Pocahontas

Its life

One knows only few things of the childhood of Pocahontas. It was the girl of chief Powhatan and the one of its many wives. His/her mother was distant from it after him to have given birth, which was the tradition Powhatan.

Relation with John Smith

The registers of the colonists of Jamestown indicate that Pocahontas maintained a certain friendship with the captain John Smith and perhaps saved it death several times. The true nature of their relation is discussed because of the bad quality of the files and their scarcity. Their relation was fictionalized with important additions.

In 1607, when the English colonists of the Virginia Company arrived in Virginia and began the construction of buildings, Pocahontas was old from approximately 10 or 12 years. His/her father was the chief of the Confederation of the Powhatan. One of the principal colonists, John Smith, was captured by a group of Powhatan hunters and was taken along to Werowocomoco, one of the principal villages of the Powhatan empire. According to Smith, it was lengthened on a large stone and was about to be carried out, when Pocahontas was thrown on him. It defended it then was led in safety to Jamestown.

The version of Smith is the only source and since the years 1860, its veracity is thus questioned. One of the reasons of this doubt is that in spite of the edition of two books concerning Virginia, the account of the delivery of Smith was done in 1616, almost 10 years after, in a letter begging the Reine Anne to treat Pocahontas with dignity. Past time could make that Smith exaggerated or invented the event to improve the image of Pocahontas.

Some experts suggested that Smith took for a delivery a ritual symbolizing his death and his rebirth as a member of the tribe. However, there seems to be no ritual of this kind in others Amerindian Tribus.

At all events, a friendly relation was established between Smith and Pocahontas with Jamestown. Pocahontas often came to play colony. However, the colony grows and some of the natives estimated that their grounds were threatened. Consequently, of the conflicts started.

In 1608, Pocahontas apparently saved Smith second once: Smith and some other colonists were invited to Werowocomoco by the Powhatan Chief in friendly terms, but Pocahontas came to the hut where English remained and informed them that the Powhatan Chief projected to kill them. Thanks to this warning, the English remained on their guards and attacks never occurred.

A wound due to a powder explosion forced Smith to turn over in England in 1609. The English indicated to the natives that Smith had died. Pocahontas believed it during several years until its arrival in England.

There is no indication in the files that Smith and Pocahontas were lovers; this fictionalized version of the history appears only in the versions putting in scene Pocahontas older than in the facts. According to Smith, when it again met it with London, Pocahontas called it “Father”.

Removal

According to William Strachey, Pocahontas married a warrior of Powhatan called Kocoum at a certain time, before 1612; nothing more is known relating to this marriage.

In March 1613, Pocahontas resided at Passapatanzy, an Amerindian village, located on the river Potomac. Two English colonists started to trade with the local tribe of the Patawomec and discovered the presence of Pocahontas. With the assistance of the chief Patawomec, Japazeus, they captured Pocahontas. Their goal, as they explained in a letter, was to exchange it against several English prisoners held by the Powhatan Chief as of the weapons and the tools which Powhatans had stolen. Powhatan returned the prisoners but did not manage to satisfy the requests relating to weapons and tools.

During one year, Pocahontas was retained with Henricus, another English colony. One knows of it little about his life over there in spite of a writing the colonist Ralph Hamor who teaches us that she would have learned the uses and the courtesy there. An English priest, Alexandre Whitaker, taught the Christianisme to him and its English helped it to improve. She was baptized and its name was changed into Rebecca .

In March 1614, a conflict violate took place close to the river Pamunkey between hundreds of English and Powhatan. At the powhatan city of Matchcot, the English met a group to which belongbelonged of the elder chiefs of Powhatan (but not Chef Powhatan itself). The English allowed Pocahontas to speak with its compatriots. However, according to the deputy governor the Valley of Thomas, Pocahontas wanted some with his/her father absent to have considered it less important than of the swords or of the axes and their indicated that she preferred food with English

Marriage with John Rolfe

During its stay with Henricus, Pocahontas met John Rolfe which fell in love with it. Rolfe, whose English wife had died, had successfully cultivated a piece of Tabac in Virginia. It was a pious man who suffered much from the repercussions potential morals to marry with a pagan . In a long letter with the governor, he asks for the permission of marry with her by expressing his love for her and his conviction that it would save his heart.

The proper feelings of Pocahontas about Rolfe and the marriage remain unknown.

The marriage took place in April 1614 and it is on this occasion that it took the name of Rebecca Rolfe . It then converted with the Christianisme. During several years the couple lived together in the plantation of Rolfe, Varina Farms, which was located near to the river James and the community of Henricus. They had a child: Thomas Rolfe.

The marriage and conversion with the Christianity of Pocahontas brought one period of peaceful relations between the Amerindians Powhatan and the Colon S. This one was not unfortunately to last very a long time: as of 1622 the hostilities began again of more beautiful.

Travel to England and its death

In order to attract new colonists and investors in Virginia, the silent partners of the colony sent Pocahontas to promote it near Europeans, ensuring them thus that the natives of the new world did not represent a threat and that the safety of the colonies was assured. In 1616, Rolfes sailed until in England: they arrived at the port of Plymouth, then travelled until London in diligence in June 1616. They were accompanied by a group of eleven other natives Powhatan including Tomocomo.

John Smith resided then at London. It is in Plymouth which Pocahontas learned that it was still in life. Both did not meet at this time there, but Smith wrote on this occasion a letter with the Reine Anne urging to him that Pocahontas is treated with the same respect as a royal visitor and not like a phenomenon of fair, the consequences of such a behavior putting in danger the love that it carried to English and Christianity, which could then be transformed into contempt and anger.

There is no proof that it was formally submitted to the court Jacques Ier of England, but the January 5th 1617, it and Tomocomo counted among the guests of the king at the time of a representation of the poet Ben Jonson, who took place with the Maison of the banquets in the Palais of Whitehall. According to Smith, the king very little impressed the ambassadors of the new world, who realized to have met it only once it had been explained to them.

Thereafter, Pocahontas and Rolfe lived with Brentford during a few months. Smith visited them at the beginning of 1617.

In March 1617, Rolfe and Pocahontas embarked to turn over in Virginia. But their boat had not exceeded Gravesend (Kent) that Pocahontas fell sick. The nature of the disease is unknown today. However, Pocahontas having been described like sensitive to the polluted air of London, it seems that she succumbed to a Pneumonie or with the Tuberculose. Unloaded with ground, she died shortly after. Its burial took place the March 21st 1617 in the parish of Saint George in Gravesend. Rolfe, only, turned over to Virginia.

Descent

Rebecca and John Rolfe had only one a child, Thomas Rolfe, who was born with the farm from Varina, before his/her parents do not leave for England. By this wire, it has descendants. Many old families of Virginia make go up their roots with Pocahontas and Wahunsunacock, by his/her son and his descendants. For example Edith Wilson, wife of Woodrow Wilson.

Adaptations

Its life became prone of legend and made the object of many literary adaptations and cinématographiques :

Pocahontas , of the Walt Disney Company in 1995
Pocahontas 2: A new world , Walt Disney Company in 1998
the New World , of Terrence Malick in 2005

Sources

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