Race Relations During the Seventeenth Century in Chesapeake Bay Colonies - Essay Example

Race Relations During the Seventeenth Century in Chesapeake Bay Colonies American history is largely accounted for by its colony formations and slave holdings. Slavery is a grim part of not only American history, but also world history. More specifically, the colony at Chesapeake Bay in the seventeenth century has some extremely mixed historic tales of slavery as well as emancipation. Even more curious is the disappearance of many freed slaves and freed slave families after the end of the Bacon Rebellion. This essay will discuss some of the history surrounding the Bacon Rebellion and how it negatively affected slave relations and increased the slave trade. It is difficult to pin point an exact time of disappearances of specific individuals after the Bacon Rebellion. What is so mysterious, however, is that the disappearances of numerous freed slave families simply no longer existed on record after the time of the Bacon Rebellion. The Rebellion itself occurred in 1676, but progressively after the rebellion, the disappearances began. A brief history of the Bacon Rebellion will tell us that a few key factors implicated in igniting it involved a decline in tobacco quality due to massive over production and lowered prices, scarce land availability, raised taxes, and an overall low popularity of the government at the time, particularly Governor Berkley. Other factors which played more critically in the events that spurned the rebellion were poor relations with Native Americans. In fact, there was a great deal of unrest between several tribes and the colonists. In some of the raids perpetrated on Native American tribes, it was a case of mistaken identity that made a bad situation worse. Initially, it was the Doeg tribe which instigated the raid. The Susquehanna tribe, however, was victim to the retaliation raid by the colonists. In reality, it was these raids back and forth between Native Americans and colonists that started the Bacon Rebellion. Nathaniel Bacon, a highly popular colonist, began and led the Bacon Rebellion. At the time, Sir William Berkley served as governor of the colony. He would not consent to sending troops to help the colonists in their retaliation against the Native Americans whom the colonists felt posed a threat. Eventually, Bacon and his followers essentially overthrew Berkley. In the end, however, it was Berkley who won with the help of British royal naval ships. It is important to mention that many freed slaves were actually in support of the rebellion as well as part of it. It was the working class colonists and freed slaves against the aristocratic government, which by the end of the rebellion appeared more like a tyranny as rebels were punished harshly or slaughtered for their involvement in the rebellion. By the time Berkley reestablished power, it became clear that those who had stood against him would certainly be in danger of execution or the like. It makes sense to attribute certain mysterious disappearances of former slaves to the Berkley regime, as the former slaves would have most likely been in support of the rebellion against Berkley. The Bacon Rebellion resulted in stricter slave laws as well as the disintegration of relationships between settlers and freed slaves. In addition, the right to bare arms was begun which originally existed to allow settlers to defend themselves against the Native Americans. Needless to say, the Bacon Rebellion served to do more harm than good. It worsened slave relations by causing slave laws that forced slaves to not only remain as slaves for life but also bound their children to slavery. This was indeed an enormous setback in slave relations. In addition, it can be said that the Bacon Rebellion perpetuated bad relations with Native Americans. Another aspect of worsened slave relations as a result of the Bacon Rebellion was that it caused a heightened influx of slaves brought into the colonies from Africa. After the rebellion, it is clear that the aristocratic regime wanted to fully establish its power not only by eradicating freed slave families that were prominent and possibly part of the rebellion but also by increasing the slave trade industry. Quite a bit of migration took place after the rebellion to parts of Somerset County, north of Jamestown, where tobacco crops would be more lush and plentiful. This could also account for the increased number of slaves brought in. The plantation owners required slaves to cultivate their fields. Also, attitudes in general towards blacks were rapidly declining. Although there were many freed slaves, these individuals were limited so significantly that it made being self sufficient impossible. Certainly it can be said that some freed slave individuals and families were able to thrive to a point in society, such as Anthony Johnson and others like him. There is record of individuals like Johnson who were able to succeed even in the face of adversity and extremely limited rights. Certainly social exclusion was a large challenge for these individuals who simply worked around it and made the best life for themselves and their families as possible. There is, however, the many that were not able to overcome such harsh and rigid segregation and social exclusion, even to the point of simply “disappearing” from records due to the likelihood that the aristocratic government and settlers with like opinions systematically executing these families and individuals. It can be said that overall the Bacon Rebellion was just another dark mark in American history. Granted, the freed slaves were apart of the rebellion and seeking land just like the working class settlers but at the expense of the lives of many Native Americans. Many historians imply that Native Americans were “savage,” but it is easily forgotten that they were here first. It was their land that the settlers were settling on. Certainly, it is natural to protect one’s home and family against invasion, which in many cases is exactly what happened. The freed slaves, once forced into indentured service, were simply trying to sustain a life or create a life for themselves and their families. It makes sense that they would fight for land as they were given so few rights and allowed so little property to begin with. Shamefully, it was the settlers and aristocratic that held power that allowed for things to escalate to this degree. In the end, it was their greed, racism, and power hungriness that eventually plunged the country into war after the rebellion. It can also be justified that if they had not been so greedy with land ownership, the rebellion would have never taken place to begin with. Even though the rebellion was against the orders of Berkley, it was the Native Americans that inhabited nearby lands who suffered its violence. This may never have happened had the virtual class system not been in place and the aristocratic regime not been controlling things. The suffering and set backs endured by the slaves and even freed slaves after the rebellion served to prove that it was not only a mistake but a terribly compromising position for the working class and freed slaves to place themselves in. It served no real purpose and only worsened slave relations in the Chesapeake Bay colony as well as many other colonies who followed in its footsteps by demanding more slaves for themselves as well as more land belonging to Native Americans. Works Cited Breen, T.H., Innes, Stephen, Myne Owne Ground: Race & Freedom on Virginia’s Eastern Shore, 1640-1676, New York, Oxford University Press, 1980 Read More