Pocahontas, whose real name was Matoaka, was born in 1596 and belonged to the Algonquian Indians. Pocahontas was a nickname that meant "playful" or "mischievous one" which not an exact description of her when reflecting on what she contributed to the beginning of the settlement in Jamestown.[1] The story of Pocahontas was made into a movie, Pocahontas, by Roy Disney in 1995 which made her into someone that little girls all over the world came to know. Pocahontas is much more that the main character portrayed in a Disney film. She deserves her placement along with other important figures in American Colonial history.
Pocahontas
was first acknowledged by the Europeans when she saved Captain John Smith from
a mock execution by her father, Powhatan, who was the chief of her tribe. This
mock execution was meant to welcome Smith and make his settlement subservient to
her father's jurisdiction.[2] Smith was caught by a hunting party. The
relations between the Powhatan Confederacy and the Jamestown colonists was not
ideal and when Captain Smith was released he continued to harass the Powhatans
but still tried to procure corn from them.[3]
Pocahontas
was captured by the colonists in 1613 during the First Anglo-Powhatan War. This was in hopes of improving the relations
between the English and the Native Americans.[4] While she was held at Jamestown, she was
treated very well. Pocahontas was introduced to the Christian faith by
Alexander Whitaker, who was a Calvinist minister. Pocahontas converted to
Christianity and took the name Rebecca. [5]
Pocahontas
met John Rolfe, who purchased tobacco seed in the West Indies and brought it to
the Virginian colony. This became the main crop produced in Jamestown and made
many of the colonists wealthy. Pocahontas and Rolfe fell in love and Rolfe
asked Powhatan for permission to marry his daughter. Powhatan agreed and two of
Pocahontas' brothers were witnesses at the wedding. The marriage between Rolfe
and Pocahontas was beneficial because the fighting between the colonists and
the Native Americans decreased. She made them work together to so that the
colonists could get the supplies that they needed and this also saved the lives
of the Powhatan.[6] Pocahontas also had a son, Thomas, with Rolfe
and he went on to have many children himself.
The
Virginia Company that was in charge of the ownership of the Jamestown colony,
used Pocahontas' story to show that the Native Americans could be converted and
marketed her as a princess. The Virginia Company brought Pocahontas to England.[7] Pocahontas was one of the first Native
Americans to go to England. She dressed in the style of clothing of the English
of the time. The English were very curious about her and the other Native
Americans that accompanied her. She met King James I during her visit here.
Sadly, Pocahontas fell ill while she was in England. It is assumed that she
caught tuberculosis or pneumonia. She died and was buried in St George's Church
in Gravesend, England in 1617.
If Pocahontas was not
the one to stop Captain Smith's execution and to be later captured by the
English, the story of Jamestown would have been different. It is not likely if
it had been anyone else that they would have converted Christianity like she
did as they did not have much luck. Also the situation for the Powhatan
Confederacy could have also been worse since the fighting was reduced. Also she
preached for peace and understanding between the cultures rather than the
anticipated wars that the colonists and the other members of her tribe would
have been involved in.
[1] America's Library "
Pocahontas," accessed July 4, 2013,
http://www.americaslibrary.gov/aa/pocahonta/aa_pocahonta_subj.html
[2] Alan Taylor, American Colonies: The Settling of North
America, (New York, Penguin: 2001), 132.
[3] Alan Taylor, American Colonies: The Settling of North
America, (New York, Penguin: 2001), 132.
[4] Biography.com,
"Pocahontas," accessed July 4, 2013,
http://www.biography.com/people/pocahontas-9443116?page=2
[5] [5] Biography.com,
"Pocahontas," accessed July 4, 2013,
http://www.biography.com/people/pocahontas-9443116?page=2
[6] Susan-Mary Grant, A Concise History of the United States of
America, (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2012), 30-31.
[7] [7] Alan Taylor, American Colonies: The Settling of North
America, (New York, Penguin: 2001), 132.
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