The Leviathan Poltergeist At Bacon's Rebellion

Abstract

This thesis examines the historical causes of Bacon’s Rebellion by considering Hobbes’ perspective on human nature, as detailed in Chapter XIII of his work Leviathan, (1651). Specifically incorporating his arguments on the natural state of conflict between individuals who are in competition for survival, “To this warre of every man against every man, this also is consequent; that nothing can be Unjust. The notions of Right and Wrong, Justice and Injustice have no place.” There is perhaps no better illustration of such self-serving interests as those exhibited in the seventeenth century at Jamestown, Virginia during the establishment of the first English colony in North America. Actions led by self-interest among competing factions (colonists, Native peoples, indentured servants, and slaves), ultimately led to dire political, social and economic consequences, which concluded with the burning of the settlement in the fall of 1676. Much has been previously examined and written about the rebellion, with much of the focus on the two primary antagonists, Sir William Berkeley and Nathaniel Bacon, with each bearing varying amounts of culpability and justification for their actions. It is important to step back and take a broader view of the historical events to include those individuals who participated in and encouraged the revolt; their voices should be heard and respected as well. For the rebellion was carried out by hundreds whose reasons for doing so went far beyond the petty feuding of two individuals who were driven by their own ambition and greed. Ultimately, Berkeley and Bacon were caught in a storm of despair and survival, forced to embark on a course they could neither alter nor control, destined to be casualties of Hobbes’ state of war.