January 2, 1647

London, England

October, 1676

Jamestown, Virginia

Colonial leader and landowner

Portrait: Nathaniel Bacon. Reproduced by permission of Archive Photos, Inc.

"Gentlemen of your quality come very rarely into this country."

William Berkeley's comment to Nathaniel Bacon.

Nathaniel Bacon was a political leader and landowner in seventeenth-century Virginia who rose to prominence at a time when the colony was in turmoil. Wide divisions in social classes had produced a sense of unrest, especially among frontier farmers, who had little protection from Native Americans. The situation was brought to a crisis when the British governor, William Berkeley (see entry), adopted the Franchise Act of 1670. The law created an elite government by restricting the voting rights to a chosen few. Bacon became a popular leader when he supported farmers who felt left out of the governing process and needed protection from Native Americans who raided their farms. Bacon's Rebellion...