Bacon's Rebellion, Part 2

Historian Robert Dunkerly talked about the effects of Nathaniel Bacon’s violent uprising against the British Colonial Governor in Virginia. In the second part of this two-part class, he spoke about the decline of the rebellion, the aftermath, and how the event is remembered by historians.

In 1676, Nathaniel Bacon led a group of armed settlers against the Colonial Government of Virginia, claiming that Governor William Berkeley was corrupt and had unfairly taxed the colonists. The rebels also asserted that leaders had failed to defend Virginians from Native American attacks. Bacon’s Rebellion attacked Native American villages, killing men, women, and children, then later sacked and burned the capital of Jamestown to the ground. After Bacon died of dysentery, the rebellion collapsed and was quelled by forces loyal to the Governor. close