Bacon's Rebellion
Bacon's Rebellion was a revolt in 1676 by frontiersmen, indentured servants, and slaves, in colonial Virginia. It was led by Nathaniel Bacon, who organized a militia to deal with Indians who were raiding inland farms. In 1676, Bacon was elected to the House of Burgesses where he continued to promote his Indian raids, much to the dismay of colonial governor William Berkeley. In his Declaration of the People, Bacon denounced the colonial government for doing little to protect the frontier farmlands and unjust taxation, among other things. Eventually, Bacon's militia turned on the colonial capitol of Jamestown seizing and destroying property of the aristocracy for three months. The rebellion ended shortly after Bacon's death, due to dysentery.
Bacon's Rebellion was the first major rebellion in the American colonies in which free white men were involved.
