Draft- Bacon's Rebellion

Land was a key factor in being wealthy during the 1600s. Owning land gave you the ability to plant crops, sell them, and make profit from them. Many colonists that settled in the New World wanted more and more land, but they were lazy to work themselves, so they brought indentured servants and slaves to work for them. While the colonists were trying the get rich, they interfered into the Native American lives, taking away their freedom and what belonged to them. Native Americans were mistreated by colonists because the Virginia government wanted full control over the Native American’s property. Wanting land was the key factor to Bacon’s Rebellion in 1676.

Because the colonists were treated unfairly by the government, they went against the Native Americans. The colonial government and surrounding Native Americans agreed to a treaty in which Native Americans gave up all claims to the land already settled by the English. Since the colonists continued to multiply quickly, they became land-hungry. “In their quest for land, they pushed beyond the treaty limits of English settlement and encroached steadily on Indian land.”(1) Colonists wanted more land, which meant more money. Moreover, the indentured servants “Bacon accused the Berkeley government of wrong doing, including unfair taxes and not protecting the western farmers from the Indians.” (2) Berkeley wanted peace between the Indians and colonists, but because he did not allow colonists to take the Indians land, Bacon despised the government as well as the Natives.

Colonists abused the Indians for taking back what didn't belong to them. When the Native Americans would take back their hoggs, they were "beaten or kill'd and the hoggs retaken from them[.]" (3) Basically, the author is saying that the hoggs belonged to the Native Americans, but because the colonists claimed everything to be rightfully theirs, they took the hoggs. Indians took revenge by taking the hoggs back since they were theirs in the first place, and yet the colonists would still punish them. “[T]hey de-vised a hundred ways to torter and torment those poore soules with, whose reched fate it was to fall in to there unmercyfull hands.” (4) The author was very descriptive when writing this. The colonist's took it too far in punishing the Native Americans. I understand if the Indians took something from the colonists and would beat them, but torturing them for taking back what was theirs is just ridiculous.

The government and colonists didn't like the fact of “sharing” land with the Native Americans. The government wanted full control of the land and that caused the Indians to lose their freedom. “The ensuing peace treaty between the colony and the natives virtually stripped the Powhatans of their independence, their lands, and their freedom of movement.”(5) The land all belonged to the Natives, and the English came and took over claiming it because they believed it rightfully belonged to them. The colonists didn't just take the Natives land, but they took many poor souls; torturing them worse than animals. Even though, the government made it seem like they were not taking the natives land, they really were to get rich off of the Native Americans.

We can learn a lot from the mistakes that the colonists have made in Jamestown. Because of Bacon’s Rebellion, it promoted other rebellions that happened later and changed the way people lived. Everyone can learn something from Bacon’s Rebellion. If it took one person to stand up and change the way the government was running, imagine what a larger group of people can do.

Works Cited:

(1) "The American Promise" pg. 91

(2) "A Young People's History of the United States, by: Howard Zinn

(3) Document #2 "A True narrative of the Late Rebellion in Virginia, By the Royal Commissioners, 1677, excerpt."

(4) Document #5 "The History of Bacon's and Ingram's Rebellion, 1676, excerpts"

(5) "Whether They be Friends or Foes:" by Michael J. Puglisi