HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Nathaniel Bacon (January 3, 1647October 26, 1676) was an English merchant adventurer who immigrated to the
Virginia Colony The Colony of Virginia was a British colonial settlement in North America from 1606 to 1776. The first effort to create an English settlement in the area was chartered in 1584 and established in 1585; the resulting Roanoke Colony lasted for t ...
, where he sat on the Governor's Council. In early 1676 he led
Bacon's Rebellion Bacon's Rebellion was an armed rebellion by Virginia settlers that took place from 1676 to 1677. It was led by Nathaniel Bacon against Colonial Governor William Berkeley, after Berkeley refused Bacon's request to drive Native American India ...
against the Virginia government. The rebellion was briefly successful; but after Bacon’s death from
dysentery Dysentery ( , ), historically known as the bloody flux, is a type of gastroenteritis that results in bloody diarrhea. Other symptoms may include fever, abdominal pain, and a feeling of incomplete defecation. Complications may include dehyd ...
in October 1676, the rebel forces collapsed.


Early life and education

Bacon was born on January 3, 1647, in Friston Hall in
Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...
,
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
, to influential landowner parents Thomas Bacon and his wife Elizabeth (daughter of Sir Robert Brooke of
Cockfield Hall Cockfield Hall in Yoxford in Suffolk, England is a Grade I listed private house standing in of historic parkland, partly dating from the 16th century. Cockfield Hall takes its name from the Cokefeud Family, established there at the beginning of ...
, Yoxford and his wife
Elizabeth Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Empress Elisabeth (disambiguation), lists various empresses named ''Elisabeth'' or ''Elizabeth'' * Princess Elizabeth ...
). Nathaniel was his father's only son, and had one full sister, and a half-sister by his father's second wife Martha (Reade), his natural mother having died in 1649 when he was two years old. He was educated at the
University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...
, where he was admitted as a Fellow-Commoner at St Catharine's College in 1661. He traveled around Europe (Germany, Italy, Switzerland, France, Netherlands) in 1663–1664 with the celebrated naturalist
John Ray John Ray Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS (November 29, 1627 – January 17, 1705) was a Christian England, English Natural history, naturalist widely regarded as one of the earliest of the English parson-naturalists. Until 1670, he wrote his ...
and fellow pupils
Francis Willughby Francis Willughby (sometimes spelt Willoughby, ) Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS (22 November 1635 – 3 July 1672) was an English ornithology, ornithologist, ichthyology, ichthyologist and mathematician, and an early student of linguistics an ...
and
Philip Skippon Major-General Philip Skippon ( – 20 February 1660) was an English army officer and politician. He fought for the Parliamentary cause during the English Civil War as a senior officer in the New Model Army. Prior to the war, Skippon fought in ...
. At the end of April 1664, in
Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...
, Ray and Skippon took ship for
Messina Messina ( , ; ; ; ) is a harbour city and the capital city, capital of the Italian Metropolitan City of Messina. It is the third largest city on the island of Sicily, and the 13th largest city in Italy, with a population of 216,918 inhabitants ...
, to continue their expedition together to
Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...
, leaving Willughby and Bacon to return north to
Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
. He was admitted to study law at
Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...
in November 1664. Nathaniel married Elizabeth Duke, the daughter of Sir Edward Duke of
Benhall Benhall is a civil parish in the East Suffolk District, East Suffolk district of Suffolk, England. Lying to the south of Saxmundham, its population at the 2021 census was 569. The main settlement is Benhall Green, while the hamlet of Benhall St ...
(1604–1671) and his wife Ellenor Panton, reputedly in direct defiance of her father's veto. After accusations that Nathaniel had cheated another young man of his inheritance, Thomas Bacon gave his son the considerable sum of £1,800 and the young man sailed into exile across the Atlantic. Upon arriving in Virginia, Nathaniel Bacon bought two frontier plantations on the
James River The James River is a river in Virginia that begins in the Appalachian Mountains and flows from the confluence of the Cowpasture and Jackson Rivers in Botetourt County U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowli ...
.


Immigration to Virginia

Since his cousin and namesake Nathaniel Bacon was a prominent colonial leader and friend of governor William Berkeley, Bacon initially settled in Jamestown, the capital. By 1675 Bacon was himself appointed to the governor's council. Berkeley's wife, the former Frances Culpeper, may also have been Bacon's cousin by marriage.


Bacon's Rebellion

Before the "Virginia Rebellion" (as it came to be called) began in earnest in 1674, some freeholders on the Virginian frontier demanded that
Native Americans Native Americans or Native American usually refers to Native Americans in the United States. Related terms and peoples include: Ethnic groups * Indigenous peoples of the Americas, the pre-Columbian peoples of North, South, and Central America ...
, including those in friendly tribes living on treaty-protected lands, should be driven out or killed. Historians have noted that the hatred among the settlers towards the Native Americans is a historically underrepresented catalyst of Bacon's Rebellion, as the rebellion was equally about "violently isplacingIndians" and " xploitingthat hatred" as it was about changing frontier policy in Virginia. They also protested against corruption in the government of Governor Berkeley, which has been described as "incorrigibly corrupt, inhumanely oppressive, and inexcusably inefficient, especially in war". Predating Bacon's Rebellion, the
Anglo-Powhatan Wars The AngloPowhatan Wars were three wars fought between settlers of the Colony of Virginia and the Powhatan People of Tsenacommacah in the early 17th century. The first war started in 1609 and ended in a peace settlement in 1614. The second war l ...
instituted the distinct hierarchical separation and selfishness between the Indians and the Virginians that would eventually mold into the basis for the subduing of the Indians during Bacon's Rebellion. Following a raid by Doeg Indians in
Stafford County, Virginia Stafford County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is approximately south of Washington, D.C. It is part of the Northern Virginia region, and the D.C area. It is one of the fastest-growing and highest-income counties in ...
, which resulted in the deaths of two white settlers associated with a trader named Thomas Mathew (whom later reports found regularly "cheated and abused" Indians), a group of Virginia
militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...
men raided settlements of the
Susquehannock The Susquehannock, also known as the Conestoga, Minquas, and Andaste, were an Iroquoian Peoples, Iroquoian people who lived in the lower Susquehanna River watershed in what is now Pennsylvania. Their name means “people of the muddy river.” T ...
tribe, instead of the Doeg tribe, including some across the
Potomac River The Potomac River () is in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and flows from the Potomac Highlands in West Virginia to Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography D ...
in Maryland. Maryland Governor Calvert protested against the incursion, and the Susquehannocks retaliated. Maryland militia under Major Thomas Trueman then joined Virginia forces (now led by John Washington and Isaac Allerton), and attacked a fortified Susquehannock village. After five chiefs accepted the Maryland leader's invitation to parley, they were slaughtered, an action which provoked later legislative investigations and reprimands. The Susquehannocks retaliated in force against plantations, killing 60 settlers in Maryland and a further 36 in their first assault on Virginia soil. Then other tribes joined in, killing settlers, burning houses and fields and slaughtering livestock as far as the
James James may refer to: People * James (given name) * James (surname) * James (musician), aka Faruq Mahfuz Anam James, (born 1964), Bollywood musician * James, brother of Jesus * King James (disambiguation), various kings named James * Prince Ja ...
and
York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...
rivers. Seeking to avoid a larger conflict similar to
King Philip's War King Philip's War (sometimes called the First Indian War, Metacom's War, Metacomet's War, Pometacomet's Rebellion, or Metacom's Rebellion) was an armed conflict in 1675–1678 between a group of indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodland ...
in
New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...
, Berkeley advocated containment, proposing the construction of several defensive fortifications along the frontier and urging frontier settlers to gather in a defensive posture. Frontier settlers dismissed the plan as expensive and inadequate, and also suspected that it might be a pretext for raising tax rates. In the meantime, Bacon owned two large plantations along the
James River The James River is a river in Virginia that begins in the Appalachian Mountains and flows from the confluence of the Cowpasture and Jackson Rivers in Botetourt County U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowli ...
. This main plantation called "Curles" (about 1000 acres, although only a third cleared since it was formed by others circa 1630, and by now worked by a dozen slaves) was on a peninsula formed by a bend of the James River (hence its name). Another plantation was significantly upstream, near the falls of the James River at
Shockoe Creek Shockoe Creek is a watercourse in Virginia, United States, tributary to the James River. The Shockoe Creek watershed drained "portions of Richmond, Virginia, Richmond's North Side, near West End, downtown and northeast Henrico County, Virginia ...
, and had more cattle. Indian raiders killed Bacon's overseer on that upriver plantation, and Bacon soon emerged as a rebel leader. When Berkeley refused to grant Bacon a military commission to attack all Indians, Bacon mustered his own force of 400–500 men and moved up the
James River The James River is a river in Virginia that begins in the Appalachian Mountains and flows from the confluence of the Cowpasture and Jackson Rivers in Botetourt County U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowli ...
to attack the Doeg and
Pamunkey The Pamunkey Indian Tribe is a federally recognized tribe of Pamunkey people in Virginia. They control the Pamunkey Indian Reservation in King William County, Virginia. Historically, they spoke the Pamunkey language. They are one of 11 Native ...
tribes. Although both had generally lived peaceably with the colonists, and had not attacked the frontier settlements, their cultivated lands were valuable. In March, Berkeley had attempted to secure warriors from the Pamunkey tribe to fight hostile tribes pursuant to earlier treaties. The Pamunkey queen
Cockacoeske Cockacoeske (pronounced Coke a cow ski) (also spelled ''Cockacoeskie'') () was a 17th-century leader of the Pamunkey tribe in what is now the U.S. state of Virginia. During her thirty-year reign, she worked with the English colony of Virginia, tryi ...
passionately reminded the Governor's Council of the deaths 20 years ago of her husband and 100 warriors whom they had provided in a similar situation. The chairman had ignored her complaint, and instead continued to demand more warriors, receiving a promise in return to supply a dozen. Berkeley did arrest Bacon and remove him from the council, but Bacon's men quickly secured his release, and forced Berkeley to hold legislative elections. Meanwhile, Bacon's men continued their offensive against the Pamunkeys, who fled into Dragon Swamp. When the friendly Occoneechee managed to capture a Susquehannock fort, Bacon's forces demanded all the spoils, although they had not assisted in the fighting. They then attacked the Oconeechee by treachery, killing 100 to 400 men, women and children. Despite Bacon's outlaw status, voters of
Henrico County Henrico County , officially the County of Henrico, is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 334,389 making it the fifth-most populous county in Virginia. Henrico Coun ...
elected him and his mentor James Crewes to the recomposed
House of Burgesses The House of Burgesses () was the lower house of the Virginia General Assembly from 1619 to 1776. It existed during the colonial history of the United States in the Colony of Virginia in what was then British America. From 1642 to 1776, the Hou ...
. That body enacted a number of sweeping reforms, limiting the governor's powers and restoring
suffrage Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to v ...
rights to landless freemen. They also made the sale of any arms to any Indian punishable by execution. Bacon's followers were unmollified, accusing Berkeley of refusing to authorize retaliation against natives to protect his own fur-trading investments and the monopolies which he had granted to his favorites. After a number of verbal altercations, including a quarrel in a Jamestown street, Berkeley retreated to his plantation and signed the military commission Bacon demanded. Scouting parties accordingly set out to requisition supplies, as well as to kill and enslave Indians, prompting protests from citizens of Gloucester County who were subject to the militia's exactions. Bacon's forces retreated to Middle Plantation (later renamed
Williamsburg Williamsburg may refer to: Places *Colonial Williamsburg, a living-history museum and private foundation in Virginia *Williamsburg, Brooklyn, neighborhood in New York City *Williamsburg, former name of Kernville (former town), California *Williams ...
). On July 30, 1676, Bacon and his makeshift army issued a '' Declaration of the People'', which criticized Berkeley's administration, accusing him of levying unfair taxes, appointing friends to high positions, and failing to protect outlying farmers from Indian attack. They also issued a 'Manifesto' urging the "extirpation" of all Indians, asserting that they did not deserve legal protections because they "have bin for these Many years enemies to the King and Country, Robbers and Thieves and Invaders of his Majesty's Right and our Interest and Estate". Months of conflict ensued, including a naval attempt across the Potomac and in Chesapeake Bay by Bacon's allies to capture Berkeley at Accomac. Bacon himself focused on the Pamunkey in Dragon Swamp; his forces seized 3 horse-loads of goods, enslaved 45 Indians and killed many more, prompting the queen
Cockacoeske Cockacoeske (pronounced Coke a cow ski) (also spelled ''Cockacoeskie'') () was a 17th-century leader of the Pamunkey tribe in what is now the U.S. state of Virginia. During her thirty-year reign, she worked with the English colony of Virginia, tryi ...
(who narrowly escaped with her son) to throw herself on the mercy of the Governor's Council. Berkeley raised his own army of mercenaries on the Eastern Shore, and also captured Bacon's naval allies and executed the two leaders. Bacon's forces then turned against the colony's capital, burning Jamestown to the ground on September 19, 1676. Before a
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
squadron could arrive, Bacon died of
dysentery Dysentery ( , ), historically known as the bloody flux, is a type of gastroenteritis that results in bloody diarrhea. Other symptoms may include fever, abdominal pain, and a feeling of incomplete defecation. Complications may include dehyd ...
on October 26, 1676. Although John Ingram took control of the rebel forces, the rebellion soon collapsed. Governor Berkeley returned to power, seizing the property of several rebels and ultimately hanging twenty-three men, many without trial. After an investigative committee returned its report to King Charles II, which criticized both Berkeley and Bacon for their conduct toward friendly tribes, Berkeley was relieved of the governorship, returned to England to protest, and died shortly thereafter. Charles II later supposedly commented, "That old fool has put to death more people in that naked country than I did here for the murder of my father." This may be a colonial myth, arising about 30 years later.


Legacy

Despite recent historians' views of the conflict, many in the early
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, including
Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (, 1743July 4, 1826) was an American Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was the primary author of the United States Declaration of Indepe ...
, saw Bacon as a patriot and believed that Bacon's Rebellion was a prelude to the later
American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...
against the control of
the Crown The Crown is a political concept used in Commonwealth realms. Depending on the context used, it generally refers to the entirety of the State (polity), state (or in federal realms, the relevant level of government in that state), the executive ...
. This understanding of the conflict was reflected in twentieth-century commemorations, including a memorial window in
Colonial Williamsburg Colonial Williamsburg is a living-history museum and private foundation presenting a part of the historic district in Williamsburg, Virginia. Its historic area includes several hundred restored or recreated buildings from the 18th century, wh ...
, and a prominent tablet in the
Virginia House of Delegates The Virginia House of Delegates is one of the two houses of the Virginia General Assembly, the other being the Senate of Virginia. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-numbe ...
chamber of the
Virginia State Capitol The Virginia State Capitol is the seat of state government of the Commonwealth of Virginia, located in Richmond, the state capital. It houses the oldest elected legislative body in North America, the Virginia General Assembly, first established a ...
in
Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...
, which recalls Bacon as "A great Patriot Leader of the Virginia People who died while defending their rights October 26, 1676."


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bacon, Nathaniel 1647 births 1676 deaths Alumni of St Catharine's College, Cambridge 17th-century English merchants American rebels British emigrants to the Thirteen Colonies Deaths from dysentery English slave owners People from Suffolk Virginia Governor's Council members Slave owners from the Thirteen Colonies