Bacon's Rebellion (jan 1, 1676 – jan 16, 1677)

Description:

An uprising of farmers led by Nathaniel Bacon. It started after scandals arose concerning Virginian Governor William Berkeley. Since the 1640s, he had been running the colony with the help of wealthy tobacco planters, as ell as granting excessive rewards to his supporters. Falling tobacco prices due to excessive supply, compounded by heavy taxes on the crop and little viable land available for those not in Berkeley's circle, left many former indentured servants (a sizable demographic of the colony) quite poor. In 1670, suffrage was revoked for non-landowners. He also refused to allow the colony to expand into Native American territory.

In 1676, there was a confrontation between Native Americans and Virginians. The latter demanded retribution against the tribe, but Berkeley refused. In response, Bacon organized an uprising. He and his 500 men marched on a nearby Native American settlement and killed basically everyone there. Bacon died of dysentery on October 26, and the rebellion was defeated soon after. 23 of his supporters were hanged as punishment. It helped lead to the expansion of slavery because it caused Southern plantation owners to seek out newer forms of labor other than indentured servitude that could be more easily controlled.