Over time, wealthy plantation owners bought up all of the good farming land in Virginia near the coast. This pushed poor farmers, who had previously been indentured servants further to the west, closer to Native American Indian tribes. After several incidents where Indians killed colonists, people like Nathaniel Bacon began speaking out against the Governor and the House of Burgesses, saying that they were only taking care of rich plantation owners and not protecting the poor western settlers. When the government refused to do anything, Bacon and 500 of his followers took up arms against the Governor of Virginia in 1676. This led to an armed rebellion. Bacon and his men burned the capital in Jamestown to the ground. The King of England had to send the British Army over to stop the rebellion. Bacon died in the skirmish, and the rebellion failed to continue after his death. After Jamestown burned, a new capital of Virginia was established in Williamsburg. After Bacon’s Rebellion, the wealthy plantation owners decided not to use indentured servants anymore and instead, decided to import slaves from Africa using the Middle Passage and Triangular Trade.

In 1632, Maryland was officially chartered to the north of Virginia and in 1663, the land south of Virginia was chartered and became known as the Carolinas.