"Let us trace these men in authority and favour to whose hands the dispensation of the country's wealth has been committed... Let us see what sponges have sucked up the public treasure, and how it hath been privately contrived away by unworthy favourites... and whether the Indians be not better treated by us than the King's loyal subjects." — Nathaniel Bacon, "Declaration of the People of Virginia," 1676
Which evidence from the excerpt best supports the claim that Bacon framed the rebellion as a populist movement against corruption?
- A
The complaint that English law had not been formally extended to indentured servants
- B
The accusation that the Crown had imposed new parliamentary taxes without consent
- Ccheck_circle
The reference to 'sponges' that 'sucked up the public treasure' through 'unworthy favourites'
- D
The demand that Anglican vestries be replaced by elected Puritan congregations
Explanation
The "sponges"/"unworthy favourites" language is the populist anti-corruption charge against Berkeley's allies. The excerpt does not address indentured-servant law, vestry reform, or parliamentary taxation (which would anachronistically resemble 1760s grievances).