Final answer:
Bacon burned Jamestown on September 19, 1676, to send a message to Governor Berkeley during Bacon's Rebellion, which reflected deep-seated economic and political tensions in the Virginia Colony.
Step-by-step explanation:
The event being described is part of Bacon's Rebellion, a significant historical occurrence in the early history of the American colonies. Bacon burned Jamestown to the ground on September 19, 1676 to send a message to the Governor, Sir William Berkeley. This burning was neither for rebuilding nor for establishing a new capital, nor specifically to punish the inhabitants directly. The destruction of Jamestown was a drastic measure within the larger conflict between Bacon’s militia and Governor Berkeley, during a period of internal strife in the Virginia Colony known as Bacon's Rebellion, deeply rooted in grievances concerning governance, treatment of commoners, and territorial disputes with Native American tribes.
This rebellion is indicative of the underlying economic and political tensions in the colonies, exacerbated by issues such as the decline of tobacco prices, high taxes, and land disputes. The confrontation that led to the burning of Jamestown escalated due to Berkeley's attempts to quell the rebellion which included expulsion of Bacon from the council, leading to a brief recapture of the capital by Berkeley before immediately losing it again. The conflict and eventual burning of Jamestown were not about creating a new capital—that would happen later when the capital was moved to Williamsburg in 1699, which reflected the colony's change over from a struggling settlement to a more prosperous and socially stratified place.