Additionally, most people had no part in political life, and those who did not own land could not vote, while the governor, who controlled political appointments, played favorites with his wealthy friends.Ĭolonists on the frontier also felt threatened by the Indians, in whom they found a scapegoat for their troubles. Economic disparity between the gentry in eastern Virginia and the growing number of small planters, poor immigrants, and freed servants living on the frontier led to substantial discontent among the lower and middle classes. Taxes were paid with tobacco at the time, and unlike wealthy plantation owners who had an abundance of the crop, small planters struggled to meet the burden. Declining prices were caused largely by overplanting in Virginia. Yet Bacon’s supporters were more disturbed by falling tobacco prices and high taxes than the protectionist policies in the Navigation Acts. Planters faced competition from Maryland and the Carolinas in an increasingly restricted market, as well as rising costs of manufactured goods resulting from England’s policy of mercantilism. Virginians relied on tobacco as the only staple commodity, making them vulnerable to market fluctuations. Settlers on the frontier faced bad weather and poor returns from their crops. The uprising generally is depicted as a reaction to a perceived crisis in Virginia’s economic, social, and political order. The context and roots of the rebellion present a complex story of how and why it took place. This interpretation of Bacon persisted, as evidenced by the unveiling of a memorial window in the powder Magazine at Colonial Williamsburg in 1900, and a few years later, the placing of a plaque in the Virginia Capitol commemorating Bacon as “A Great Patriot Leader of the Virginia People who died while defending their rights October 26, 1676.” Historians more recently have challenged this interpretation, pointing to Bacon’s effort to frame his rebellion as serving the interest of the Crown, as his intended target was Governor Berkeley and his elite supporters. Perhaps the most notable purveyor of this view was President Thomas Jefferson, who came to regard Nathaniel Bacon as a patriot rather than a rebel. It was long viewed as an early revolt against English tyranny, which culminated in the war for independence one hundred years later. Bacon’s Rebellion in Virginia was the first popular uprising in the American colonies.
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