Bacon's rebellion underlies an indirect start to the American .
Revolution, and has many plausible causes; mainly, the oppression of a single autocrat. .
William Berkley, the governor, treated the new settlers of Virginia with disrespect and .
contempt. The new settlers, more casually referred to as Piedmonts, were unrepresented .
in the political system due to the scarcity of elections for representatives in Virginia. .
Although Berkley had agreed to protect the Indian territory, he had to repudiate that .
promise due to the increasing population of settlers. The settlers had to expand westward .
into hostile native land. This caused many altercations with the livid natives. .
These quarrels angered the Piedmonts. They felt fighting the Indians wasn't a plausible .
setback to settling in Virginia. Another contributing factor to the rebellion was Nathaniel .
Bacon's personal avarice for power. Bacon had high ambitions of becoming an important .
political leader in Virginia. Because landowners were highly regarded, he purchased a .
farm in the west. This enabled him to win a seat in the governor's council. Although he .
made it to the governor's council, he did not make it to the "inner circle." This fueled .
Bacon's anger for Berkley, and was definitely a cause for his mutiny. .
Bacon was also mad at Berkley because of the governor's refusal to give him a share of .
the Indian fur trade. During the era of colonization, many settlers and leaders profited .
from trading fur with the Indians, the governor denied Bacon this lucrative venture. This .
angered the already angry Bacon. Although many say that Bacon is truly to blame, the .
fault does not all rest on his shoulders. When the Indians attacked the settlers" plantation .
and killed many people, the governor took the pacifistic route and chose not to retaliate. .
As a consequence, this angered some of the settlers that sought revenge. Bacon shared .
their anger and against Berkley's orders, attacked the natives.
