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“What is most important to remember when examining the ever-changing image of Pocahontas is the virtual absence of any analysis or thought by Native peoples on the subject.” - Jennifer Gray Reddish It’s likely that Powhatan leaders were attempting to regain some form of influence or control over the colonists with this action. Eventually, John Smith was invited to join forces with the Native Americans, who offered to endow him with the position of “werowance” (or official leader) of the English colonists. Still, the English and the Native Americans of the area developed an alliance out of shared fear of Spanish colonists.
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John Smith was feared among Native Americans because he would sometimes enter the tribe’s settlement and hold a gun to members’ heads, demanding food. When they first arrived, John Smith and his fellow colonists stayed nearby on Jamestown Island, but soon began to intrude on Powhatan’s territories. In fact, Pocahontas was only ten years old when Smith and his compatriots arrived in what would become the colony of Virginia. Contrary to the narrative portrayed in the Disney movie, Pocahontas and John Smith were never in love. One of these passengers was the 27-year-old John Smith. In the spring of 1607, a boatload of English colonists arrived in Pocahontas’s homeland of Tsenacomoca. Image via No Fairytale: The True Story of Pocahontas and John Smith While all children were cared for by various members of their tribe, Pocahontas may have received special cultural training because she was the daughter of a chief, and she may have been taught certain skills and lessons. Regardless, Pocahontas lived with her father and gained skills typical to women in that culture. She was a spunky, energetic, lovable child, and her personality earned her the nickname “Pocahontas.” Her formal name was Matoaka, which means “flower between two streams,” though she was sometimes known as Amonute.Īccording to most accounts, her mother died during childbirth, and this led to the extremely close relationship between Pocahontas and her father other historians posit that her mother may simply have moved to another village. Most historians conclude that Pocahontas was beloved by her father. Born around 1595, she was the daughter of Chief Wahunsenaca, the leader of a Powhatan nation located in what is now Virginia. There are a few things we know for sure about Pocahontas’s childhood. So much of her life story was told by other people, used to fulfill colonial purposes, or invented to align with various perspectives.Ĭan we actually know anything for sure about Pocahontas? And what can learning about who she really was teach us about history at large?
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Hundreds of books have been written about Pocahontas’s legacy, but the closer you look at her story, the more it begins to fracture and dissolve. Very little is known for certain about the legendary Native American princess, who died in England at 21, the wife of a colonist named John Rolfe. The person known as Pocahontas is really more of an idea, invented by storyteller upon storyteller to fulfill various roles. So who was Pocahontas, really? Was she actually a heroic princess who saved the life of an Englishman and later married into English society? Or was she a pawn, her legacy essentially a story written by the English to help disguise their global legacy of bloody colonization? But the popular story many of us know from children’s movies is almost entirely fabricated. The story of Pocahontas and her romance with John Smith is a central piece of the mythology of America’s origins, and the tale has resonance beyond the American scene.