Angry that the royal governor William Berkeley had appeased Indian tribes who had attacked the western settlements, Virginia settlers staged a rebellion against the government. The settlers were led by Nathaniel Bacon, who successfully attacked Indian settlements and burned Jamestown.
Nathaniel Bacon (1647–1676) was a Virginia landowner and planter who instigated an uprising against the royal government of Virginia in 1676. Bacon’s Rebellion broke out over colonists’ anger with the royal government for failing to expel Indians and make way for settlement. Bacon led the rebel forces in attacking Indians and burning the colonial capital of Jamestown. Willian Berkeley, the royal governor, fled and was recalled to England, but the rebellion faded soon after Bacon’s death in 1676.