Bacons Rebellion Vs Stonos Rebellion

Kevin Vaz

Professor J. Gilpatrick

History 103

8 November 2016

“George McGovern, 1972”

                “Bacons Rebellion” and “Stonos Rebellion” are two rage driven revolts that brought forward the needed attention to those on the opposite spectrum of wealthy and Caucasian. Both these revolts had equal desired effects, as having to be treated fairly, and/or voicing an opinion on political matters. Despite having a half-decade gap between the two, both “Stonos Rebellion” and “Bacons Rebellion” reflected comparable societal tensions, with identical causes, conflicts, and an indefinite result. In this essay, I’ll exhibit my comparisons with factual evidence from primary sources, articles, and academic journals written by scholarly authors.

        The start of every violent rebellion can always be attributable to the causes that push those to congregate together and commit violent acts. In the case of “Bacons Rebellion,” those causes were not only limited to one but several. Tensions were high in Virginia as there was a pronounced division between the wealthy elite and the poor. The wealthy sitting comfortably and protected, while the low-class suffering and not benefitting from their tax dollars. Virginia at the time was governed by Sir William Berkley, an Englishmen with family ties to Nathanial Bacon, a farmer in West Virginia. Due to this relation, Berkeley granted Bacon a seat on the council, approximately equivalent to a state senate seat (Stock). Bacon, being a farmer in the outskirts of Virginia, was dissatisfied with Berkleys’ policies pertaining to indentured servants, and protection against native Americans in the backroads of Virginia. After several Indian raids against the colonist, Bacon sought permission from Berkeley to attack the Indians but Berkeley refused, fearing that such actions would lead to a full-scale war between the settlers and the Native Americans (Stock). Similarly, the slaves who caused “Stonos Rebellion” were also fighting for economic liberty and social acceptance. As if slaves, did not already want to rebel and fight for their freedom, what exactly triggered the “Stonos Rebellion” is uncertain. It is concluded that the cause was an influx of slaves in South Carolina, which intimidated white slave owners, and prompted them to combat this with laws that would furthermore oppress them. Paradoxically, this unjust treatment only motivated the rebellion.

        Without decent representation from the government, one might be pushed to enact confliction if seen as the only reasonable option for change. Bacon defied the orders given by Berkley and proceeded to the frontier with a force of three hundred men in May 1676, slaughtering a friendly tribe (Stock). Bacon was labeled a rebel and removed from council shortly after this. A month later Bacon received the commission to clear natives from the land, only after threatening violence in Virginias’ capital, Jamestown, with approximately 500 men, composed of indentured servants, slaves, and landless whites. Berkeley tried to counteract this and attempted to reassert his authority by raising his own force against Bacon, which only led to Bacon taking extreme measures and burning the city of Jamestown (Stock). This we know as “Bacons Rebellion”. In similar fashion, “Stonos Rebellion”, an uprising consisting of African American slaves with no political, nor social rights was soon to take place. Led by a man named Jemmy, a score of black Carolinians met near the west branch of the Stono River about twenty miles southwest of Charleston early on Sunday, September 9, 1739 (Palmer). At Stono Bridge they broke into a merchants’ store, killing the two storekeepers and taking guns and powder (Palmer). With a sizable amount of men and firepower at their disposal, the gang headed south towards St. Augustine, accumulating more troops and causing destruction on the way there. By chance Lt. Gov. William Bull glimpsed the insurgents and alerted white parishioners (Palmer). Horsemen caught up with the rioters, which followed in a skirmish between the two groups, ultimately leading to some escaping, killed by gunshot or hanging, or captured to be sent back to slavery.

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