Shaping of the Virginia Colony

1713 Words7 Pages
The Shaping of Chesapeake Colony -Bacons Rebellion In the year 1676, Chesapeake colony was forever changed by the most influential and courageous uprising known as the “Bacon’s Rebellion.” The rebellion was led by a wealthy and ambitious leader called Nathaniel Bacon (ref: Give me liberty). There were multiple factors that led to Bacon’s rebellion. Firstly, it was the constant conflicts between the colonist and the Native Indians. The Colonist’s constant attempt to invade the Native American’s land caused tension between the two groups. At the same time, economic difficulties were rising in the colonies. The government had raised taxes and the intense decline in the tobacco price, which was the main source of income for the colonies, caused the poor to suffer dramatically from the lack of profit earned. In addition to the turmoil, there was a corrupt and unjust government led by then current governor William Berkeley. Governor Berkeley was highly influenced by the colonist tobacco planters and did not provide equality and adequate support to the society (Give me Liberty). Bacon’s Rebellion was the most influential period in the American government because it helped transform the labor force by replacing the indentured servants with slaves, leading to the development of race which transformed the social equality class system and contributed to the economic and political solidarity. Bacon’s rebellion caused the establishment of labor force from Indentured servants to slaves. Before Bacon’s rebellion, indentured servants were the primary source of labor and African Slaves were very rare in the Chesapeake Colony. Due to the economic disaster Bacon managed to unite indentured servants, poor whites and some African Americans in the war against the leaders of the colony who demanded an end to their servitude. (Ref: Give me Liberty). The owners of the plantation

More about Shaping of the Virginia Colony

Open Document