Bacon's Rebellion was an event that changed all the dynamics involved in the relationship between the English and Africans. What initially began as a revolt between Nathaniel Bacon and his companions against Governor Berkeley and his reluctance to respond to hostile native attacks, soon developed into a larger opposition. Inadequate working conditions led several indentured servants and Africans to take up arms against the upper classes. The anger that had been building up all these years among the "dregs" of society had begun to reach a fever pitch. They would no longer be subjected to harsh working conditions. All they wanted was proper treatment from the settlers they worked under. Over the next few months, Bacon and his men fought against the British soldiers in a futile effort that led to their swift and decisive defeat. Bacon ended up dying of dysentery, and Governor Berkeley soon regained control. However, the ruling class was not to be taken by surprise again. Fearing that black and white serfs would once again unite, they decided to harden racial lines and enforce several laws that relegated blacks to slavery. By giving whites power over blacks, this created a great divide between them and led to animosity on both sides. No longer would whites and blacks serve together in the lowest sections of society. From now on, however, illegal work will be the only form of work. The cultivating elite shared the same sentiments and sought ways to rally around a workforce that would do their bidding without any incentive to rebel against them. If you look at the status of indentured servants and slaves, you see how badly they were treated... halfway through the paper... opinions about blacks change very quickly. As slaves began arriving in large numbers, societies' notions of race began to change and their disdain for blacks grew. Many things contributed to this, but above all it was the selfish and deceitful labor of the plantations that ushered in the advent of Bacon's post-Rebellion racial division. Edmund S. Morgan in his 1975 book "American Slavery, American Freedom: The Ordeal of Colonial Virginia" said it best when he associated the tragedy of Bacon's rebellion, primarily the ability of the working class to rise up and rebel, with the metamorphosis of the Virginia in a slave society: "But for those with eyes to see, there was an obvious lesson in the rebellion. Resentment toward an alien race could be more powerful than resentment toward a superior class. Virginians did not immediately grasp it It would sink in as time went on..."