Samuel Wiseman's Book of Record: The Official Account of Bacon's Rebellion in Virginia, 1676-1677

(Paperback)

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In 1676, Nathaniel Bacon led a well-known colonial uprising against the authority of King Charles II, in the person of Virginia's governor Sir William Berkeley. Bacon and other colonists identified as their chief concern Berkeley's non-aggressive policies toward local Native Americans. Bacon's revolt dramatically altered relations between Chesapeake colonists and Native Americans, and also induced late Stuart imperialists to crack down on colonial autonomy. Despite the widely recognized significance of Bacon's Rebellion, the most important documents chronicling this event have been scattered in several archives and repositories, impeding students' access. Michael Leroy Oberg has transcribed, edited, and introduced the official record left by Samuel Wiseman, King Charles II's scribe assigned to this uprising's investigationmaking this history widely available for the first time in book form.

Reviews

Michael Oberg's edition of Samuel Wiseman's 'Book of Record' makes available to student and scholar what may well be the most important and wide-ranging document of early American history hitherto unpublished. The crisis of Indian relations, the beginnings of African slavery, the roots of popular politics, even the origins of the American Revolution, all are illuminated here. -- Stephen Saunders Webb, Syracuse University
Michael Oberg has performed an invaluable service for historians by transcribing and editing Samuel Wiseman's never-before-published 'Book of Record.' Oberg's introduction deftly situates the text within the history and historiography of seventeenth-century Virginia. Anyone writing on Bacon's Rebellion will benefit from Oberg's edition. -- Erik R. Seeman, State University of New York, Buffalo
By making accessible Samuel Wiseman's lengthy, contemporary investigation of Bacon's Rebellion, Michael Oberg makes a signal contribution to our understanding of a critical event in early Anglo-American history, whose meaning and legacy has long divided historians. Wiseman's account goes beyond the rebellion and its suppression to shed light on Anglo-Indian relations, pre-existing political and social tensions, subsequent imperial strategies to more closely integrate Virginia within an emerging English Atlantic, and the personal cost of revolt to many ordinary Virginians. Oberg's edition provides ample new material for students and scholars alike to debate the course and significance of Bacon's Rebellion... -- Michael J. Jarvis, University of Rochester
Samuel Wiseman's 'Book of Record' provides unparalleled insight into the conflict known as Bacon's Rebellion, an event that altered the course of American history. Michael Oberg's excellent edition of the text makes this a must read for anyone with a serious interest in the Anglo-American colonies in the seventeenth century, particularly those concerned about relations between Native Americans and European colonists. -- Peter Mancall, University of Southern California
Samuel Wiseman's manuscript 'Book of Record' is essential reading for all who would comprehend Bacon's Rebellion and its consequences. Oberg deserves congratulations for bringing this invaluable source within easy reach of students and scholars alike. -- Warren M. Billings, University of New Orleans; author of Sir William Berkeley and the Forging of Colonial Virginia

By making accessible Samuel Wiseman's lengthy, contemporary investigation of Bacon's Rebellion, Michael Oberg makes a signal contribution to our understanding of a critical event in early Anglo-American history, whose meaning and legacy has long divided historians. Wiseman's account goes beyond the rebellion and its suppression to shed light on Anglo-Indian relations, pre-existing political and social tensions, subsequent imperial strategies to more closely integrate Virginia within an emerging English
Atlantic, and the personal cost of revolt to many ordinary Virginians. Oberg's edition provides ample new material for students and scholars alike to debate the course and significance of Bacon's Rebellion.

Author Bio

Michael L. Oberg is professor of history at the State University of New York, Geneseo.