Nathaniel Bacon

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Nathaniel Bacon
BornJanuary 2, 1647
Suffolk, England
DiedOctober 26, 1676
Virginia, English America
Cause of deathDysentery
NationalityEnglish
Political orientationSettler colonialism
Right-wing populism


Nathaniel Bacon (January 2, 1647 – October 26, 1676) was an English aristocrat who led a rebellion against colonial authorities in Virginia in 1676. In the spring of 1676, he was elected to the House of Burgesses. Governor William Berkeley imprisoned him soon after when he tried to form anti-indigenous militias.[1]

Rebellion

After Bacon's arrest, 2,000 rebel colonists came to free him. In July 1676, he released a "Declaration of the People", which condemned Berkeley for taxes, corruption, monopolizing the beaver trade, and not protecting western farmers from natives. Bacon then attacked the Pamunkey people and killed eight of them. The rebels burned Jamestown and forced Berkeley to flee, but the rebellion collapsed after Bacon died from disease.[1]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Howard Zinn (1980). A People's History of the United States: 'Persons of Mean and Vile Condition' (pp. 44–46). [PDF] HarperCollins. ISBN 0060194480