Beyond Jamestown - Virginia Foundation for the Humanities

Pocahontas
Pocahontas, a daughter of the Paramount chief Powhatan, was about
10 years old in 1607, when the captive John Smith was brought to her
father’s headquarters at Werowocomoco. She was noted for being
bright and curious. Opinions differ as to whether the famous “rescue
of John Smith” incident actually happened, but if it did, it was most likely a form of ritual misunderstanding by Smith.
During the next two years, Pocahontas sometimes accompanied her father’s councilors on trips to Jamestown.
Tuck the Turtle wants to
know…..
Was Pocahontas a Princess???
SOL: K1(a), VS 3(g)
19
In 1613, while she as visiting with the Patawomeke people
in what is now Stafford County, the teenager was
kidnapped by the English and help for ransom. During her
captivity, Pocahontas met the Englishman John Rolfe, who
wanted to marry her. After the English made peace with
her father, she agreed, with her father’s approval, to
accept their religion and marry Rolfe. She took the name
Rebecca. The peace that followed lasted for several
years, during which the English steadily added to their
land holdings from her people’s territory.
In 1616, the Rolfes went to England with their young son
Thomas, where Rebecca Rolfe was presented to the
English court. She died there of an unknown disease in
1617, and she was buried in Gravesend. In 2006, a
delegation of Virginia Indians visited her grave and
honored her as one of our ancestors who faced difficult
decisions and did her best for her people.