Pocahontas is a name most people are familiar with. However, her story is different from the one we think is true. It wasn’t all roses and romance as portrayed in the movie, and explorer John Smith’s writing. Instead, the Native American woman faced many hardships in the 21 years of her life. Let’s read exactly who Pocahontas was and what happened to her.
The Famous Girl
Pocahontas is a name we’ve all heard, largely thanks to the 1995 eponymous Disney movie. The lively animated movie turned the Native American woman into one of the most popular Disney princesses of all time.
Even though the movie brought joy to everybody’s heart, the real story of the beautiful Pocahontas is much darker and more tragic than shown in the film. Let’s see who Pocahontas really was.
The Nickname
Pocahontas was born in 1596 in a Powhatan tribe, but she wasn’t born with the name Pocahontas. Her parents initially gave her the name Amonute and Pocahontas was her nickname, which she shared with her mother. The name is a Powhatan nickname meaning ‘the playful one.’
The happy child was a delight to be around, spinning cartwheels and always in a playful mood. She received another name when she became older…
The New Name
According to the Native American culture, as the kids get older, they’re supposed to get a new name. This name was supposed to reflect the personality traits that the child exhibits.
Pocahontas’s new name was Matoka. The name, in her native language, meant ‘the flower between two streams.’ This was a reference to Pocahontas’s beauty, which was growing.
The Parents
The young girl’s parents were a woman named Pocahontas and a man called Wahunsenaca, who was a Chief Powhatan.
The chief oversaw multiple other tribes and was the chief of approximately 25,000 people. He even had 30 low-level chiefs working under him. Although a lot is known about her father’s history books, only a few things are known about her mother.
The Powhatan Culture
In the Powhatan culture, the chief’s customary duty was to have multiple wives. Whenever a wife fell pregnant, she had to return to her original Powhatan tribe to wait out her pregnancy duration until giving birth. The child would only return to the chief when strong enough.
Post that, the child would live with her father and half-sibling while the mother got free reign to marry any other man. Pocahontas’s mother was never truly described post the birth of her daughter. The only thing known is that she was playful, just like her daughter.
Pocahontas Never Saved John Smith
According to John Smith’s adventure retellings, Pocahontas was responsible for saving his life, but that wasn’t the case. According to the English explorer, he was captured by a man called Opechancanough, who paraded him through every Powhatan village.
This showing ended at the village where Pocahontas’ father was the chief, where it was decided that Smith’s life was to be forfeited. But it was Pocahontas who stepped in and saved him. In reality, this is not what happened though.
Well Exaggerated Stories
When historians dove deep into the stories of John Smith, it turned out he had exaggerated quite a lot. His descriptions of New York were over the top, and people have outright dismissed his claim of having seen mermaids.
Similarly, historians have stated that the Native American Pocahontas had no real motivation to save John Smith, as she was only a child when this all happened. These stories have been deemed as a way for John Smith to sell more books.
The Mythical Relationship
Despite the famous love story between Pocahontas and John Smith, as told in the Disney movie, it’s not the true story. In reality, Pocahontas was only around 9 to 11 years old, while John Smith was 27.
Not only was the relationship not genuine, but John Smith was also no goody-goody either. His fictionalized goodness was a way for John to sell his books, but the truth was something else entirely.
The Truth About John
John Smith was not in any way romantically involved with Pocahontas. In fact, he was a terrorizing presence in the village. He’d often break into people’s houses and try to take all their supplies until he was eventually caught.
But soon, the Powhatan tribe faced problems with attacks from the Spanish, and Pocahontas’ father and chief Wahunsenaca had to partner with Smith, making him the chief of whites.
Popular Society
Pocahontas’s introduction to English society was surprising and highly successful. On her first visit to the royal court, she was treated as a princess, given that she was the chief’s daughter.
With caramel-colored skin, dark hair, and a presence to behold, the beautiful young woman left everybody impressed. The people wanted to know more and more about the Native Americans, and Jamestown Colony became popular.
The Recounting of John Smith
Explorer John Smith’s recounting, and stories of Pocahontas made the public fall in love with her all the more. His reports led them to believe that Pocahontas was a natural-born diplomat and instrumental in the peace achieved with the Native Americans.
Such was the height of her popularity that the English even made a collective stamp with her likeness.
The Return Journey
Pocahontas had done what the English wanted her to do. Thanks to her, there was peace between the two cultures, and she had become the symbol of that peace. Five years passed since the settlers first took Pocahontas, and the now 21-year-old was itching to revisit her family.
Pocahontas begged her husband to allow her to see her family and loved ones, and soon she was ready to set sail back home to Virginia.
A Passing of Sorts
The ship set to take Pocahontas back home belonged to Captain Samuel Argall, the same man who kept her under lock and key. But sadly, the journey did not end the way Pocahontas probably imagined, and she had a tragic end onboard.
One night, while having dinner with the Captain and her husband, Pocahontas had some trouble during the meal. Soon after, the young 21-year-old breathed her last breath. The circumstances of her passing remained a mystery.
The Story Vs. the Truth
According to Rolfe and the Captain, Pocahontas passed away from consumption. However, it was pretty fishy how the 21-year-old suddenly passed away because it takes time for consumption to take over somebody’s body.
According to her sister and other people back home, she was completely fine when she set off for the journey hours ago. It was speculated that it was Rolfe and the Captain who poisoned her. Her fame had given her a shield that other Native Americans in England didn’t have.
No Returning to Her Land
After her passing, the people on the ship brought Pocahontas’s body to England instead of taking her back home and laying her to rest there. This was said to be because they wanted to keep up the illusion of her being a good English citizen and a model person.
Her family, however, was heartbroken at being unable to say goodbye to the young girl. Tragically, Pocahontas’s father passed away of heartbreak. The tribe asked for her body multiple times but was always denied and ignored.
The Story of the Son
Once Pocahontas passed away, her son’s only remaining parent became John Rolfe. But the truth was that the true parentage had always been a big question, so John Rolfe decided to abandon the son.
When Thomas was only five years old, John Rolfe passed him on to his brother Henry Rolfe. John only cared about making money and hence continued his sail to Virginia.
A Battle for Support
Such was John’s disdain for his allegedly adopted son that he not only ignored him and handed him off, but he also refused to pay any child support. But John was in a bind…
To cover up all his crimes aboard the ship, he had to sign all the documents that stated he was Thomas’s biological father. Even his brother Henry, who was now taking care of Thomas, took him to court and demanded that his nephew receive the support John owed him.
A Legacy That Lived On
Thomas Rolfe’s entire life was shrouded with fame, but sadly it was never his own. His presence was eclipsed by the story of his mother which made him a known name.
But fame didn’t afford him any freedom. The English, terrified of John moving to America and ruining the carefully constructed narrative, ensured that never set foot there. He was never allowed to visit what was his true home.
The Bequeath
Even though John was reluctant to share his wealth with his son, he had no option because Thomas was his sole heir for all intents and purposes. So after his passing, Thomas inherited everything that John owned, including some land in Virginia, the place of the Powhatan people.
Pocahontas’s other child, Thomas’s half-sister, was being raised in the tribe and also got some land in the will. However, sadly for the siblings, the two never met.
