Pocahontas
Pocahontas (c. 1596 – March 1617) was a Native American woman notable for her association with the colonial settlement at Jamestown, Virginia and her travels to England. She was the daughter of the chief Powhatan, the great chief of a network of tributary tribes in the Tsenacommacah, encompassing the Tidewater region of Virginia. We don’t have that many details of her life, but it was certainly not what the Disney film was showing us! She never had a love affair with John Smith and she didn’t save his life during his capture. Pocahontas was captured by hostile colonists in 1613 and encouraged to convert to Christianity—her Christian name became “Rebecca.” She married John Rolfe, and they traveled to London together, attempting to show that she was a “Civilized Savage” in hopes of getting more support and supplies to the Jamestown settlement. Unfortunately, Pocahontas died on the return voyage of an unknown illness at the young age of 21 or 22.
