Many historians consider BaconÆs Rebellion a precursor of the American Revolution 100 years later. Historian Stephen Saunders Webb wrote, ôThe first Chesapeake revolt of 1676 was a rising against the old regime in the Bay colonies. It developed into a revolution against dependence on England, economic or politicalö (Webb xvii). The conflict between the colonial government of Virginia and frontier farmers ultimately required the English military intervention to subdue. This paper will examine the causes of BaconÆs Rebellion and its place in American history.
The Virginia Company of London, a private corporation formed in 1606 to colonize Virginia, founded its first settlement in 1607 at Jamestown, in a protected inlet on the James River (Blow 71). Though the company did not fare well financially, the colony prospered and expanded, adding several new villages. The colonists initially enjoyed good relations with Native Americans, but that changed as they increasingly encroached on Indian land. On Good Friday in 1622, Native Americans led by Opechancanough massacred several hundred colonists. From that day forward, the colonist resolved to annihilate any Native Americans who stood in their way (Blow 82).
Virginians, with no help coming form the company, turned to the English government for assistance, receiving old armor and weapons from London (peace would prevail on the frontier for two decades). In 1624, the King dissolved the failing Virginia Company of London and converted Virginia into a crown colony. In turn, that transformed the colony. Those arriving in Virginia previously had been employees of the company. After 1624, most of the immigrants to Virginia were free men looking for land to farm (Blow 82). Those immigrants created large farms and established themselves as VirginiaÆs ruling class.
In the late 1630s and early 1640s, a new generation of immigrants called ôyeoman farmersö began arriving in...