In the 17th century, Virginia experienced two dark rebellions that would have a significant impact on both the future economic and social development of the area. The Indian riots that occurred in 1622 and Bacon's Rebellion that occurred in 1675 both had significant similarities and differences that affected different groups of people. It is not possible to assess with certainty whether one of the revolts had more significance than the other, since the chain reaction of each brought benefits to the colony. In the early 1600s, English traders sailed to the Americas not only in search of a new trade route to the east. , but they used this discovery of land as an opportunity to expand their European empire. They came to settle in the Americas to make new beginnings, establish large plantations, and spread their religion. This large influx of English migrants who settled throughout the territory, creating much new settlements, caused concern among the native Indians. The native Indians believed that the immigrants were overstaying their welcome and endangering their supply of food that was being harvested from the land due to the increasing cultivation of the English. The native Indians conspired with each other and secretly planned what is now known as the Good Friday Massacre against the English. The rebellion was led by the Indian chief Powhatan's brother, Opechancanough, who led the Indians to the English civilizations on March 22, 1622, to entertain and dine with the English before brutally rebelling against them without warning. In total, approximately 3,650 English settlers and an unknown number of Indians were killed. Bacon's Rebellion, on the other hand, has similar circumstances, but unlike the Indian Revolt of 1622 in which the...... middle of paper...... were tremendously significant to the economic and social development of the Virginia. . None was more significant than the other, but instead worked hand in hand to contribute to what became the colony's success in the 17th century. Works Cited Henretta, James A., and David Brody. America: A Concise History, Volume I: To 1877. 4th ed., (Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2010).TARTER, BRENT. "Bacon's Rebellion, the Complaints of the People, and the Political Culture of Seventeenth-Century Virginia." Virginia Magazine of History & Biography 119, no. 1 (January 2011): 1-41. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed December 22, 2013). "Virginia's Early Relations with Native Americans." Library of Congress. Accessed December 22, 2013. http://www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/presentationsandactivities/presentations/timeline/colonial/indians/indians.html