments against Praying Indians by their white neighbors” (Michael J. Puglisi, pg. 79). Colonists were accusing and putting natives on trial for crimes that they did not commit. Most of the accusations had no evidence that a Native American had anything to do with it at all. Native Americans were suffering for mistakes made in the past. Mistakes that they were often encouraged to make by the colonial government. “Governor Berkeley’s policy…encouraging the Indians to terrorize the frontier” (http://www.jstor.org/stable/2191476). Before Bacon’s Rebellion took place, Governor Berkeley would encourage attacks on the colony by Native Americans. Native Americans were suffering for something that wasn’t entirely their fault. Colonists also used different methods to attack the natives. “Colonists added racist words of attack to the weapons of war” (Michael J. Puglisi, pg. 79). They began to attack Native Americans not only physically, but also verbally and psychologically as well. Colonists made fun of Native Americans and demeaned them using racial slanders. Native Americans suffered more than ever after Bacon’s Rebellion. They didn't deserve anything that happened to them.

Bacon’s Rebellion had a disastrous effect for all Native Americans after it occurred. The rebellion led to assumptions made about Native Americans that weren’t true. It also cast an aura of suspicion around all Native Americans, even the ones that were previously considered trustworthy by colonists. Men, women, and children were slaughtered during the rebellion and the ones that remained suffered greatly because of the colonists. They were forced off their land, forced to work, and almost starved because of the colonial government. One person isn’t to blame for what happened. It is the colony and their governments’ fault. So many people suffered because of what they did. Bacon's Rebellion also had implications on today's society as well. “Historians considered the Virginia Rebellion of 1676 to be the first stirring of revolutionary sentiment in America, which culminated in the American Revolution” (http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ops/bacon.htm). The American Revolution was a major rebellion that occurred after Bacon's Rebellion. Bacon's Rebellion led to a chain of rebellions that affected society then and now. If the American Revolution had never occurred our world would be a very different place than it is now. If the English colonists had never fought against the British government, we might still be under their control. The Declaration of Independence might never have been created and our country wouldn't be the great nation it is today. We might not have been able to enjoy all the freedoms that we have now. Further research needs to be done about what else colonists forced natives to do. I want to know what else happened besides Native Americans being forced to live on separate land and a completely new area. It needs to be made clearer that Native Americans were the real victims of the rebellion, not unhappy colonists. Native Americans did nothing wrong, but the colonists killed and terrorized them anyway.


Works Cited:

1. Bacon’s Rebellion. http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ops/bacon.htm,
October 15, 2008
2. Bacon’s Rebellion. http://www.wikipedia.com, October 2, 2008
3. Howard Zinn. “Who Were the Colonists?.” A Young People’s History of the
United States Columbus to the Spanish-American War Vol. 1: pg. 37
4. Michael J. Puglisi. ““Whether They Be Friends or Foes:” The Roles and Reactions of Tributary Native Groups Caught in Colonial Conflicts”.
5. Title: Review: [untitled]
Author(s): Lester J. Cappon
Reviewed Title(s): Torchbearer of the Revolution: The Story of Bacon's Rebellion and Its Leader.
Reviewed Authors(s): Thomas Jefferson Wertenbaker
Source: The Journal of Southern History, Vol. 7, No. 2 (May, 1941), pp. 245-246
Publisher(s): Southern Historical Association
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2191476
6. Title: Review: [untitled]
Author(s): Susie M. Ames
Reviewed Title(s): The Governor and the Rebel: A History of Bacon's Rebellion in Virginia
Reviewed Authors(s): Wilcomb E. Washburn
Source: The Mississippi Valley Historical Review, Vol. 45, No. 1 (Jun., 1958), pp. 122-123
Publisher(s): Organization of American Historians
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1886705


Rhetorical Analysis of http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ops/bacon.htm:

The title of the article, on the website http://www.globalsecurity.org/military
/ops/bacon.htm, is Bacon’s Rebellion. I’m not sure who the author(s) is because it is not stated anywhere. I would infer that the author(s) is someone who knows about Bacon’s Rebellion. I don’t mean a history professor or someone who is an expert on the rebellion. I think it is someone who has learned and studied the causes and effects of Bacon’s Rebellion. The audience is anyone who wants to know what Bacon’s Rebellion was and find out information about it. The author(s) uses words and vocabulary that makes this article easy for any person to understand. The vocabulary is relatively simple making it even easier to read. The purpose of this was to explain what Bacon’s Rebellion was, what the cause was, and who was involved. The main idea was that Bacon’s Rebellion was less about a fight against corrupted leaders than about two people wanting all the power. The author(s) was very persuasive in this article. It seems that the author(s) is credible because the details of the rebellion that the article gave is accurate, fair, and unbiased. The emotion that is shown is how Governor Berkeley and Nathaniel Bacon dealt with the other person. It is logical because the author(s) explanation is clear and examples are given to explain why something was said or done.