On our third week of Preservation Virginia‘s home school days, we visited Bacon’s Castle.
Regrettably, it seems like the quality of the locations was dropping off by this point. This day was shared with the Smith’s Fort Plantation site. The best part about this location was the two outdoor activities. One was planting a peanut that The Girl got to take home. The other was a demonstration of natural dyes with a tea towel The Girl got to take home. The tour that was given was probably the least well-done tour of the month. The tour guide was either very new or not well-trained. We try not to judge though, as everyone starts somewhere.
We actually got more information about the location and the outbuildings by chatting with the Preservation Virginia staff outside of Bacon’s Castle. They took joy in talking about the numerous outbuildings and their history.
While the tour was lackluster, it did get me to look into Bacon’s Rebellion, an uprising in colonial Virginia about a century before the Revolutionary War.
Bacon’s Rebellion
Everyone knows about the Revolutionary War. But fewer know there were several smaller uprisings in the history of the colonies, leading up to the revolution. While learning about Bacon’s Rebellion, I was reminded of another uprising I’ve read about. Being a fan of Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander tomes I had learned of the The War of the Regulation in North Carolina. Digging into both conflicts, they both boil down to a lower class being suppressed and penalized for being the lower class, allowing the ruling elite to stay in power uncontested. The lower class had enough and rose up.
The details in both conflicts differ a bit, and scholars and historians reading this have probably already done a spit take, however, it is a lesson from the past to look back to. In today’s political and economic climate, there are growing numbers of people pushed into poverty and ignored by their elected officials. They may indeed feel like the people who followed Nathanial Bacon or Herman Husband. People with their backs against the wall and nothing left to lose. It’s these lessons in history that we need to remember as we move into the future.