Pocahontas (, ; born Amonute, known as Matoaka, 1596 – March 1617) was a
Native American woman, belonging to the
Powhatan people
The Powhatan people (; also spelled Powatan) may refer to any of the indigenous Algonquian people that are traditionally from eastern Virginia. All of the Powhatan groups descend from the Powhatan Confederacy. In some instances, The Powhatan ...
, notable for her association with the colonial settlement at
Jamestown, Virginia
The Jamestown settlement in the Colony of Virginia was the first permanent English settlement in the Americas. It was located on the northeast bank of the James (Powhatan) River about southwest of the center of modern Williamsburg. It was ...
. She was the daughter of
Powhatan
The Powhatan people (; also spelled Powatan) may refer to any of the indigenous Algonquian people that are traditionally from eastern Virginia. All of the Powhatan groups descend from the Powhatan Confederacy. In some instances, The Powhatan ...
, the paramount chief
of a network of tributary tribes in the
Tsenacommacah
Tsenacommacah (pronounced in English; "densely inhabited land"; also written Tscenocomoco, Tsenacomoco, Tenakomakah, Attanoughkomouck, and Attan-Akamik) is the name given by the Powhatan people to their native homeland, the area encompassing all ...
, encompassing the
Tidewater region
Tidewater refers to the north Atlantic coastal plain region of the United States of America.
Definition
Culturally, the Tidewater region usually includes the low-lying plains of southeast Virginia, northeastern North Carolina, southern Maryl ...
of
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
.
Pocahontas was captured and held for ransom by
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
colonists during hostilities in 1613. During her captivity, she was encouraged to
convert to Christianity
Conversion to Christianity is the religious conversion of a previously non-Christian person to Christianity. Different Christian denominations may perform various different kinds of rituals or ceremonies initiation into their community of believe ...
and was
baptized
Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost ...
under the name Rebecca. She married tobacco planter
John Rolfe
John Rolfe (1585 – March 1622) was one of the early English settlers of North America. He is credited with the first successful cultivation of tobacco as an export crop in the Colony of Virginia in 1611.
Biography
John Rolfe is believed ...
in April 1614 at the age of about 17 or 18, and she bore their son
Thomas Rolfe
Thomas Rolfe (January 30, 1615 – ) was the only child of Matoaka (Pocahontas) and her English husband, John Rolfe. His maternal grandfather was Chief Wahunsenacawh (or Powhatan), the leader of the Powhatan tribe in Virginia.
Early life
Thomas ...
in January 1615.
In 1616, the Rolfes travelled to London where Pocahontas was presented to English society as an example of the
"civilized savage" in hopes of stimulating investment in the Jamestown settlement. On this trip she may have met
Squanto
Tisquantum (; 1585 (±10 years?) – late November 1622 O.S.), more commonly known as Squanto Sam (), was a member of the Patuxet tribe best known for being an early liaison between the Native American population in Southern New England and t ...
, a
"Patuxet Native American" from New England. She became something of a celebrity, was elegantly fêted, and attended a
masque
The masque was a form of festive courtly entertainment that flourished in 16th- and early 17th-century Europe, though it was developed earlier in Italy, in forms including the intermedio (a public version of the masque was the pageant). A masque ...
at
Whitehall Palace
The Palace of Whitehall (also spelt White Hall) at Westminster was the main residence of the English monarchs from 1530 until 1698, when most of its structures, except notably Inigo Jones's Banqueting House of 1622, were destroyed by fire. Hen ...
. In 1617, the Rolfes set sail for Virginia; Pocahontas died at
Gravesend
Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, situated 21 miles (35 km) east-southeast of Charing Cross (central London) on the Bank (geography), south bank of the River Thames and opposite Tilbury in Essex. Located in the diocese of Ro ...
of unknown causes, aged 20 or 21. She was buried in
St George's Church, Gravesend, in England; her grave's exact location is unknown because the church was rebuilt after being destroyed by a fire.
Numerous places, landmarks, and products in the United States have been named after Pocahontas. Her story has been romanticized over the years, many aspects of which are fictional. Many of the stories told about her by
John Smith have been contested by her documented descendants.
[Price, pp. 243–244] She is a subject of art, literature, and film. Many famous people have claimed to be among her descendants through her son, including members of the
First Families of Virginia
First Families of Virginia (FFV) were those families in Colonial Virginia who were socially prominent and wealthy, but not necessarily the earliest settlers. They descended from English colonists who primarily settled at Jamestown, Williamsburg ...
, First Lady
Edith Wilson
Edith Wilson ( Bolling, formerly Galt; October 15, 1872 – December 28, 1961) was the first lady of the United States from 1915 to 1921 and the second wife of President Woodrow Wilson. She married the widower Wilson in December 1915, during hi ...
, American Western actor
Glenn Strange
George Glenn Strange (August 16, 1899 – September 20, 1973) was an American actor who mostly appeared in Western films and was billed as Glenn Strange. He is best remembered for playing Frankenstein's monster in three Universal films d ...
, and astronomer
Percival Lowell
Percival Lowell (; March 13, 1855 – November 12, 1916) was an American businessman, author, mathematician, and astronomer who fueled speculation that there were canals on Mars, and furthered theories of a ninth planet within the Solar System. ...
.
Early life
Pocahontas's birth year is unknown, but some historians estimate it to have been around 1596.
In ''A True Relation of Virginia'' (1608), Smith described meeting Pocahontas in the spring of 1608 when she was "a child of ten years old."
[Smith]
''True Relation''
, p. 93. In a 1616 letter, he again described her as she was in 1608, but this time as "a child of twelve or thirteen years of age."
[Smith.]
Pocahontas was the daughter of
Chief Powhatan
Powhatan ( c. 1547 – c. 1618), whose proper name was Wahunsenacawh (alternately spelled Wahunsenacah, Wahunsunacock or Wahunsonacock), was the leader of the Powhatan, an alliance of Algonquian-speaking Native Americans living in Tsenacommaca ...
, paramount chief of
Tsenacommacah
Tsenacommacah (pronounced in English; "densely inhabited land"; also written Tscenocomoco, Tsenacomoco, Tenakomakah, Attanoughkomouck, and Attan-Akamik) is the name given by the Powhatan people to their native homeland, the area encompassing all ...
, an alliance of about 30
Algonquian-speaking groups and petty chiefdoms in
Tidewater, Virginia. Her mother's name and origin are unknown, but she was probably of lowly status.
Henry Spelman of Jamestown
Henry Spelman (1595–1623) was an English adventurer, soldier, and author, the son of Erasmus Spelman and nephew to Sir Henry Spelman of Congham (1562–1641). The younger Henry Spelman was born in 1595 and left his home in Norfolk, Engla ...
had lived among the Powhatan as an interpreter, and he noted that, when one of the paramount chief's many wives gave birth, she was returned to her place of origin and supported there by the paramount chief until she found another husband. However, little is known about Pocahontas's mother, and it has been theorized that she died in childbirth. The Mattaponi Reservation people are descendants of the Powhatans, and their oral tradition claims that Pocahontas's mother was the first wife of Powhatan and that Pocahontas was named after her.
Names
According to colonist
William Strachey
William Strachey (4 April 1572 – buried 21 June 1621) was an English writer whose works are among the primary sources for the early history of the English colonisation of North America. He is best remembered today as the eye-witness reporter of ...
, "Pocahontas" was a childhood nickname meaning "little wanton." Some interpret the meaning as "playful one."
[Rountree, Helen C. (November 3, 2010)]
"Cooking in Early Virginia Indian Society"
Encyclopedia Virginia
. Retrieved February 27, 2011. In his account, Strachey describes her as a child visiting the fort at Jamestown and playing with the young boys; she would "get the boys forth with her into the marketplace and make them wheel, falling on their hands, turning up their heels upwards, whom she would follow and wheel so herself, naked as she was, all the fort over."
[Strachey, ''Historie'', p. 65]
Historian
William Stith
William Stith (1707 – September 19, 1755) was an early American historian and an Anglican minister. He was the third president of the College of William & Mary (1752–1755), where Stith Hall was named for him.
Early life
Stith was th ...
claimed that "her real name, it seems, was originally Matoax, which the Native Americans carefully concealed from the English and changed it to Pocahontas, out of a superstitious fear, lest they, by the knowledge of her true name, should be enabled to do her some hurt."
According to anthropologist
Helen C. Rountree, Pocahontas revealed her secret name to the colonists "only after she had taken another religious—baptismal—name" of Rebecca.
Title and status
Pocahontas is frequently viewed as a princess in popular culture. In 1841, William Watson Waldron of
Trinity College, Dublin
, name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin
, motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin)
, motto_lang = la
, motto_English = It will last i ...
published ''Pocahontas, American Princess: and Other Poems'', calling her "the beloved and only surviving daughter of the king." She was her father's "delight and darling", according to colonist Captain
Ralph Hamor
Captain Ralph Hamor (1589-1626) was one of the original colonists to settle in Virginia, and author of ''A True Discourse of the Present State of Virginia'', which he wrote upon returning to London in 1615.
Spellings of his first and last name v ...
but she was not in line to inherit a position as a ''
weroance
Weroance is an Algonquian word meaning leader or commander among the Powhatan confederacy of the Virginia coast and Chesapeake Bay region. Weroances were under a paramount chief called Powhatan. The Powhatan Confederacy, encountered by the coloni ...
'', sub-chief, or ''mamanatowick'' (paramount chief). Instead, Powhatan's brothers and sisters and his sisters' children all stood in line to succeed him.
[Rountree, Helen C. (January 25, 2011)]
"Pocahontas (d. 1617)"
Encyclopedia Virginia
. Retrieved February 24, 2011. In his ''A Map of Virginia'', John Smith explained how matrilineal inheritance worked among the Powhatans:
Interactions with the colonists
John Smith
Pocahontas is most famously linked to colonist
Captain John Smith
John Smith (baptized 6 January 1580 – 21 June 1631) was an English soldier, explorer, colonial governor, Admiral of New England, and author. He played an important role in the establishment of the colony at Jamestown, Virginia, the first pe ...
, who arrived in Virginia with 100 other settlers in April 1607 where they built a fort on a marshy peninsula on the
James River
The James River is a river in the U.S. state of Virginia that begins in the Appalachian Mountains and flows U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed April 1, 2011 to Chesapea ...
. The colonists had numerous encounters over the next several months with the people of Tsenacommacah—some of them friendly, some hostile. A hunting party led by Powhatan's close relative
Opechancanough
Opechancanough (; 1554–1646)Rountree, Helen C. Pocahontas, Powhatan, ''Opechancanough: Three Indian Lives Changed by Jamestown.'' University of Virginia Press: Charlottesville, 2005 was paramount chief of the Tsenacommacah, Powhatan Confed ...
then captured Smith in December 1607 while he was exploring on the
Chickahominy River
The Chickahominy is an U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 1, 2011 river in the eastern portion of the U.S. state of Virginia. The river, which serves as the eastern bo ...
and brought him to Powhatan's capital at
Werowocomoco
Werowocomoco was a village that served as the headquarters of Chief Powhatan, a Virginia Algonquian political and spiritual leader when the English founded Jamestown in 1607. The name ''Werowocomoco'' comes from the Powhatan ''werowans'' (''wer ...
. In his 1608 account, Smith describes a great feast followed by a long talk with Powhatan. He does not mention Pocahontas in relation to his capture, and claims that they first met some months later. Margaret Huber suggests that Powhatan was attempting to bring Smith and the other colonists under his own authority. He offered Smith rule of the town of Capahosic, which was close to his capital at Werowocomoco, as he hoped to keep Smith and his men "nearby and better under control."
In 1616, Smith wrote a letter to Queen
Anne of Denmark
Anne of Denmark (; 12 December 1574 – 2 March 1619) was the wife of King James VI and I; as such, she was Queen of Scotland
The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the constitutional fo ...
in anticipation of Pocahontas's visit to England. In this new account, his capture included the threat of his own death: "at the minute of my execution, she hazarded the beating out of her own brains to save mine; and not only that but so prevailed with her father, that I was safely conducted to Jamestown."
He expanded on this in his 1624 ', published long after the death of Pocahontas. He explained that he was captured and taken to the paramount chief where "two great stones were brought before Powhatan: then as many as could layd hands on him
mith dragged him to them, and thereon laid his head, and being ready with their clubs, to beate out his braines, Pocahontas the Kings dearest daughter, when no intreaty could prevaile, got his head in her armes, and laid her owne upon his to save him from death."
Karen Ordahl Kupperman
Karen Ordahl Kupperman (born 23 April 1939) is an American historian who specializes in colonial history in the Atlantic world of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
Biography
Karen Ordahl Kupperman was born in Devils Lake, North Dakota on ...
suggests that Smith used such details to embroider his first account, thus producing a more dramatic second account of his encounter with Pocahontas as a heroine worthy of Queen Anne's audience. She argues that its later revision and publication was Smith's attempt to raise his own stock and reputation, as he had fallen from favor with the
London Company
The London Company, officially known as the Virginia Company of London, was a division of the Virginia Company with responsibility for colonizing the east coast of North America between latitudes 34° and 41° N.
History Origins
The territor ...
which had funded the Jamestown enterprise. Anthropologist
Frederic W. Gleach suggests that Smith's second account was substantially accurate but represents his misunderstanding of a three-stage ritual intended to adopt him into the confederacy,
[Karen Ordahl Kupperman, ''Indians and English''](_blank)
pp. 114, 174. but not all writers are convinced, some suggesting the absence of certain corroborating evidence.
[Price, pp. 243–244]
Early histories did establish that Pocahontas befriended Smith and the Jamestown colony. She often went to the settlement and played games with the boys there.
When the colonists were starving, "every once in four or five days, Pocahontas with her attendants brought him
mithso much provision that saved many of their lives that else for all this had starved with hunger." As the colonists expanded their settlement, the Powhatans felt that their lands were threatened, and conflicts arose again. In late 1609, an injury from a gunpowder explosion forced Smith to return to England for medical care, and the colonists told the Powhatans that he was dead. Pocahontas believed that account and stopped visiting Jamestown, but she learned that he was living in England when she traveled there with her husband John Rolfe.
Capture
Pocahontas's capture occurred in the context of the
First Anglo-Powhatan War
The AngloPowhatan Wars were three wars fought between settlers of the Virginia Colony and Algonquin Indians of the Powhatan Confederacy in the early seventeenth century. The first war started in 1609 and ended in a peace settlement in 1614. The ...
, a conflict between the Jamestown settlers and the Natives which began late in the summer of 1609. In the first years of war, the colonists took control of the
James River
The James River is a river in the U.S. state of Virginia that begins in the Appalachian Mountains and flows U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed April 1, 2011 to Chesapea ...
, both at its mouth and at the falls. Captain
Samuel Argall
Sir Samuel Argall (1572 or 1580 – 24 January 1626) was an English adventurer and naval officer.
As a sea captain, in 1609, Argall was the first to determine a shorter northern route from England across the Atlantic Ocean to the new English c ...
, in the meantime, pursued contacts with Native tribes in the northern portion of Powhatan's paramount chiefdom. The
Patawomeck
Patawomeck is a Native American tribe (Native American), tribe based in Stafford County, Virginia, along the Potomac River. ''Patawomeck'' is another spelling of Potomac.
The Patawomeck Indian Tribe of Virginia is a state-recognized tribe in Vi ...
s lived on the
Potomac River
The Potomac River () drains the Mid-Atlantic United States, flowing from the Potomac Highlands into Chesapeake Bay. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map. Retrieved Augus ...
and were not always loyal to Powhatan, and living with them was a young English interpreter named
Henry Spelman
Sir Henry Spelman (c. 1562 – October 1641) was an English antiquary, noted for his detailed collections of medieval records, in particular of church councils.
Life
Spelman was born in Congham, Norfolk, the eldest son of Henry Spelman (d. 1581 ...
. In March 1613, Argall learned that Pocahontas was visiting the Patawomeck village of Passapatanzy and living under the protection of the
Weroance
Weroance is an Algonquian word meaning leader or commander among the Powhatan confederacy of the Virginia coast and Chesapeake Bay region. Weroances were under a paramount chief called Powhatan. The Powhatan Confederacy, encountered by the coloni ...
Iopassus (also known as Japazaws).
[Rountree, Helen C. (December 8, 2010)]
"Pocahontas (d. 1617)"
Encyclopedia Virginia
. Retrieved February 18, 2011.
With Spelman's help translating, Argall pressured Iopassus to assist in Pocahontas's capture by promising an alliance with the colonists against the Powhatans.
Iopassus, with the help of his wives, tricked Pocahontas into boarding Argall's ship and held her for ransom, demanding the release of colonial prisoners held by her father and the return of various stolen weapons and tools. Powhatan returned the prisoners but failed to satisfy the colonists with the number of weapons and tools that he returned. A long standoff ensued, during which the colonists kept Pocahontas captive.
During the year-long wait, she was held at
Henricus
The "Citie of Henricus"—also known as Henricopolis, Henrico Town or Henrico—was a settlement in Virginia founded by Sir Thomas Dale in 1611 as an alternative to the swampy and dangerous area around the original English settlement at Jamestow ...
in
Chesterfield County, Virginia
Chesterfield County is located just south of Richmond, Virginia, Richmond in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia. The county's borders are primarily defined by the James River to the north and the Appomattox River to the sout ...
. Little is known about her life there, although colonist Ralph Hamor wrote that she received "extraordinary courteous usage."
[Hamor, ''True Discourse'', p. 804.] Linwood "Little Bear" Custalow refers to an oral tradition which claims that Pocahontas was raped; Helen Rountree counters that "other historians have disputed that such oral tradition survived and instead argue that any mistreatment of Pocahontas would have gone against the interests of the English in their negotiations with Powhatan. A truce had been called, the Indians still far outnumbered the English, and the colonists feared retaliation." At this time, Henricus minister
Alexander Whitaker
Alexander Whitaker (1585–1616) was an English Anglican theologian who settled in North America in Virginia Colony in 1611 and established two churches near the Jamestown colony. He was also known as "The Apostle of Virginia" by contemporaries. ...
taught Pocahontas about Christianity and helped her improve her English. Upon her baptism, she took the Christian name "Rebecca."
In March 1614, the stand-off escalated to a violent confrontation between hundreds of colonists and Powhatan men on the
Pamunkey River
The Pamunkey River is a tributary of the York River, about long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 in eastern Virginia in the United States. Via the York Rive ...
, and the colonists encountered a group of senior Native leaders at Powhatan's capital of Matchcot. The colonists allowed Pocahontas to talk to her tribe when Powhatan arrived, and she reportedly rebuked him for valuing her "less than old swords, pieces, or axes." She said that she preferred to live with the colonists "who loved her."
Possible first marriage
Mattaponi tradition holds that Pocahontas's first husband was Kocoum, brother of the Patawomeck ''weroance'' Japazaws, and that Kocoum was killed by the colonists after his wife's capture in 1613. Today's Patawomecks believe that Pocahontas and Kocoum had a daughter named Ka-Okee who was raised by the Patawomecks after her father's death and her mother's abduction.
Kocoum's identity, location, and very existence have been widely debated among scholars for centuries; the only mention of a "Kocoum" in any English document is a brief statement written about 1616 by
William Strachey
William Strachey (4 April 1572 – buried 21 June 1621) was an English writer whose works are among the primary sources for the early history of the English colonisation of North America. He is best remembered today as the eye-witness reporter of ...
in England that Pocahontas had been living married to a "private captaine called Kocoum" for two years. She married John Rolfe in 1614, and no other records even hint at any previous husband, so some have suggested that Strachey was mistakenly referring to Rolfe himself, with the reference being later misunderstood as one of Powhatan's officers.
Marriage to John Rolfe
During her stay in
Henricus
The "Citie of Henricus"—also known as Henricopolis, Henrico Town or Henrico—was a settlement in Virginia founded by Sir Thomas Dale in 1611 as an alternative to the swampy and dangerous area around the original English settlement at Jamestow ...
, Pocahontas met
John Rolfe
John Rolfe (1585 – March 1622) was one of the early English settlers of North America. He is credited with the first successful cultivation of tobacco as an export crop in the Colony of Virginia in 1611.
Biography
John Rolfe is believed ...
. Rolfe's English-born wife Sarah Hacker and child Bermuda had died on the way to Virginia after the wreck of the ship ''Sea Venture'' on the Summer Isles, also known as
Bermuda
)
, anthem = "God Save the King"
, song_type = National song
, song = " Hail to Bermuda"
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, mapsize2 =
, map_caption2 =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name =
, e ...
. Rolfe established the Virginia plantation
Varina Farms
Varina Farms, also known as Varina Plantation or Varina Farms Plantation or Varina on the James, is a plantations in the American South, plantation established in the 17th century on the James River (Virginia), James River about south of Richmo ...
where he cultivated a new strain of tobacco. He was a pious man and agonized over the potential moral repercussions of marrying a heathen, though in fact Pocahontas had accepted the Christian faith and taken the baptismal name Rebecca. In a long letter to the governor requesting permission to wed her, he expressed his love for Pocahontas and his belief that he would be saving her soul. He wrote that he was
The couple were married on April 5, 1614, by chaplain
Richard Buck
Richard Thomas Buck (born 14 November 1986 in Grimsby, Lincolnshire) is a former British sprinter who specialised in the 400 metres event. He is from York, and trains in Loughborough. Buck's current club is City of York A.C. (formerly Nestlé ...
, probably at Jamestown. For two years, they lived at Varina Farms across the
James River
The James River is a river in the U.S. state of Virginia that begins in the Appalachian Mountains and flows U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed April 1, 2011 to Chesapea ...
from Henricus. Their son
Thomas
Thomas may refer to:
People
* List of people with given name Thomas
* Thomas (name)
* Thomas (surname)
* Saint Thomas (disambiguation)
* Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church
* Thomas the Ap ...
was born in January 1615.
Their marriage created a climate of peace between the Jamestown colonists and Powhatan's tribes; it endured for eight years as the "Peace of Pocahontas".
In 1615, Ralph Hamor wrote, "Since the wedding we have had friendly commerce and trade not only with Powhatan but also with his subjects round about us." The marriage was controversial in the British court at the time because "a commoner" had "the audacity" to marry a "princess."
England
One goal of the Virginia Company of London was to convert Native Americans to Christianity, and the company saw an opportunity to promote further investment with the conversion of Pocahontas and her marriage to Rolfe, all of which also helped end the
First Anglo-Powhatan War
The AngloPowhatan Wars were three wars fought between settlers of the Virginia Colony and Algonquin Indians of the Powhatan Confederacy in the early seventeenth century. The first war started in 1609 and ended in a peace settlement in 1614. The ...
. The company decided to bring Pocahontas to England as a symbol of the tamed New World "savage" and the success of the Virginia colony, and the Rolfes arrived at the port of
Plymouth
Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west.
Plymouth ...
on June 12, 1616. They journeyed to London by coach, accompanied by 11 other Powhatans including a holy man named
Tomocomo
Uttamatomakkin (known as Tomocomo for short) was a Powhatan holy man who accompanied Pocahontas when she was taken to London in 1616.Dale, Thomas. Letter to Sir Ralph Winwood. 3 June 1616. Repr. in Jamestown Narratives, ed. Edward Wright Haile. Cha ...
. John Smith was living in London at the time while Pocahontas was in Plymouth, and she learned that he was still alive.
[Smith, ''General History''. p. 261.] Smith did not meet Pocahontas, but he wrote to Queen
Anne of Denmark
Anne of Denmark (; 12 December 1574 – 2 March 1619) was the wife of King James VI and I; as such, she was Queen of Scotland
The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the constitutional fo ...
, the wife of
King James, urging that Pocahontas be treated with respect as a royal visitor. He suggested that, if she were treated badly, her "present love to us and Christianity might turn to... scorn and fury", and England might lose the chance to "rightly have a Kingdom by her means."
Pocahontas was entertained at various social gatherings. On January 5, 1617, she and Tomocomo were brought before the king at the old
Banqueting House
In English architecture, mainly from the Tudor period onwards, a banqueting house is a separate pavilion-like building reached through the gardens from the main residence, whose use is purely for entertaining, especially eating. Or it may be buil ...
in the
Palace of Whitehall
The Palace of Whitehall (also spelt White Hall) at Westminster was the main residence of the English monarchs from 1530 until 1698, when most of its structures, except notably Inigo Jones's Banqueting House of 1622, were destroyed by fire. H ...
at a performance of
Ben Jonson
Benjamin "Ben" Jonson (c. 11 June 1572 – c. 16 August 1637) was an English playwright and poet. Jonson's artistry exerted a lasting influence upon English poetry and stage comedy. He popularised the comedy of humours; he is best known for t ...
's masque ''
The Vision of Delight
''The Vision of Delight'' was a Jacobean era masque written by Ben Jonson. It was most likely performed on Twelfth Night, 6 January 1617 in the Banqueting House at Whitehall Palace, and repeated on 19 January that year.
''The Vision of Delight ...
''. According to Smith, King James was so unprepossessing that neither Pocahontas nor Tomocomo realized whom they had met until it was explained to them afterward.
Pocahontas was not a princess in Powhatan culture, but the Virginia Company presented her as one to the English public because she was the daughter of an important chief. The inscription on a 1616 engraving of Pocahontas reads
"MATOAKA ALS REBECCA FILIA POTENTISS : PRINC : POWHATANI IMP:VIRGINIÆ", meaning "Matoaka, alias Rebecca, daughter of the most powerful prince of the Powhatan Empire of Virginia." Many English at this time recognized Powhatan as the ruler of an empire, and presumably accorded to his daughter what they considered appropriate status. Smith's letter to Queen Anne refers to "Powhatan their chief King."
Cleric and travel writer
Samuel Purchas
Samuel Purchas ( – 1626) was an England, English Anglican cleric who published several volumes of reports by travellers to foreign countries.
Career
Purchas was born at Thaxted, Essex, England, Essex son of an English yeoman. He graduated fr ...
recalled meeting Pocahontas in London, noting that she impressed those whom she met because she "carried her selfe as the daughter of a king."
[Purchas, ''Hakluytus Posthumus''. Vol. 19 p. 118.] When he met her again in London, Smith referred to her deferentially as a "King's daughter."
Pocahontas was apparently treated well in London. At the masque, her seats were described as "well placed" and, according to Purchas, London's Bishop
John King "entertained her with festival state and pomp beyond what I have seen in his greate hospitalitie afforded to other ladies."
Not all the English were so impressed, however. Helen C. Rountree claims that there is no contemporaneous evidence to suggest that Pocahontas was regarded in England "as anything like royalty," despite the writings of John Smith. Rather, she was considered to be something of a curiosity, according to Rountree, who suggests that she was merely "the Virginian woman" to most Englishmen.
Pocahontas and Rolfe lived in the suburb of
Brentford
Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross.
Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings whi ...
,
Middlesex
Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...
for some time, as well as at Rolfe's family home at
Heacham
Heacham is a large village in West Norfolk, England, overlooking The Wash. It lies between King's Lynn, to the south, and Hunstanton, about to the north. It has been a seaside resort for over a century and a half.
History
There is evidence o ...
,
Norfolk
Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...
. In early 1617, Smith met the couple at a social gathering and wrote that, when Pocahontas saw him, "without any words, she turned about, obscured her face, as not seeming well contented," and was left alone for two or three hours. Later, they spoke more; Smith's record of what she said to him is fragmentary and enigmatic. She reminded him of the "courtesies she had done," saying, "you did promise Powhatan what was yours would be his, and he the like to you." She then discomfited him by calling him "father," explaining that Smith had called Powhatan "father" when he was a stranger in Virginia, "and by the same reason so must I do you". Smith did not accept this form of address because, he wrote, Pocahontas outranked him as "a King's daughter." Pocahontas then said, "with a well-set countenance":
Finally, Pocahontas told Smith that she and her tribe had thought him dead, but her father had told Tomocomo to seek him "because your countrymen will lie much."
Death
In March 1617, Rolfe and Pocahontas boarded a ship to return to Virginia, but they had sailed only as far as
Gravesend
Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, situated 21 miles (35 km) east-southeast of Charing Cross (central London) on the Bank (geography), south bank of the River Thames and opposite Tilbury in Essex. Located in the diocese of Ro ...
on the river Thames when Pocahontas became gravely ill. She was taken ashore, where she died from unknown causes, aged approximately 21 and "much lamented." According to Rolfe, she declared that "all must die"; for her, it was enough that her child lived. Speculated causes of her death include
pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...
,
smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...
,
tuberculosis
Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...
,
hemorrhagic dysentery
Bleeding, hemorrhage, haemorrhage or blood loss, is blood escaping from the circulatory system from damaged blood vessels. Bleeding can occur Internal bleeding, internally, or externally either through a natural opening such as the Mouth (human) ...
("the
Bloody flux") and poisoning.
Pocahontas's funeral took place on March 21, 1617, in the parish of
St George's Church, Gravesend
St George's Church, Gravesend, is a Grade II*-listed Anglican church dedicated to Saint George the patriarch of England, which is situated near the foot of Gravesend High Street in the Borough of Gravesham. It serves as Gravesend's parish ch ...
. Her grave is thought to be underneath the church's
chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse.
Ove ...
, though that church was destroyed in a fire in 1727 and its exact site is unknown. She is commemorated by a life-sized bronze statue in St. George's Churchyard, by the American sculptor
William Ordway Partridge
William Ordway Partridge (April 11, 1861 – May 22, 1930) was an American sculptor, teacher and author. Among his best-known works are the Shakespeare Monument in Chicago, the equestrian statue of General Grant in Brooklyn, the ''Pietà'' at S ...
.
Legacy
Pocahontas and
John Rolfe
John Rolfe (1585 – March 1622) was one of the early English settlers of North America. He is credited with the first successful cultivation of tobacco as an export crop in the Colony of Virginia in 1611.
Biography
John Rolfe is believed ...
had a son,
Thomas Rolfe
Thomas Rolfe (January 30, 1615 – ) was the only child of Matoaka (Pocahontas) and her English husband, John Rolfe. His maternal grandfather was Chief Wahunsenacawh (or Powhatan), the leader of the Powhatan tribe in Virginia.
Early life
Thomas ...
, born in January 1615.
Thomas Rolfe
Thomas Rolfe (January 30, 1615 – ) was the only child of Matoaka (Pocahontas) and her English husband, John Rolfe. His maternal grandfather was Chief Wahunsenacawh (or Powhatan), the leader of the Powhatan tribe in Virginia.
Early life
Thomas ...
and his wife, Jane Poythress, had a daughter,
Jane Rolfe
Jane Rolfe (October 10, 1650 – January 26–27, 1676) was the granddaughter of Pocahontas and English colonist John Rolfe, (credited with introducing a strain of tobacco for export by the struggling Virginia Colony).
Her husband was Colonel Robe ...
, who was born in Varina,
Henrico County, Virginia
Henrico County , officially the County of Henrico, is located in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 334,389 making it the fifth-most populous county in Virginia. Henrico County is incl ...
, on October 10, 1650.
[John Frederick Dorman, ''Adventurers of Purse and Person'', 4th ed., Vol. 3, pp. 23–36.] Jane Rolfe married
Robert Bolling
Colonel Robert Bolling (December 26, 1646July 17, 1709), sometimes called Robert Bolling, Sr., after he gave a son his own name, was a wealthy early American settler planter and merchant.
Ancestry and early life
Robert Bolling was the son o ...
of
Prince George County
Prince George County is a county (United States), county located in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 43,010. Its county seat is Prince George, Virginia ...
,
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
. Their son,
John Bolling
Major John Bolling (January 27, 1676April 20, 1729) was a colonist, farmer and politician in the Virginia Colony. He was the great-grandchild of Pocahontas and her husband, John Rolfe.
Early life and marriage
John Bolling was the son of Colo ...
, was born in 1676.
John Bolling married Mary Kennon
and had six surviving children, each of whom married and had surviving children.
In 1907, Pocahontas was the first Native American to be honored on a US stamp. She was a member of the inaugural class of
Virginia Women in History Virginia Women in History was an annual program sponsored by the Library of Virginia that honored Virginia women, living and dead, for their contributions to their community, region, state, and nation. The program began in 2000 under the aegis of th ...
in 2000. In July 2015, the
Pamunkey
The Pamunkey Indian Tribe is one of 11 Virginia Indian tribal governments recognized by the Commonwealth of Virginia, and the state's first federally recognized tribe, receiving its status in January 2016. Six other Virginia tribal governments, t ...
Native tribe became the first
federally recognized tribe
This is a list of federally recognized tribes in the contiguous United States of America. There are also federally recognized Alaska Native tribes. , 574 Indian tribes were legally recognized by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) of the United ...
in the state of Virginia; they are descendants of the
Powhatan
The Powhatan people (; also spelled Powatan) may refer to any of the indigenous Algonquian people that are traditionally from eastern Virginia. All of the Powhatan groups descend from the Powhatan Confederacy. In some instances, The Powhatan ...
chiefdom of which Pocahontas was a member.
File:00OPocahontas.jpg, Pocahontas commemorative postage stamp of 1907
File:Edith Wilson.jpg, First Lady Edith Wilson
Edith Wilson ( Bolling, formerly Galt; October 15, 1872 – December 28, 1961) was the first lady of the United States from 1915 to 1921 and the second wife of President Woodrow Wilson. She married the widower Wilson in December 1915, during hi ...
, a descendant of Pocahontas
File:Jeanne Shaheen, official Senate photo portrait, 2009.jpg, Senator Jeanne Shaheen
Cynthia Jeanne Shaheen ( ; née Bowers, born January 28, 1947) is an American retired educator and politician serving as the senior United States senator from New Hampshire since 2009. A member of the Democratic Party, Shaheen served as the 78th ...
, a descendant of Pocahontas
Cultural representations
![Pocahontas 1883](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/88/Pocahontas_1883.jpg)
After her death, increasingly fanciful and romanticized representations were produced about Pocahontas, in which she and Smith are frequently portrayed as romantically involved. Contemporaneous sources substantiate claims of their friendship but not romance.
The first claim of their romantic involvement was in John Davis' ''Travels in the United States of America'' (1803).
As frequently depicted in advertisements and media, Pocahontas often exemplifies the Pocahontas Perplex. Introduced by historian Rayna Green, "The Pocahontas Perplex" is an exotic unattainable queen image of a Native woman and a self-sacrificial and attainable princess image. Also, Pewewardy supports Green's idea of the Native princess with Pocahontas being presented as more human than her Native peers.
"In Pocahontas, Indian
iccharacters such as Grandmother Willow, Meeko, and Flit belong to the Disney tradition of familiar animals. In so doing, they are rendered as cartoons, certainly less realistic than Pocahontas and John Smith; In this way, Indians remain marginal and invisible, thereby ironically being 'strangers in their own lands' - the shadow Indians. They fight desperately on the silver screen in defense of their asserted rights, but die trying to kill the white hero or save the Indian woman.’"
Pocahontas Perplex
Pocahontas is frequently depicted in popular culture in a manner that exemplifies the Pocahontas Perplex. Green discusses the similar fetishization that Native and Asian women experience. Both groups are viewed as "exotic" and "submissive," which aids their dehumanization.
Also, Green touches on how Native women had to either "keep their exotic distance or die," which is associated with the widespread image of Pocahontas trying to sacrifice her life for John Smith.
Stage
*
James Nelson Barker
James Nelson Barker (June 17, 1784 – March 9, 1858) was an American soldier, playwright and politician. He rose to the rank of major in the Army during the War of 1812, wrote ten plays, and was mayor of Philadelphia.
Early life
Barker was bo ...
's
''The Indian Princess; or, La Belle Sauvage'' (1808), the first dramatization of the Pocahontas story
*
George Washington Parke Custis
George Washington Parke Custis (April 30, 1781 – October 10, 1857) was an American plantation owner, antiquarian, author, and playwright. His father John Parke Custis was the stepson of George Washington. He and his sister Eleanor grew u ...
, ''Pocahontas; or, The Settlers of Virginia'' (1830)
*
John Brougham
John Brougham (9 May 1814 – 7 June 1880) was an Irish-American actor and dramatist.
Biography
He was born at Dublin. His father was an amateur painter, and died young. His mother was the daughter of a Huguenot, whom political adversity had f ...
's production of the burlesque ''
Po-ca-hon-tas, or The Gentle Savage
''Po-ca-hon-tas, or The Gentle Savage'' (subtitled "An Original Aboriginal Erratic Operatic Semi-civilized and Demi-savage Extravaganza") is a two- act musical burlesque by John Brougham (words) and James Gaspard Maeder (music). It debuted in 185 ...
(''1855)
* Brougham's burlesque revised for London as ''La Belle Sauvage'', opening at St James's Theatre, November 27, 1869
*
Sydney Grundy
Sydney Grundy (23 March 1848 – 4 July 1914) was an English dramatist. Most of his works were adaptations of European plays, and many became successful enough to tour throughout the English-speaking world. He is, however, perhaps best remembe ...
's ''Pocahontas'', a comic opera, music by
Edward Solomon
Edward Solomon (25 July 1855 – 22 January 1895) was an English composer, conductor, orchestrator and pianist. He died at age 39 by which time he had written dozens of works produced for the stage, including several for the D'Oyly Carte Oper ...
, which opened at the
Empire Theatre in London on 26 December 1884 and ran for just 24 performances with
Lillian Russell
Lillian Russell (born Helen Louise Leonard; December 4, 1860 or 1861 – June 6, 1922), was an American actress and singer. She became one of the most famous actresses and singers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, known for her beauty ...
in the title role and
C. Hayden Coffin
Charles Hayden Coffin (22 April 1862 – 8 December 1935) was an English actor and singer known for his performances in many famous Edwardian musical comedies, particularly those produced by George Edwardes.
Hayden achieved fame as Harry Sher ...
in his stage debut in the piece, taking the role of Captain Smith for the final six nights
* ''Miss Pocahontas'' (Broadway musical), Lyric Theatre, New York City, October 28, 1907
* ''Pocahontas'' ballet by
Elliot Carter, Jr., Martin Beck Theatre, New York City, May 24, 1939
* ''Pocahontas'' musical by Kermit Goell, Lyric Theatre, West End, London, November 14, 1963
Commemorations
* The
Jamestown Exposition
The Jamestown Exposition was one of the many world's fairs and expositions that were popular in the United States in the early part of the 20th century. Commemorating the 300th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown in the Virginia Colony, it w ...
was held in Norfolk from April 26 to December 1, 1907, to celebrate the 300th anniversary of the Jamestown settlement, and three commemorative postage stamps were issued in conjunction with it. The five-cent stamp portrays Pocahontas, modeled from
Simon van de Passe's 1616 engraving. About 8 million were issued.
Film
Films about Pocahontas include:
* ''
Pocahontas
Pocahontas (, ; born Amonute, known as Matoaka, 1596 – March 1617) was a Native American woman, belonging to the Powhatan people, notable for her association with the colonial settlement at Jamestown, Virginia. She was the daughter of ...
'' (1910), a Thanhouser Company silent short drama
* ''Pocahontas and John Smith'' (1924), a silent film directed by
Bryan Foy
Bryan Foy (December 8, 1896 – April 20, 1977) was an American film producer and director. He produced more than 200 films between 1924 and 1963. He also directed 41 films between 1923 and 1934. He headed the B picture unit at Warner Bros. ...
* ''
Captain John Smith and Pocahontas
''Captain John Smith and Pocahontas '' is a 1953 American historical film directed by Lew Landers. The distributor was United Artists. It stars Anthony Dexter, Jody Lawrance and Alan Hale.
While most scenes were filmed in Virginia's Blue Ridge ...
'' (1953), directed by Lew Landers and starring
Jody Lawrance
Jody Lawrance (born Nona Josephine Goddard; October 19, 1930 – July 10, 1986) was an American actress who starred in many Hollywood films during the 1950s through the early 1960s.
Biography
She was born October 19, 1930 as Nona Josephi ...
as Pocahontas
* ''
Pocahontas
Pocahontas (, ; born Amonute, known as Matoaka, 1596 – March 1617) was a Native American woman, belonging to the Powhatan people, notable for her association with the colonial settlement at Jamestown, Virginia. She was the daughter of ...
'' (1994), a Japanese animated production from Jetlag Productions directed by Toshiyuki Hiruma Takashi
* ''
Pocahontas: The Legend'' (1995), a Canadian film based on her life
* ''
Pocahontas
Pocahontas (, ; born Amonute, known as Matoaka, 1596 – March 1617) was a Native American woman, belonging to the Powhatan people, notable for her association with the colonial settlement at Jamestown, Virginia. She was the daughter of ...
'' (1995), a
Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
animated feature, one of the ''
Disney Princess
''Disney Princess'', also called the ''Princess Line'', is a media franchise and toy line owned by the Walt Disney Company. Created by Disney Consumer Products chairman Andy Mooney, the franchise features a lineup of female protagonists who ha ...
'' films, and the most well known adaptation of the Pocahontas story. The film presents a fictional romantic affair between Pocahontas and John Smith, in which Pocahontas teaches Smith respect for nature.
Irene Bedard
Irene Bedard (born July 22, 1967) is an American actress, who has played mostly lead Native American roles in a variety of films. She is perhaps best known for the role of Suzy Song in the 1998 film ''Smoke Signals'', an adaptation of a Sherman ...
voiced and provided the physical model for the title character.
* ''
Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World'' (1998), a direct-to-video Disney sequel depicting Pocahantas falling in love with John Rolfe and traveling to England
*
''The New World'' (2005), film directed by
Terrence Malick
Terrence Frederick Malick (born November 30, 1943) is an American filmmaker. His films include '' Days of Heaven'' (1978), '' The Thin Red Line'' (1998), for which he received Academy Award nominations for Best Director and Best Adapted Screenp ...
and starring
Q'orianka Kilcher
Q'orianka Waira Qoiana Kilcher (; born February 11, 1990) is an American actress, singer, and activist. Her best known film roles are Pocahontas in Terrence Malick's 2005 film ''The New World'', and Kaʻiulani in ''Princess Kaiulani'' (2009). In ...
as Pocahontas
* ''Pocahontas: Dove of Peace'' (2016), a docudrama produced by
Christian Broadcasting Network
The Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) is an American Christian media production and distribution organization. Founded in 1960 by Pat Robertson, it produces the long-running TV series ''The 700 Club'', co-produces the ongoing ''Superbook'' an ...
Literature
*
*
Lydia Sigourney
Lydia Huntley Sigourney (September 1, 1791 – June 10, 1865), ''née'' Lydia Howard Huntley, was an American poet, author, and publisher during the early and mid 19th century. She was commonly known as the "Sweet Singer of Hartford." She had a ...
's long poe
Pocahontasrelates her history and is the title work of her 1841 collection of poetry.
Art
*
Simon van de Passe's engraving of 1616
* ''The abduction of Pocahontas'' (1619), a narrative engraving by
Johann Theodor de Bry
Johann Theodor de Bry (1561 – 31 January 1623) was an engraver and publisher.
Biography
De Bry was born in Strasbourg, the elder son and pupil of Dirk de Bry. He greatly assisted his father in works such as, the ''Florilegium novum'', which ...
*
William Ordway Partridge
William Ordway Partridge (April 11, 1861 – May 22, 1930) was an American sculptor, teacher and author. Among his best-known works are the Shakespeare Monument in Chicago, the equestrian statue of General Grant in Brooklyn, the ''Pietà'' at S ...
's bronze statue (1922) of Pocahontas in
Jamestown, Virginia
The Jamestown settlement in the Colony of Virginia was the first permanent English settlement in the Americas. It was located on the northeast bank of the James (Powhatan) River about southwest of the center of modern Williamsburg. It was ...
; a replica (1958) stands in the grounds of
St George's Church, Gravesend
St George's Church, Gravesend, is a Grade II*-listed Anglican church dedicated to Saint George the patriarch of England, which is situated near the foot of Gravesend High Street in the Borough of Gravesham. It serves as Gravesend's parish ch ...
* ''
Baptism of Pocahontas
The United States Capitol rotunda is the tall central rotunda of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. It has been described as the Capitol's "symbolic and physical heart". Built between 1818 and 1824, the rotunda is located below the ...
'' (1840), a painting by
John Gadsby Chapman
John Gadsby Chapman (December 3, 1808 – November 28, 1889) was an American artist famous for ''Baptism of Pocahontas'', which was commissioned by the United States Congress and hangs in the United States Capitol rotunda.
Life and career
Jo ...
which hangs in the rotunda of the
United States Capitol Building
The United States Capitol, often called The Capitol or the Capitol Building, is the seat of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, which is formally known as the United States Congress. It is located on Capitol Hill ...
Others
*
Lake Matoaka
Lake Matoaka is a mill pond on the campus of the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, located in the College Woods. Originally known both as Rich Neck Pond for the surrounding Rich Neck Plantation and Ludwell's Mill Pond for Phil ...
, an 18th-century
mill pond
A mill pond (or millpond) is a body of water used as a reservoir for a water-powered mill.
Description
Mill ponds were often created through the construction of a mill dam or weir (and mill stream) across a waterway.
In many places, the com ...
on the campus of the
College of William & Mary
The College of William & Mary (officially The College of William and Mary in Virginia, abbreviated as William & Mary, W&M) is a public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia. Founded in 1693 by letters patent issued by King William III ...
renamed for Pocahontas's Powhatan name in the 1920s.
* The - name of three vessels including one that
Virginia Ferry Corporation
The Little Creek-Cape Charles Ferry was a passenger ferry service operating across the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay from the 1930s until 1964. Known also as the ''Princess Anne-Kiptopeke Beach Ferry'' or ''Little Creek-Kiptopeke Beach Ferry'', th ...
completed in 1940 for Little Creek-Cape Charles Ferry, sold to
Cape May–Lewes Ferry
The Cape May–Lewes Ferry is a ferry system in the United States that traverses a crossing of the Delaware Bay connecting North Cape May, New Jersey with Lewes, Delaware. The ferry constitutes a portion of U.S. Route 9 and is the final crossing ...
in 1963, and renamed as the SS Delaware, operating from 1964 to 1974
* The
* The ''
Pocahontas
Pocahontas (, ; born Amonute, known as Matoaka, 1596 – March 1617) was a Native American woman, belonging to the Powhatan people, notable for her association with the colonial settlement at Jamestown, Virginia. She was the daughter of ...
'' - a passenger train of the
Norfolk and Western Railway
The Norfolk and Western Railway , commonly called the N&W, was a US class I railroad, formed by more than 200 railroad mergers between 1838 and 1982. It was headquartered in Roanoke, Virginia, for most of its existence. Its motto was "Precisio ...
, running from Norfolk, Virginia to Cincinnati, Ohio
* The minor planet
4487 Pocahontas
See also
*
La Malinche
Marina or Malintzin ( 1500 – 1529), more popularly known as La Malinche , a Nahua peoples , Nahua woman from the Mexican Gulf Coast, became known for contributing to the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire (1519–1521), by acting as an in ...
– a
Nahua
The Nahuas () are a group of the indigenous people of Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. They comprise the largest indigenous group in Mexico and second largest in El Salvador. The Mexica (Aztecs) were of Nahua ethnicity, a ...
woman from the Mexican Gulf Coast, who played a major role in the
Spanish-Aztec War as an interpreter for the Spanish conquistador
Hernán Cortés
Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro Altamirano, 1st Marquess of the Valley of Oaxaca (; ; 1485 – December 2, 1547) was a Spanish ''conquistador'' who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire and brought large portions of w ...
*
Mary Kittamaquund
Mary Kittamaquund (c. 1634 – c. 1654 or 1700), daughter of the Piscataway chieftain Kittamaquund, helped establish peaceful relations between English immigrants to the Maryland and Virginia Colonies and their native peoples.
Life
After Jesuit ...
– daughter of a
Piscataway Piscataway may refer to:
*Piscataway people, a Native American ethnic group native to the southern Mid-Atlantic States
*Piscataway language
*Piscataway, Maryland, an unincorporated community
*Piscataway, New Jersey, a township
*Piscataway Creek, Ma ...
chief in colonial Maryland
*
Sedgeford Hall Portrait – once thought to represent Pocahontas and Thomas Rolfe but now believed to depict the wife (Pe-o-ka) and son of Seminole Chief
Osceola
Osceola (1804 – January 30, 1838, Asi-yahola in Muscogee language, Creek), named Billy Powell at birth in Alabama, became an influential leader of the Seminole people in Florida. His mother was Muscogee, and his great-grandfather was a S ...
References
Bibliography
* Argall, Samuel. Letter to Nicholas Hawes. June 1613. Repr. in ''Jamestown Narratives'', ed. Edward Wright Haile. Champlain, VA: Roundhouse, 1998.
* Bulla, Clyde Robert. "Little Nantaquas." In "Pocahontas and The Strangers", ed Scholastic inc., 730 Broadway, New York, NY 10003. 1971.
* Custalow, Linwood "Little Bear" and Daniel, Angela L. "Silver Star." ''The True Story of Pocahontas'', Fulcrum Publishing, Golden, Colorado 2007, .
* Dale, Thomas. Letter to 'D.M.' 1614. Repr. in ''Jamestown Narratives'', ed. Edward Wright Haile. Champlain, VA: Roundhouse, 1998.
* Dale, Thomas. Letter to Sir Ralph Winwood. June 3, 1616. Repr. in ''Jamestown Narratives'', ed. Edward Wright Haile. Champlain, VA: Roundhouse, 1998.
* Fausz, J. Frederick. "An 'Abundance of Blood Shed on Both Sides': England's First Indian War, 1609–1614". ''The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography'' 98:1 (January 1990), pp. 3–56.
* Gleach, Frederic W. ''Powhatan's World and Colonial Virginia''. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1997.
* Hamor, Ralph. ''A True Discourse of the Present Estate of Virginia''. 1615. Repr. in ''Jamestown Narratives'', ed. Edward Wright Haile. Champlain, VA: Roundhouse, 1998.
* Herford, C.H. and Percy Simpson, eds. ''Ben Jonson'' (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1925–1952).
* Huber, Margaret Williamson (January 12, 2011)
"Powhatan (d. 1618)"Encyclopedia Virginia Retrieved February 18, 2011.
* Kupperman, Karen Ordahl. ''Indians and English: Facing Off in Early America''. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2000.
* Lemay, J.A. Leo. ''Did Pocahontas Save Captain John Smith?'' Athens, Georgia: The University of Georgia Press, 1992
* Price, David A. ''Love and Hate in Jamestown''. New York: Vintage, 2003.
* Purchas, Samuel. ''Hakluytus Posthumus or Purchas His Pilgrimes''. 1625. Repr. Glasgow: James MacLehose, 1905–1907. vol. 19
* Rolfe, John. Letter to Thomas Dale. 1614. Repr. in ''Jamestown Narratives'', ed. Edward Wright Haile. Champlain, VA: Roundhouse, 1998
* Rolfe, John. Letter to Edwin Sandys. June 8, 1617
Repr. in ''The Records of the Virginia Company of London'' ed. Susan Myra Kingsbuy. Washington: US Government Printing Office, 1906–1935. Vol. 3
* Rountree, Helen C. (November 3, 2010)
"Divorce in Early Virginia Indian Society"Encyclopedia Virginia Retrieved February 18, 2011.
* Rountree, Helen C. (November 3, 2010)
"Early Virginia Indian Education"Encyclopedia Virginia Retrieved February 27, 2011.
* Rountree, Helen C. (November 3, 2010)
"Uses of Personal Names by Early Virginia Indians"Encyclopedia Virginia Retrieved February 18, 2011.
* Rountree, Helen C. (December 8, 2010)
"Pocahontas (d. 1617)"Encyclopedia Virginia Retrieved February 18, 2011.
* Smith, John
''A True Relation of such Occurrences and Accidents of Noate as hath Hapned in Virginia''!---This is Smith's spelling, not a typo!--->, 1608. Repr. in ''The Complete Works of John Smith (1580–1631)''. Ed. Philip L. Barbour. Chapel Hill: University Press of Virginia, 1983. Vol. 1
* Smith, John.
A Map of Virginia'' 1612. Repr. in ''The Complete Works of John Smith (1580–1631)'', Ed. Philip L. Barbour. Chapel Hill: University Press of Virginia, 1983. Vol. 1
* Smith, John. Letter to Queen Anne. 1616. Repr. a
1997, Accessed April 23, 2006.
* Smith, John. ''The Generall Historie of Virginia, New-England, and the Summer Isles''. 1624. Repr. in ''Jamestown Narratives'', ed. Edward Wright Haile. Champlain, VA: Roundhouse, 1998.
* Spelman, Henry. ''A Relation of Virginia''. 1609. Repr. in ''Jamestown Narratives'', ed. Edward Wright Haile. Champlain, VA: Roundhouse, 1998.
* Strachey, William. ''The Historie of Travaile into Virginia Brittania''. c. 1612. Repr. London:
Hakluyt Society
The Hakluyt Society is a text publication society, founded in 1846 and based in London, England, which publishes scholarly editions of primary records of historic voyages, travels and other geographical material. In addition to its publishing rol ...
, 1849.
* Symonds, William. ''The Proceedings of the English Colonie in Virginia''. 1612. Repr. in ''The Complete Works of Captain John Smith''. Ed. Philip L. Barbour. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1986. Vol. 1
*
* Waldron, William Watson. ''Pocahontas, American Princess: and Other Poems''. New York: Dean and Trevett, 1841
*
Warner, Charles Dudley. ''Captain John Smith'', 1881. Repr. i
Captain John Smith Project Gutenberg Text, accessed July 4, 2006
* Woodward, Grace Steele. ''Pocahontas''. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1969.
Further reading
* Barbour, Philip L. ''Pocahontas and Her World''. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1970.
* Neill, Rev. Edward D. ''Pocahontas and Her Companions''. Albany: Joel Munsell, 1869.
* Price, David A. ''Love and Hate in Jamestown''. Alfred A. Knopf, 2003
* Rountree, Helen C. ''Pocahontas's People: The Powhatan Indians of Virginia Through Four Centuries''. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1990.
* Strong, Pauline Turner. ''Animated Indians: Critique and Contradiction in Commodified Children's Culture''. Cultural Anthology, Vol. 11, No. 3 (Aug. 1996), pp. 405–424
*
Sandall, Roger. 2001 ''The Culture Cult: Designer Tribalism and Other Essays''
* Townsend, Camilla. ''Pocahontas and the Powhatan Dilemma''. New York: Hill and Wang, 2004.
*
Warner, Charles Dudley, ''Captain John Smith'', 1881. Repr. i
Captain John Smith Project Gutenberg Text, accessed July 4, 2006
*
Warner, Charles Dudley, ''The Story of Pocahontas'', 1881. Repr. i
The Story of Pocahontas Project Gutenberg Text, accessed July 4, 2006
* Woodward, Grace Steele. ''Pocahontas''. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1969. or
* This article is mostly about Pocahontas.
* ''Pocahontas, Alias Matoaka, and Her Descendants Through Her Marriage at Jamestown, Virginia, in April 1614, with John Rolfe, Gentleman'', Wyndham Robertson, Printed by J. W. Randolph & English, Richmond, Va., 1887
External links
Pocahontas: Her Life and Legend- National Park Service - Historic Jamestowne
''The Story of Virginia: An American Experience''. Virginia Historical Society.
''The Story of Virginia: An American Experience''. Virginia Historical Society.
''Virtual Jamestown'' Includes text of many original accounts
"The Pocahontas Archive" a comprehensive bibliography of texts about Pocahontas
On this day in history: Pocahontas marries John Rolfe History.com
History (formerly The History Channel from January 1, 1995 to February 15, 2008, stylized as HISTORY) is an American pay television network and flagship channel owned by A&E Networks, a joint venture between Hearst Communications and the Disney ...
* Michals, Debra
"Pocahontas" National Women's History Museum. 2015.
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