Class Conflict Disruption

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A class conflict disruption in 1676 started by Virginia farmers against the colonial authorities led by Sir William Berkeley, governor of Virginia, began when a group of former indentured servants led by Nathaniel Bacon, a young plantation owner, accused Governor Berkeley of failing to protect them from raids by Native Americans. Under Bacon's authority, the men formed an army to punish the raiding tribes. Berkeley denounced the men as rebels and accused them of attacking and killing not just hostile Native Americans, but members of friendly tribes. Here is a perfect example of how the division of classes became and got started. Simply the people felt it was their right to be protected and when it does not happen they make their move to make…show more content…
The farmers, who were now demanding governmental reforms in addition to protection from hostile Native Americans, forced the governor to flee. Bacon then led another expedition against the Native Americans, defeating them at the Battle of Bloody Run. While Bacon was engaged in this effort, Berkeley began to raise a force to fight him. Marching against Jamestown a second time, Bacon captured the city and burned it in September 1676. In the following month, Bacon died suddenly and his rebellion immediately collapsed. The governor took revenge upon Bacon's followers, executing some and confiscating the property of others. Bacon's Rebellion revealed the mixed motivations and tangled outcomes of warfare in colonial America. The revolt changed little within the colony; gentlemen continued to monopolize the best land, the highest offices, and the most slaves. The Indians suffered the most. Those within the colony lost population and land; the Susquehannocks to the north were decimated by Iroquois warriors, who seized the opportunity to attack. By the 1680s, the Susquehannocks existed only as Iroquois dependents, and the Iroquois were free to sell their lands to colonial
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