In 1676 an uprising known as Bacon's Rebellion occurred in Virginia. The leader of this rebellion was Nathaniel Bacon, a colonial leader who was born in England. He was sent to Virginia by his father in hopes for him to mature and lead a better life. The opposed during this uprising was Governor Sir William Berkeley and the local Indians that were living around the Virginia area. Governor Berkeley was a veteran of the English Civil Wars, along with being a frontier Indian fighter, playwright and scholar. There are multiple explanations as to what caused the rebellion to take place. Tobacco prices were sinking very low in the colony; the struggle for political reform against the oppressive rule of the governor, and the disagreement over Indian policies in regard to how they were handled.
The rebellion all started when Governor Berkeley did not grant permission to Nathaniel Bacon to create a party to carry out attacks against all Indians living near the colony. Even though he did not have consent from Governor Berkeley, Bacon rounded up hundreds of men and started attacking the Indians. After some success, Bacon became a popular figure and more people started to join in on his command. Bacon then marched to Jamestown to take his seat at the Assembly, but then Berkeley ordered for his arrest. After pleading for forgiveness, he was released and granted his seat. Soon after he fled and was not seen for a few weeks. Bacon then returned again with five hundred armed men. With this he forced Governor Berkeley to grant commission to attack the Indians. Berkeley then tried to rally people to bring down Bacon and his people but failed and ended up fleeing. "Bacon issued a manifesto, the "Declaration of the People," which accused the Governor of numerous offenses against the colonists and called for his surrender." (Galenet.com) Bacon then returned to Jamestown where he and his men burned it to the ground.
