Pocahontas 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 Powhatan, the paramount chief of a network of tributary tribes in the Tsenacommacah, encompassing the Tidewater region of Virginia. Pocahontas was captured and held for ransom by the Colonists during hostilities in 1613. During her captivity, she was encouraged to convert to Christianity and was baptized under the name Rebecca. She married tobacco planter John Rolfe in April 1614 aged about 17 or 18, and she bore their son Thomas Rolfe 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, a Patuxet Indian from New England.
| Born | Amonute (later known as Matoaka), c. 1596, Werowocomoco, Tsenacommacah present-day Gloucester County, Virginia |
| Died | March 1617 (aged 20–21), Gravesend, Kent, Kingdom of England |
| Resting place | St George's Church, Gravesend |
| Other names | Rebecca Rolfe |
| Known for | Association with Jamestown colony, saving the life of John Smith, and as a Powhatan convert to Christianity |
| Title | Princess Matoaka |
| Children | Thomas Rolfe |
| Parent(s) | Wahunsenacawh/Chief Powhatan (father) |
About Pocahontas
Disney film about the romantic relationship between an English soldier and a Native American woman in 17th century Virginia.
Achievement of Pocahontas
The movie won two Academy Awards for Best Music. This is Disney's first film to feature an interracial romance.
Top Facts You Did Not Know About Pocahontas
La Malinche – a Nahua woman from the Mexican Gulf Coast, who played a major role in the Spanish-Aztec War, acting as an interpreter for the Spanish conquistador, Hernán Cortés.. Mary Kittamaquund – daughter of a Piscataway 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.. People of the Powhatan Confederacy.. Native American Christians.. Bolling family of Virginia.. Converts to Protestantism from pagan religions.. History of Gravesend, Kent.. Rolfe family of Virginia.. 16th-century Native Americans.. Pamunkey people.. 17th-century Native Americans.. American emigrants to England.. American folklore.. Virginia colonial people.
Latest information about Pocahontas updated on July 28 2021.
