Nathaniel Bacon
Nathaniel Bacon was born in 1647 to Thomas and Elizabeth Bacon in Suffolk, England. He was one of many children, and spent time getting into trouble. He studied at Cambridge and became an eloquent public speaker. Eventually his popularity would win over many settlers. Bacon got into trouble, though, when he tried to defraud a neighbor out of his inheritance and was disinherited by his wife’s family. His father got fed up and sent him to Virginia. Young Bacon settled along the James River, outside of Jamestown. Governor William Berkeley and him were closely related, as Berkeley’s wife, Frances Culpeper, was his cousin. This connection landed Bacon on spot on Berkeley’s Council. Interestingly enough, Bacon liked to use the phrase, “Damn my blood.” A dispute with Berkeley over Indian policy led to Bacon leaving the council, and, ultimately rebellion. He died in 1676 from “bloody flux” and extreme body lice. His body was most likely burned, since it was never found. Bacon was a 100 year precursor to the American Revolution and his rebel spirit should have warned England that America wouldn’t tolerate repressive government.