The Beginning of Progress and Conclusion of Bacon's Rebellion in Virginia in the Years 1675 & 1676
by Thomas Matthew
| The Beginning of Progress and Conclusion of Bacon's Rebellion | ||
 at the College of William & Mary. |
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| Author | Thomas Matthew | |
| Published | : Unpublished manuscript copy | |
| Date | 1705 | |
Thomas Matthew, a 17th-century Potomac River planer-merchant, authored The Beginning of Progress and Conclusion of Bacon's Rebellion in the Years 1675 & 1676, a firsthand manuscript detailing interactions, encounters, and observations that transpired during Bacon's Rebellion.[1]The roots of Bacon's Rebellion trace back to Matthew's strained relationship with Algonquian-speaking Doeg Indians settled in the Potomac River Valley.[2] These tense relations escalated into physical violence as Matthew and several English neighbors harmed and killed Native Americans attempting to make off with livestock on the Matthew farm. [3] This flair up served stirred numerous schisms within the Virginia House of Burgesses, most notably between incumbent Governor Sir William Berkeley, and Nathaniel Bacon, a member of the Governor's Council.[4]Berkely and Bacon's dissent over how to properly bring this controversy to a peaceful conclusion served as the primary driver behind Bacon's Rebellion, a foreshadowing of broader colonial frustration with the British Crown's appointed political officials.
Matthew addressed his manuscript of The Beginning of Progress and Conclusion of Bacon's Rebellion' in the Years 1675 & 1676 to Robert Harley, Queen Anne's Secretary of State. [5] While the author signed his name "T.M.," Matthew claims to reside in Northumberland County and possess a plantation within Virginia's Stafford County. Matthew later represented this property while serving on the House of Burgesses, allowing scholars and historians greater comfort in affirming Matthews as the manuscript's author. [6]
Evidence for Inclusion in Wythe's Library
References
- ↑ Encyclopedia Virginia, s.v. "Bacon's Rebellion (1676-1677)," by James Douglas Rice, accessed April 6, 2015, http:www.encyclopediavirginia.org/bacon_s_rebellion_1676-1677
- ↑ Ibid.
- ↑ Salviati-Marambaud, Yvette. Nathaniel Bacon: A Frontrunner of the Revolution?. Vol. 19. Cycnos, 2008. http://revel.unice.fr/cycnos/?id=1268 (accessed April 6, 2015)
- ↑ Encyclopedia Virginia.
- ↑ Matthew, Thomas. The Beginning of Progress and Conclusion of Bacon's Rebellion in the Years 1675 & 1676. Reprint Manuscript. P. Force, 1835. Original manuscript, 1675. http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/jefferson_papers/tm.html (accessed April 6, 2015).
- ↑ Fiske, John. The Historical Writings of John Fiske: Old Virginia and her Neighbours. Vol. 5. Houghton Mifflin, 1902.
