drawing of an indian girl

indian chef

english sailing ship

Jamestown Fort Wall

Portrait of John Smith
courtesy of The Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities

Portrait of Pocahontas
courtesy of The Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities

John Smith's Map

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The True Story of Pocahontas

by Susan Groves - Center Street Elementary - El Segundo Unified

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Pocahontas’ people did not have a written language. Everything we know about her came from the drawings, journals and letters of the Englishmen who came to Jamestown in 1607.

You have probably seen the Disney cartoon movie about Pocahontas.That version of Pocahontas’ story is an example of a fictional film. In the movie Pocahontas falls in love with Captain John Smith. This did not happen in real life. The true story of Pocahontas’ life is quite different from the Disney movie.

Young Pocahontas

Pocahontas’ real name was Amounte (ah-moh-NOO-tay). She also had a secret, personal name, Matoaka (mah-TOH-kah). She was the daughter of a powerful Indian chief, Powhatan, whose tribe lived near Jamestown, in western Virginia. Powhatan was also the name of Pocahontas’ tribe. After Pocahontas was born, in about 1595, her parents divorced, as was their custom. She lived with her mother and her mother’s family until she was about eight years old. She had dozens of half-sisters and half-brothers since her father married many times. We know little of Pocahontas’ mother except that she was a Native American.

Pocahontas wore little, if any, clothing. Her head was shaved with a lock of hair hanging down the back. She looked like this until she was about 15 years old. While she was growing up she learned from watching the women of her tribe do work. She played games of tag with her friends and probably played with dolls made from cornhusks. The children may have played in the river as well. They enjoyed running games. Pocahontas was a bright child and very curious about things in her world.

Life with Chief Powhatan

In 1603, when she was about eight, Pocahontas went to live with her father. We aren’t sure of her exact age since the Powhatan people did not have a written language to document it and the English people were not there when she was born. Since she liked to tease people, her father called her Pocahontas, which means “little mischievous one.” We know this from the journals of Captain John Smith.

The English Arrive

In 1607 three ships filled with Englishmen arrived in Jamestown, Virginia, which was near where the Powhatan people lived. The English built a fort with their homes inside. The Indians felt the newcomers were not friendly because they put walls around their homes. But Pocahontas was interested in the Englishmen. She made friends with Captain John Smith, one of the English colonists who came to the Jamestown area. At the time Pocahontas was
10 or 11 years old and John Smith was 28.

Chief Powhatan liked John Smith, but relations between the Indians and the Englishmen were bad and getting worse. A well-known story tells that Pocahontas saved John Smith from being put to death by the Indians. We do not know if this is true. The only fact we know for sure is that John Smith was at a ceremony in Chief Powhatan’s village, and Pocahontas was there too. At another time John Smith held some Indians captive. Pocahontas was sent to ask for their release. Pocahontas and John Smith remained friends during his stay in the colonies until he was injured and had to return to England.

Married Life
When she was about 15 Pocahontas married an Indian named Kocoum and went to live in his village. Soon after this, the Indians and the Englishmen began fighting each other. In 1613 the English captured Pocahontas. While she was a prisoner at the Jamestown settlement she became a Christian, and changed her name to Rebecca.

While still a captive she met John Rolfe, a successful tobacco planter. She was 18 or 19 years old. They decided to get married. In order to marry again she had to divorce Kocoum. Pocahontas and John Rolfe had a son named Thomas. Because of their marriage there was peace between the English and the Indians for a few years

Life in England

John Rolfe took Pocahontas and Thomas to London, England, where she became very popular with the English people. She was presented to the King James I, which was a great honor. John Rolf was preparing to take Pocahontas and Thomas back to Virginia, when she fell ill and died. Pocahontas is buried in England. She was only 19 or 20 years old at the time of her death. John Rolfe returned to Virginia with their son Thomas.

Pocahontas is a great heroine because she helped to bring peace between the Indians and the English, and she went to England as a representative of her people.

How Do We Know?

We know about Pocahontas by looking at primary source documents. These are actual journals, letters, drawings, portraits, maps, and artifacts that were written by people living at that time. They are sometimes done in the people’s own handwriting. Artifacts are things found (often buried underground) that people used to make their lives easier.

Journals

Pocahontas’ people, The Powhatans, had no written record. So the only way we know of her and her tribe is through the letters and journals of the Englishmen who came to Jamestown in 1607. The best source has been the journal of Captain John Smith. He told what Pocahontas looked like and how she acted. He also wrote about the people of her tribe.

Maps

We also know of Pocahontas and the Powhatans from the maps created by John Smith and John White. Other Englishmen made maps as well.

Letters

Letters by John Smith and John Rolfe still exist that tell us about Pocahontas and Powhatan Indian life.

Drawings

John White drew pictures of the Virginia Indians in the 1590’s. We can view these pictures today. An excellent source is A Briefe and True Report of the New Found Land of Virginia by Thomas Harriott. This rare book is published by Dover Publications, Inc., New York.

Artifacts

Through archeological digs scientists have found remains of the original Jamestown Settlement. They have found parts of houses, armor, weapons, pottery, and even some skeletons. You can visit the site on Jamestown Island in Virginia.