Culpeper's Rebellion
New Data and Old Problems
An Introduction from the Site Publisher
According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, Culpeper's Rebellion
(1677-79), was an early popular uprising against proprietary rule in the Albemarle section
of northern Carolina, caused by the efforts of the proprietary government to enforce the
British Navigation Acts. These trade laws denied the colonists a free market outside
England and placed heavy duties on commodities.
The colonists' resentment found an object in the deputy governor, Thomas
Miller, who was also customs collector. Led by John Culpeper
and George
Durant, the
rebels imprisoned Miller and other officials, convened a legislature of their own, chose Culpeper
governor, and for two years capably exercised all powers and duties of government. Culpeper
was finally removed by the proprietors and tried for treason and embezzlement but was
never punished.
The Culpeper Rebellion document presented here, written by William S.
Smith, Jr. and used with his permission, was Mr. Smith's Master's thesis at North Carolina
State University.
Web Page Last Revised:
02 Jan 2015
