Bacon’s Rebellion Robert Burns, a Scottish poet, once stated, “Man’s inhumanity to man makes countless thousands mourn!” (Reiss). Which means one man’s wrongdoing to another can cause others to suffer. This statement by Burns was proven during Nathaniel Bacon’s rebellion. Nathaniel Bacon’s power hunger in addition to the inadequate leadership of Governor William Berkeley in Virginia were the main contributing factors leading to Bacon’s rebellion, leading to the slaughter of innocent Native Americans in 1676. In 1676, the Doeg Indian tribe attacked the plantation of Thomas Matthews. Matthews was said to have stolen many different items from the Doeg Indians which was said to be the cause of this raid. Even though many of the Indians lost their …show more content…
Virginia was going downhill, and fast. The economy was plummeting, and Virginia was falling apart. Citizens of Virginia were having many economic problems such as the falling price of tobacco, rising prices of English manufactured goods, and growing commercial competition from Maryland (McCulley). Therefore, when Matthews wrongfully stole, it triggered a chain reaction that caused many deaths and more lies. Next, Bacon’s lust for power caused him to kill and attack an entire Native American tribe who also happened to be innocent. Then, Sir William Berkeley’s lie triggered the colonists to find a new leader and form a militia group against the Doegs. Finally, and the worst of all, in effort to hide the fact that Virginia’s economy was falling apart, the colonists instigated a huge attack on the Doegs so they could blame everything on the …show more content…
When you tell lies you have to constantly expand upon those lies to cover for them. The more you lie the more you have to come up with propaganda to disguise your original lie. Berkeley made this mistake when he hid that he was making deals with the Doegs. He had to continually come up with excuses to why he did not want the colonist to attack. He could have told the truth and helped negotiate with the Doegs who were his allies. Instead he tried to cover it up causing the colonist to attack the Indians. Finally, this brings us back to the quote by Robert Burns, “Man’s inhumanity to man makes countless thousands mourn!” This quotation can be easily applied to the outcomes of Nathaniel Bacon’s Rebellion. As seen, the inhumane acts generated Bacon’s Rebellion. Everyone would blame others, cause more problems, and include more innocent, uninvolved people. All could have been prevented by telling the
...y robbing the Indians of their land, the English upset and hurt many of the Native American tribes, which lead to many disputes over ownership of the land.
Bacon’s Rebellion, King Phillip’s War and the Pequot War were similar in that there were conflicts with Natives over land, however they differed in the ways the wars were carried out and the results of the wars. Bacon’s rebellion was a result of the poorer classes moving west to cultivate land, however they encountered natives and the governor refused to protect them. Likewise the Pequot war was a direct effect of puritans moving westward, additionally all three wars resulted in the colonists as victors. During King Phillip’s war the natives destroyed a fifth of the towns in Masseuses and Rhode Island in contrast to the other wars where the natives did not cause as much damage to the colonists. Bacon’s Rebellion was significant because afterwards
Many people know about the Revolutionary war and how the colonists seized their independence from the British. What most do not understand is that there was a series of events that steared the colonists onto the road to independence. They began to think for themselves and started to challenge authority. Coming to the New World, the colonists reached for power and financial opportunity when challenging authority in these three examples: the Witchcraft Trials, Bacon’s Rebellion, and the Boston Tea Party.
Nathaniel thought that the government did not provide them with any protection, and this really upset him. It upset Bacon so much that he decided to create an angry mob to burn Jamestown and neighboring Indian settlements to the ground in protest. In other words, he had a temper tantrum.
Nathaniel Bacon attempted to damage William Berkeley’s reputation by accusing Berkeley of not protecting the people in the Colony. He wanted to show why he should lead the people of Virginia. Berkeley had certain people
Servants and slaves who had more physically demanding lives bore the brunt of the climate and harsh environmental conditions. Moreover, life as a slave was even harsher than life as a servant. According to Taylor, “The planters also afforded Africans even less food, poorer housing, and less medical attention than the servants…” (Taylor). William Byrds diary showcases some of the cruel treatment of slaves in the Chesapeake. He wrote, “Eugene pissed abed again for which I made him drink a pint of piss” (Byrd). Many colonists saw their slaves as subhuman, which helped them treat their slaves with such brutality. Taylor references an English visitor who wrote that, “‘The planters do not want to be told that their Negroes are human creatures. If they believe them to be of human kind, they cannot regard them…as no better than dogs or horses’” (Taylor). Additionally, colonial slave laws strengthened the dehumanization of slaves. For example, one law passed in December of 1662 stated that “all children born in this country shall be held bond or free only according to the condition of the mother” (Virginia Slave
There are many situations in life where a rebellion is required for improvement. For instance, the Stono Rebellion, Pontiac’s War, Shay’s Rebellion, and Bacon’s Rebellion all had the same idea in common, they all wanted change. They all wanted to improve America’s society. The tactic in each rebellion was different, the motives were different, and not all the outcomes were successful. All of these rebellions also had unobvious internal struggles which either weaken or strengthen them. It is likely that Bacon’s Rebellion could have been avoided because it did not leave a positive impact on America’s society. Although, if the Stono Rebellion, Pontiac’s war, and Shay’s Rebellion never occurred the government would not be
...actually make significant changes. In many ways, Bacon’s rebellion was an accurate precursor to the revolution because it showed how settlers would respond with revolt after failing to pressure the colonial government. Like with Bacon’s rebellion, the American Revolution required a couple of rebellious incidents before unifying groups of settlers to organize a more forceful push to achieve their desires.
...nd. But the Lenape Indians never left Marshall alone or let him enjoy his winnings. In 1747, a group of Delaware Indians attacked Marshall’s family in their home in Pennsylvania. In this attack Marshall lost his son. Marshall left Pennsylvania for a short time but returned again. In 1756, the Lenape Indians attacked Marshall’s home once again and took the life of his wife and left her scalped.
...able behavior far different from that of rebellion.” The colonists held their tongues as long as they could, but in 1676, their frustration grew too strong. Bacon and a thousand Virginians rebelled and overthrew the governor, in what is known as Bacon’s Rebellion. Shortly after the rebellion, Bacon died, and Governor Berkeley returned and viciously crushed the brigands.
The American Revolution was sparked by a myriad of causes. These causes in themselves could not have sparked such a massive rebellion in the nation, but as the problems of the colonies cumulated, their collective impact spilt over and the American Revolution ensued. Many say that this war could have been easily avoided and was poorly handled by both sides, British and American; but as one will see, the frame of thought of the colonists was poorly suited to accept British measures which sought to “overstep” it’s power in the Americas. Because of this mindset, colonists developed a deep resentment of British rule and policies; and as events culminated, there was no means to avoid revolution and no way to turn back.
Revolutions are usually described as “radical” events. A “radical” event is defined as one that greatly changes the political, cultural, social, and/or economic nature of a society. I believe that the American Revolution was a radical event that dramatically changed our society. There were many impacts to the changes such as slavery, primogeniture, the Articles of Confederation, republican motherhood, and government. This was the time in life, that we as America gained our independence from Britain. The American Revolution is what shaped our world to become what it is today.
With buffalo numbers decreasing fast, Native American tribes faced starvation and desperation. There were many different actions the Americans did to destroy the land of the Native Americans. Western expansion caused a shift in the lives of Native Americans because many tribes, including women and kids, were being murdered by the new settlers. S.G. Colley, a U.S. Indian Agent, writes in a Report for the Committee on the Conduct of War, “That notwithstanding his knowledge of the facts as above set forth, he is informed that Colonel Chivington did, on the morning of the 29th of November last, surprise and attack said camp of friendly Indians and massacre a large number of them, (mostly women and children,) and did allow the troops of his command to mangle and mutilate them in the most horrible manner” (Colley, 1865). This quote shows the Americans were exterminating innocent American Indians for no justifiable reason.
The French Revolution was a period of political upheaval that occurred in France during the latter half of the 18th century. This revolution marked an end to the system of feudalism and the monarchy in France and a rise to democracy and new Enlightenment ideas. By 1789, when the revolution began, France was in a deep financial crisis due to the debt they had obtained over many years of reckless spending and France was nearly bankrupt. These financial issues fell almost completely on the bottom social class or the Third Estate which made up a majority of the country. Because of this financial trouble the common people were heavily taxed leaving many of them in poverty. In addition to the economic issues, France also held an Estate System that led to heavy
This chapter provided information from the trial of Captain Thomas Preston. The chapter asked the question, “What really happened in the Boston Massacre”. Chapter four focused on the overall event of the Massacre and trying to determine if Captain Preston had given the order to fire at Boston citizens. The chapter provides background information and evidence from Preston’s trial to leave the reader answering the question the chapter presents. Although, after looking through all the witnesses’ testimonies some might sway in Captain Preston’s favor, just the way the grand jury did.