Nathaniel Bacon Dies, Ending the Revolt in Virginia: October 26, 1676

This text comes from our book, Lands of Hope and Promise.

Virginia fell on hard times during the reign of Charles II. The price of tobacco fell to less than a penny per pound. Taxes pressed heavily on the poor, while the rich, who populated the ruling council, paid no taxes at all. There were political problems as well. Sir William Berkeley, who, deposed by Cromwell, had triumphantly returned to power in 1660, controlled the workings of the colony and was bent on promoting agricultural schemes (as well as new taxes to pay for them) unpopular with most Virginians. The House of Burgesses still sat, but there had been no election for 14 years. The burgesses were all men favorable to the policies of Berkeley.

On top of all these problems, there were Indian troubles. After Opechancanough had rebelled for a second time in 1644, the dominion had settled a number of tribes on reservations; but many of the whites who had settled around the reservations wanted to drive out this dwindling population of natives. Sir William, however, saw it as his duty as royal governor to protect them. They were, after all, the king’s subjects! Such a policy was not popular. Local frustration boiled over in 1675 when the Susquehannock rose and began raiding plantations on Virginia’s northern frontier. When Sir William did not take immediate action against the tribe, discontented colonists gathered around a young English nobleman and rebelled.

The nobleman was Nathaniel Bacon. A cousin of the famous philosopher, Sir Francis Bacon, young Nat had attended Cambridge but was dismissed for “extravagancies.” Since his family thought the only thing to do with a disgraced son was to send him off into the wilds, Nat eventually found himself in Virginia. With him went his wife and enough family money to enable him to buy two plantations. As a nobleman, Bacon was honored by Sir William, who gave the 28-year old a place on the governor’s council. Life seemed to be going well for Bacon.

A 1630 map showing the Chesapeake Bay and Virginia to the Appalachian Mountains. The image to the upper left shows Powhatan in a long house, with the inscription, “Status Regis Powhatan quando praefectus Smith Captivus illi daretur” (“The condition of the king Powhatan when Captain Smith was delivered over to him.”) The image of an Indian woman to the right has this inscription: “Habitus foeminarum in Provincia Sasquesahanougs” (“The clothing of women in the province of the Susquehannah.”)

Then the Susquehannock attacked one of Bacon’s plantations and killed his overseer. Gathering a group of colonial militiamen about him Bacon led a counterattack—not on the Susquehannock, however, but on the peaceful Occaneechee. Since, for many colonists, one Indian was just as good (or bad) as another, Bacon became a hero. Discontented poor whites, and even some discontented rich ones (like William Byrd), joined Bacon. Sir William, frightened by this show of force, agreed to call a new House of Burgesses and issue a series of reforms to improve conditions in Virginia. In particular, the governor agreed to be more aggressive with the rebellious Susquehannock. Bacon, finding this all to his taste, traveled to Jamestown and submitted to the governor.

When Bacon returned home, however, he saw that the Indians were still as free as ever. Accusing the governor of treason, Bacon again raised the standard of revolt, and it was not long before he controlled all of Virginia except the eastern shore. When he heard that Governor Berkeley had begged aid from Charles II against the rebels, Bacon grew more defiant. He said he would beat the “Red Coates” and make Virginia an independent commonwealth allied with the French and the Dutch! But this was not to be. While encamped outside Yorktown, Bacon fell ill with dysentery. He died on October 26, 1676.

Without Bacon, the revolt too died. Sir William, in a bluster of injustice, hanged 37 gentlemen who had sided with Bacon. This act, however, did not serve the governor well. When 1,100 royal troops arrived in Virginia, they carried an order from the king himself to pardon the rebels and to bring Sir William back to England to account for his government. Berkeley returned, humiliated, to England. He died before he could stand trial.

Whether one thinks of Nat Bacon as a champion of the poor or as a somewhat mad rabble-rouser, his revolt had lasting effects. Governor Berkeley’s reforms did away with some of the glaring abuses that had arisen in Virginia’s government. Soon, conditions improved in the Old Dominion, and Virginia took her place as one of the leaders of England’s American colonies.