> > > Bacon's Rebellion > > One of the first cash crops of the new continent was > tobacco. It's value, and its labor-intensive nature, > required a need for workers in the new world. > > So many indentured servants were sent to Virginia. They > were considered the dregs of the continent. Many came > from Ireland where they were picked up and often sent, > against their will, across the Atlantic to the new world. > The English would pick up those that they saw as > troublemakers, and send them on a boat. The conditions of > the newly arrived servants were appalling. They were often > beaten, made to wear shackles, treated unfairly and taken > advantage of by the upper classes. In the beginning, they > worked with slaves in the field often side by side. Their > fraternization and mixing began to cause alarm within the > ruling elite. Soon the commonwealth began to take action to > separate the races. > > What the planters feared most was what they called, > "the giddy multitude." They feared class anger amongst > servants. The slaves had a longer degree of > servitude than the whites so they became more valuable > to the tobacco growers. So why did the planters prefer > servants to slaves, even while using slave labor was > more profitable? Why did the change occur? Bacon's > Rebellion is the answer. > > Bacon was a member of the Virginia council. Seeking > to protect the settlers from the natives and > increase his own lot, he set out to raise a militia. > Bacon felt that this would serve a dual purpose. It would > re-direct anger towards the Indians and eliminate a foe. > Bacon's action shocked the Virginia council. They were > afraid of what they described as, "the armed rabble." > He had unleashed a class anger that threatened the very > foundation of the Virginia government. Bacon soon became > ill and died but his followers marched on Jamestown and > burnt it to the ground. The British returned with armed > ships to crush the rebellion. Finally, the whites and > blacks laid down their arms except for a contingent of > eighty blacks and twenty whites. > > The Virginia elite were faced with a problem. They could > share their wealth and provide better conditions for the > servants or they could use more slave labor. They chose > slave labor because the gentry could control them easier. > This would serve another purpose as well. They would > employ many of the white settlers as slave hands. The > planter class could be more effectively controlled by > state power the slaves rather than their white counterparts. > It was also easier to enact laws that denied certain > rights based on the color of one's skin. Blacks were made > subordinate to white rule. This was not the case for > the white servants. To prohibit any mixing of the races, > white women were targeted. Any mulatto child would be > categorized as black and the mother fined 15 pounds. The > legislature denied blacks the right to vote, own land > or testify in court. A racist culture was born. Laws > legitimized racism and the brutal treatment of blacks. > For the next three hundred years we would pay a price for > this decision. > > > >