During this event, Pocahontas told her father that she wished to marry Rolfe. A skirmish occurred, and Englishmen burned villages and killed Indian men. Pocahontas was moved from Jamestown to the Henrico settlement near present-day Richmond and, in July 1613, met John Rolfe.Īfter a year of captivity, Sir Thomas Dale took Pocahontas and 150 armed men to Powhatan, demanding the remainder of the ransom. Some demands were met immediately others Powhatan agreed to negotiate. As ransom, English settlers demanded corn, the return of prisoners and stolen items, and a peace treaty. In 1613, however, she was taken captive when Captain Samuel Argall invited her to visit his ship Treasurer. In 1610, Pocahontas married Kocoum, likely a member of the Patawomecks, and they settled in the Potomac region. Colonists burned Indian villages and threatened violence, and from then on, Pocahontas ceased visiting Jamestown. She delivered messages from her father and accompanied Indian men delivering gifts of food to the starving colonists. However, the peace ended when colonists demanded more food, and Powhatan- facing shortages and drought in 16- declined. Nonetheless, Pocahontas developed a friendship with him and other settlers. Historians have debated Smith’s claims and many believe it was simply a tribal ritual, possibly one of adoption since Powhatan thereafter referred to Smith as a member of the tribe. In published accounts, Smith claimed that as he was about to be executed, Pocahontas raced in and lay her head next to his, where it was about to be smashed on some rocks. She secured her place in American history when Captain John Smith was captured by Powhatan’s brother Opechancanough that winter. Pocahontas first observed the English when they landed in Jamestown, Virginia in May of 1607. Her given name was Amonute (privately, Matoaka), but she has been remembered by her nickname Pocahontas, meaning “playful one.” The explorer John Smith- who claimed Pocahontas saved his life- hailed her as “the instrument to pursurve this colonie from death, famine, and utter confusion.”īorn around 1596, Pocahontas was the daughter of Wahunsenaca (also known as Powhatan), the powerful chief of the Powhatans, a Native American group that inhabited the Chesapeake Bay region.
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