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Nathaniel Bacon

Type Figure Region Virginia Time 1647–1676 Also known as Leader of Bacon's Rebellion

Nathaniel Bacon was a 17th-century Virginia planter and politician who led Bacon's Rebellion in 1676 against Governor William Berkeley over frontier …

Timeline

  1. 1674–1675Henrico County, Virginia · Colony of VirginiaBacon came from an English gentry family, arriving in Virginia in 1674 with his wife's family's property, purchasing the estate 'Curles of the Henrico' in Henrico County, and quickly rising into the local planter elite.
  2. 1675–1676Jamestown · Colony of VirginiaIn 1675 Bacon was elected to the assembly and immediately clashed fiercely with Governor Berkeley over attacks on the frontier by tribes such as the Susquehannock. He advocated strong military action against the Indians, while Berkeley emphasized trade interests and peaceful negotiation, bringing their conflict into the open.
  3. 1676Colony of Virginia · Colony of VirginiaIn 1676, after being declared a traitor, Bacon led frontier militia in uprising, issued the 'Declaration of the People' denouncing Berkeley's corruption, twice captured Jamestown and burned the capital. In October he died of dysentery at the height of the rebellion; without its core leader the rebel forces quickly dispersed, and Berkeley immediately carried out retaliatory suppression.

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