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Difficulty: MediumEuropean and American Indian Relations

"For having, protected, favored, and emboldened the Indians against his Majesty’s most loyal subjects, never seeking, procuring, or requesting a ruinous war against them... and for having, when the army of English was just upon the track of those Indians... signed their commission and took them into protection... [and] for having monopolized the trade of beaver and furs..."

— Nathaniel Bacon, "Declaration of the People," 1676

The grievances expressed in the excerpt best reflect which of the following developments in the seventeenth-century Chesapeake?

  1. A
    The colonial rebellion against the enforcement of imperial mercantilist policies like the Navigation Acts.
  2. The escalation of conflict between English settlers on the frontier and colonial elites over land and trade policies with Native Americans.Answer
  3. C
    The establishment of praying towns by Puritan authorities to assimilate Native Americans into colonial society.
  4. D
    The unification of all Native American tribes in the region to launch a coordinated effort to expel English colonists.

Answer

The escalation of conflict between English settlers on the frontier and colonial elites over land and trade policies with Native Americans.
The correct answer is correct because Bacon's Rebellion arose from tensions between frontier settlers, who wanted to forcibly remove Native Americans to gain land, and colonial elites like Governor Berkeley, who restricted frontier expansion to protect their lucrative trade relations and maintain diplomatic treaties with local Native American tribes.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the historical context and author of the primary source.
The source is Nathaniel Bacon's "Declaration of the People" from 1676, written during Bacon's Rebellion in Virginia.
Understanding the authorship and year places the document in the late seventeenth-century Chesapeake region.
2
Identify the core complaints and grievances in the text.
The text criticizes the colonial government (Governor Berkeley) for protecting Native Americans, monopolizing the beaver and fur trade, and preventing settlers from pursuing hostile actions against Native Americans.
This reveals that the conflict centers on disagreements between frontier settlers and colonial leaders regarding trade monopolies and defense policies on the frontier.
3
Select the historical development that aligns with these findings.
The conflict represents the growing tension between lower-class frontier settlers who wanted land expansion and elite colonial officials who sought to maintain peace and trade relations with local tribes.
This directly matches the historical circumstances of Bacon's Rebellion and explains why the option concerning frontier conflict is correct.

Key Concept

Bacon's Rebellion and colonial-indigenous relations in the Chesapeake
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Topics

European and American Indian Relations

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