Pocahontas is a household name here in the U.S., especially if you (or your child) love Disney, but what is the truth and what is simply myth about this Native American "Princess"? Distinguishing between legend and fact is almost impossible when we are talking about the 1500s, a woman in the 1500s, and a woman from a people who had no written language in the 1500s. All of our accounts are taken from primary and secondary accounts from British subjects who weren't the most accurate when referencing the native peoples they encountered. Most of the early references of the woman we know as Pocahontas came from Captain John Smith who was known to exaggerate the truth.
Native Americans gain several different names during their lifetime as they age and mature. She was known among her own people as Amonute and her family called her Matoaka. Pocahontas was either a nickname or an alias given to the English to use instead of her real name. She was born around 1596 in what is now Virginia. Her mother is unknown but her father, Powhatan, was chief of the Tsenacommacah; a loose confederacy of about 30 different native tribes that all spoke the Algonquin language. Matoaka was 12 or 13 when she first met John Smith who had been captured by her tribe. It wasn't until much later that Smith recounted this tale which included the famous scene of Matoaka running in to save him from execution by placing her head over his on the chopping block. Much has been made of her actions towards Smith. It is true by Smith's own account that he had spent much of his captivity with Matoaka, each teaching the other their languages. There might have been some friendship or connection but he was much older than Matoaka so love probably wasn't a factor behind her attempt to sacrifice her own life for his. What is more likely is that Smith's execution was a ceremonial sacrifice to the tribe so that he would be seen as no longer an outsider. Smith misinterpreted the actions of Powhatan and Matoaka or chose to represent it as life or death for dramatic effect.
Because of Matoaka's ability to speak English she was sent to Jamestown Settlement as part of Powhatan's trading (and scouting) parties. Matoaka was sent in among the English settlers to trade goods and information. She even helped negotiate the release of some of her people who were being held in Jamestown. Powhatan knew what he was doing sending his "favorite daughter" in to negotiate. Because she was the daughter of the leader of the natives that meant she was important. Trade and good will between the two peoples went well for a while but eventually broke down and Matoaka stopped coming to visit at Jamestown. Matoaka and Smith lost contact with each other and Matoaka was told that Smith had died. In fact he had been wounded and resigned his commission in the Virginia Company and returned to England. Relations further deteriorated between the Powhatans and the settlers and became hostile. This was the start of the first of three Anglo-Powhatan Wars.
During this time Matoaka was married to a man named Kocoum. It is unclear if Kocoum was Powhatan or possibly from a rival tribe know as the Patawomeck. If Kocoum was from the Patawomeck tribe then Matoaka was basically used the way all princesses are used; as a bargaining tool. If she married into a rival tribe her connection would bring about a peace between the two warring tribes. However, the marriage did not last long. On April 12, 1613 Matoaka was abducted by the Patawomeck who had been convinced by the British to break their truce with Powhatan and switch sides. The English hoped to use her as a hostage to negotiate the release of several English soldiers who had been captured by Powhatan. Kocoum is believed to have been killed in one of the skirmishes of the Anglo-Powhatan Wars. It was during her time as a captive of the English that she met the Reverend Alexander Whitaker. Whitaker made it his mission to convert Matoaka to Christianity. He gave her a Bible and helped her study it during her long days of inactivity. Whitaker even took Matoaka to church on Sundays. It was at one of these church meets that she met a man named John Rolfe. Rolfe, a local tobacco farmer, was a widower with an infant son. Matoaka and John Rolfe became fond of each other and planned to marry but first Matoaka had to fully convert to Christianity and English ways. Chief Powhatan, using his brother as negotiator, agreed to release his English captives, give back the firearms he had stole and also agreed Matoaka could marry Rolfe. Once more Matoaka was used as a bargaining chip to secure a peace with the English.
Whether Matoaka was in agreement with any of these arrangements we do not know. She was eventually baptized into the Christian faith as Rebecca and on April 5 1614 was married to John Rolfe. This seemed to be a peaceful time for Matoaka, her family and the Powhatan and the English settlers. Her son Thomas was born in the spring of 1615. Rolfe had become a high ranking member of the community due to his experiments with his tobacco crop and in 1616 he was asked to serve as part of a delegation returning to England to seek out more people willing to cross the ocean and settle in the New World. Matoaka and Thomas would accompany him and the other delegates back to England.
In June of 1616 the Rolfe family arrived on the shores of England. There are no written accounts from Matoaka's perspective and so there is no way to know what she thought of England or its people and culture. It seems that in this instance she became a pawn of John Rolfe and the Virginia company as a walking ad to entice people to the New World. A wooden engraving of her likeness was commissioned to be created for mass production.
The dirty air of London did not agree with Matoaka's health and so they moved a bit outside of London to Brentford, but her health really never did improve. But at last the time had come to return to the fresh clean air of her native home. In March of 1617, Matoaka, her family and servants were ready for the return voyage back to the New World. Sadly Matoaka, whose health had been steadily deteriorating became gravely ill. Before the ship could even sail out into the ocean Matoaka passed away. The ship docked at Gravesend where on March 21, 1617 a funeral was held and Matoaka was laid to rest at St. George's Church far from her beloved home. There is a bronze statue there to memorialize the brave Native American woman who died upon English soil. No one knows what caused her health to decline but the likely culprit seems to be tuberculosis.
"It pleased God at Gravesend to take this young lady to his mercy, where she made not more sorrow for her unexpected death, than joy to the beholders, to hear and see her make so religious and godly an end." - John Smith
Whatever name she is known by, Matoaka/Pocahantas is a woman well worth remembering. Though it seems everyone in her life used her for their own gain she was a pillar of strength and duty. Her acceptance of her life helped broker peace and save lives on both the English side and for her own people. Who knows what more she could have accomplished if she had lived into old age.
For further reading check out these books:
Pocahantas and the Powhatan Dilemma: The American Portraits Series - Camilla Townsend
Pocahantas: Medicine Woman, Spy, Entreprenuer, Diplomat - Dr Paula Gunn Allen
