24 Atlantic African, American, and European Backgrounds to Contact, Commerce, and Enslavementin the colonies. King Charles II’s primary concern was the
cultivation of tobacco. Rebellions, in his opinion, took the
colonists’ attention away from cultivation. Consequently,
aft er Bacon’s Rebellion, King Charles II dispatched an army
to restore order in Virginia. King Charles also demanded
the removal of Governor Berkeley. Th e king believed that if
Berkeley was not liked by the settlers more rebellions would
be imminent. More rebellions would take more attention
away from the cultivation of tobacco and thus reduce the
profi ts of the Crown. In 1677 Berkeley was ordered back to
England, where he died within the year.
See also: Chesapeake Colonies; Indentured Servitude;
Racialized SlaveryMindy R. WeidmanBibliography
Steele, Ian K. Warpaths: Invasions of North America. New York:
Oxford University Press, 1994.
Washburn, Wilcomb E. Th e Governor and the Rebel: A History of
Bacon’s Rebellion in Virginia. Chapel Hill: University of North
Carolina Press, 1967.
Wiseman, Samuel, and Michael Leroy Oberg, eds. Samuel Wise-
man’s Book of Record: Th e Offi cial Account of Bacon’s Rebellion
in Virginia. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2005.Barracoons
Surfacing in the late 15th century with the emergence of the
Atlantic slave trade, barracoons are identifi ed as small pens
or shelters that held captured Africans, as slaves for sale,
prior to their departure for the New World. Located along
the coast of Africa, barracoons ranged in size and form;
they varied from small, makeshift confi nements without
protection from natural elements to larger, more devel-
oped and protected structures. In any case, regardless of the
simplicity or sophistication of the structure, a captive’s stay
at a barracoon was not pleasant. Rather, it was marked by
sickness, hunger, disease, and death; in fact, countless men,
women, and children died while awaiting embarkation.
Upon arriving at a barracoon, the men were separated
from the women, at which time their heads were shaved, and
bodies stripped of any and all clothing. Furthermore, the
imprisoned individuals were inspected by European doc-
tors to determine their health. Th e purpose of these inspec-
tions was to identify and separate able-bodied individualsgovernment. Th e Virginia settlers were becoming increas-
ingly dissatisfi ed with both Berkeley and his government.
High taxes and special privileges awarded to those close to
the governor were two of the settlers’ biggest complaints.
Bacon, therefore, received a lot of support from the Virginia
masses.
Despite Berkeley’s refusal, the planters regarded the
Native Americans as a larger threat than the Governor.
Consequently they moved on the off ensive and attacked
the nearby Native Americans. When Berkeley heard of the
planters’ actions he declared Bacon guilty of treason. Th e
colonial legislature then met in June to resolve the issue.
Th e legislature granted Bacon a commission to fi ght the Na-
tive Americans and also implemented laws to lower taxes
and reform the abuses of power within the government.
Despite the legislature’s ruling, Berkeley refused Bacon the
commission. Bacon, along with more than 500 supporters,
then marched into Jamestown.
Th e confl ict between Berkeley and Bacon had escalated.
Both men strove to garner all the support they could. Bacon
even promised to give land to any servant who rose up against
his master. Many of the Virginia settlers had long been un-
happy with the government of Berkeley, and therefore allied
themselves with Bacon. In September 1676 the Governor
and his supporters were driven out of Jamestown to a refuge
on the eastern shore. To discourage their return, Bacon and
his followers burned down the town of Jamestown. A month
later, Bacon unexpectedly died. Without its charismatic
leader, Bacon’s Rebellion quickly fi zzled out. Berkeley and his
followers returned to the colony and reasserted their author-
ity. Berkeley hanged more than 20 of the rebellion leaders
and let his men loose to plunder Bacon’s supporters.
While Indian policy seemed to have been the deciding
factor that brought on rebellion, there were many other
issues involved. High taxes, low prices for tobacco, and
indentured servitude were all protested by the settlers. In
1676, when Bacon and his followers began the rebellion,
many of the Virginia settlers—white and black—united
to use the rebellion as a means to protest Berkeley and his
government. Th e end result was twofold. First, the rebellion
brought both white and black settlers together to fi ght for
one cause. Second, the rebellion demanded and success-
fully brought reform to the colony of Virginia. Many of the
reforms that the Virginia settlers sought were conceded by
the Virginia government. In London, the Crown authori-
ties saw Bacon’s Rebellion as the result of bad government