Pocahontas

Q: Was Pocahontas her real name?

Pocahontas was her childhood nickname, meaning "playful" while her adult name was Matoaka ("flower between two streams"). She is referred to as "Pocahontas" by John Smith because they met when she was a child.

Q: Did Pocahontas and John Smith have a love affair?

No. Pocahontas was only ten years old when she met John Smith and was around 12 years old when he returned to England in 1609.

Q: Who did Pocahontas marry?

According to Mattaponi lore, Pocahontas (Matoaka) was married to the warrior Kocoum who was killed in 1613 when she was kidnapped by the English. She later married the wealthy tobacco merchant John Rolfe.

Q: How did Pocahontas die and where is she buried?

Pocahontas died, possibly of pneumonia or tuberculosis, in 1617 in England and is buried at Gravesend. Her cause of death continues to be debated and some claim she was poisoned.

Joshua J. Mark

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Definition

Pocahontas (l. c. 1596-1617, also known as Amonute, Matoaka) was the daughter of Wahunsenacah (l. c. 1547 - c. 1618, also known as Chief Powhatan), leader of the Powhatan Confederacy in the region of modern-day Virginia, United States. She was a citizen of the Mattaponi-Pamunkey Nation who were members of the confederacy.

More about: Pocahontas

Timeline

c. 1596 - 1617
Life of Pocahontas of the Mattaponi-Pamunkey tribe, daughter of Wahunsenacah, Chief Powhatan, of the region of modern-day Virginia.
c. 1607
Pocahontas meets Captain John Smith at Jamestown.
1611 - 1619
John Rolfe's tobacco blend becomes lucrative cash crop; Jamestown investors become rich.
1613
Pocahontas kidnapped and held for ransom by the colonists of Jamestown.
13 Apr 1613
Captain Samuel Argall kidnaps Pocahontas during a trading expedition and takes her to the settlement of Henricus as a hostage to secure the release of English colonists held by her father's Powhattan Confederacy. She would eventually convert to Christianity and marry the planter John Rolfe, establishing the brief "Peace of Pocahontas" between English colonists and Powhattan Native Americans.
1614
John Rolfe marries Pocahontas; union ends the First Powhatan War.
1614 - 1622
Peace of Pocahontas between English colonists and Powhatans; established by the marriage of Pocahontas and John Rolfe.
5 Apr 1614
Pocahontas marries English tobacco planter John Rolfe in the colony of Jamestown, Virginia, after she converted to Christianity and assumed the name of Rebecca. The marriage ended the First Powhattan War and established the "Peace of Pocahontas" between English settlers and the Powhattan Confederacy.
1615
Birth of Thomas Rolfe, son of John Rolfe and Pocahontas.
1616
John Rolfe and family travel to England on promotional tour for Jamestown.
1617
Death of Pocahontas in England; John Rolfe returns to Jamestown.
1617
John Smith meets Pocahontas again in England.