The Story Behind the Story: Pocahontas

Most of us have heard of Pocahontas, and some of us might have even watched the movie (it's one of my favorites). But I wanted to talk about the story behind the story, the truth about the woman behind the myth.

Her real name was Amonute, although she went by Matoaka, and Pocahontas was her nickname. Pocahontas means "playful one" or "ill-behaved child". She was born sometime around 1595, and was the daughter of Powhatan. Powhatan was the ruler of over 30 Algonquian-speaking tribes who lived in the Tidewater region of Virginia, the area around the future site of Jamestown.

In 1607, when Pocahontas was 11 or 12, John Smith was kidnapped by her brother and brought to meet Chief Powhatan. What happened after is the subject of an often heated debate. Smith claims that his head was placed on two stones and was about to be smashed when Pocahontas placed her head on top of his, saving his life. However some people think that he was lying since his stories about the event differed over time. Other people think that Smith was simply mistaken, and the placing of his head on the rocks was ceremonial. In some surviving notes from Smith, it looks like during his captivity he spent time with the young girl that supposedly saved his life when they taught each other some of the basics of their languages.

Over the next few years Pocahontas became an ambassador of sorts for her tribe to the English. She sometimes brought them food, and in 1608 helped negotiate the release of some Powhatan prisoners. In 1609, when the settlers were dying from a combination of drought, starvation, and disease they made threats to burn down Powhatan villages for food. Chief Powhatan then suggested a deal with Smith, but when the negotiations fell apart the chief reportedly started planning an ambush and Smith's execution. Pocahontas saved his life a second time when she warned him of her father's plans. Later she and her father were told Smith was dead when he was injured and returned to England.

People think that Pocahontas married an Indian named Kocoum in 1610, and stopped socializing with the English afterwards. At least until she was kidnapped during the first Anglo-Powhatan war, after being lured onto an English ship that belonged to Captain Samuel Argall. Captain Argall told Chief Powhatan that he would return Pocahontas if he released English prisoners, returned stolen weapons, and sent the colonists food. The chief only sent half the ransom, leaving Pocahontas in captivity. While she was in captivity she was converted to Christianity by her caretaker, a minister named Alexander Whitaker, then she was baptized and given the name "Rebecca", making her the first Powhatan Indian to be converted that we know of. While there she also learned to speak English, and was taught about the English culture.

It was also during her imprisonment that she met John Rolfe, who was a widower and a tobacco planter. They decided to marry, but the decision wasn't an easy one for Rolfe until Pocahontas was converted, being the strong Christian that he was. Both Chief Powhatan and the Virginia governor, Sir Thomas Dale, consented to the marriage. We don't know exactly what happened to Pocahontas's first husband, but we do know that divorce was permitted in the Powhatan culture. Pocahontas and Rolfe married in the April of 1614, and had a son, whom they named Thomas, in 1615.

In 1616, in order to prove to the Londoners that had financed the Jamestown colony that the company had met their goal of converting Native Americans to Christianity, Sir Thomas Dale, Rolfe, Pocahontas, their son, and a dozen other Powhatan Indians set sail for England. In London "Lady Rebecca Wolfe", as she was referred to there, attended balls and plays. She was even presented to the royal family. She ran into John Smith while she was there, and was reportedly happy to see him alive, even though she chastised him for his treatment of her people and father. The Virginia Company commissioned a portrait of her while she was there, and it is the only image drawn of her in person, the photo is shown above.

When Pocahontas and her family were heading home to Virginia in March 1617, she became ill soon after starting the journey, and was taken ashore to Gravesend, England. She died and was buried there at St. Georges Church March 21. Nobody knows what killed her some think it was tuberculosis, smallpox, or dysentery, some think she was poisoned. According to Rolfe, on her deathbed Pocahontas said "All must die. But 'tis enough my child liveth."