Nathaniel Bacon summary

Nathaniel Bacon, (born Jan. 2, 1647, Suffolk, Eng.—died October 1676, Virginia Colony), English-born American colonial planter, leader of Bacon’s Rebellion. He emigrated from England in 1673 and acquired land in Virginia, where he was appointed to the council of William Berkeley, the British governor. After a dispute over Indian policy, he defied Berkeley’s orders and organized an expedition against Native communities in 1676. He then turned his forces against Berkeley, captured Jamestown, and briefly controlled most of Virginia. His sudden death at age 29, at the height of his power, ended the rebellion. The long-term significance of Bacon’s Rebellion remains a subject of debate, though many historians understand it more as an expression of tensions within a growing colonial society than a precursor to the American Revolution.