Bacon’s Rebellion: The Rebel, the Governor, and the Burning of Jamestown

<p>In 1676, Virginia nearly tore itself apart. At the center were Governor William Berkeley and Nathaniel Bacon, two wealthy men whose feud exploded into armed rebellion, frontier war, and the burning of Jamestown. But Bacon’s Rebellion was about far more than one political rivalry. Beneath it were struggles over land, Native resistance, tobacco, indentured servitude, political power, and a growing population of frustrated colonists. The rebellion ultimately failed, but its aftermath helped reshape Virginia society, hardening racial divisions and accelerating the colony’s movement toward racial slavery. This is the complicated, violent story of Bacon’s Rebellion and the world it changed.</p>