“‘[The Englishmen] might have perished if it had not been for the help they got from the Indian Princess Pocahontas’” (Rodeback). Pocahontas along with Powhatan and members of the their tribe helped the people of Jamestown survive during the beginning of their settlement. The food and trade the Natives offered helped the settlers make it through the hard times while waiting for supplies from England.
Pocahontas was born as Matoaka in 1595 to Chief Powhatan of the Virginia tribes. She is better known by her nickname Pocahontas; this is because Native Americans believed that it was dangerous for any outsiders to know their tribal name. Pocahontas was 12 years old when the settlers first came to the New World in 1607. In December of that year, Powhatan had Smith sentenced to death and it is said that Pocahontas took his head and held it in her arms so she could claim him as her own (according to the laws of their tribe) and save his life (Rodeback). That first encounter was the introduction of the two and they became close friends. Powhatan then decided to make an alliance with John Smith because he felt that they might benefit from trading with the settlers.
So Pocahontas, along with other members of her tribe, would often bring food to and trade furs with the settlers in Jamestown. Some fur traders on the colony’s frontier even married Native American women because they wanted to use the connections offered by the tribe to prosper (Foner 55). However, most of the settlers chose complete separation from the Natives. They were only interested in what they would be able to gain from the tribes like food and land. The relationship between both sides went like this for a little while. Each side trading items they had in abundance to get other things they otherwise did not have access to (Foner 56).
However after the first few years that were relatively peaceful, the alliance began to fall apart. Powhatan’s people enjoyed the tools they received from the Englishmen and eventually created a game where they went to the fort and took weapons. This was a kind of test of bravery. However, the settlers were not particularly happy with this behavior and slowly began to cut back the supply of tools and weapons they were trading to the Natives. Around the same time they got another shipment of food from England so they really had no reason to trade with them for awhile. Even though the trade ended, the Natives still wanted to get the tools so they kept going back to the settlement and were eventually held prisoner for stealing (Rountree 102).
Powhatan was not happy with the way the settlers were going back on their end of the deal and treating his people, and he felt betrayed by Smith. While the prisoners were still at the settlement, they were interrogated and Smith found out that Powhatan was upset about what had happened. Then, Smith sent messengers back to Powhatan in an attempt to smooth things over between the two sides (Rountree 103). They became allies once again, but the relationship was extremely rough and it only lasted about a year.
There were a number of confrontations between the two groups once the alliance ended. One in particular was when Smith was a target for Opechancanough, Powhatan’s brother. Opechancanough had planned an ambush for Smith and in an attempt to get him to fall into the trap, he tried to get Smith to go outside the fort. However, Smith didn’t fall for the trick and ended up turning on Opechancanough, pointing a pistol at him, and forcing him to walk among all his people. Opechancanough was extremely embarrassed by this because it made him seem weak among his tribe and never forgave Smith (Rountree 125).
Then, in October 1609 John Smith was sent go back to England because of a serious wound inflicted by a gunpowder explosion. After that followed one of the most difficult times the settlers had to face: the Starving Time. In the winter of 1609-1610, Powhatan trapped the settlers in their colony so they couldn’t go out to get supplies. “Trapped within their walls by Powhattan's renewed enmity, the Jamestown residents ate their way through their livestock, their pets, mice, rats--and each other. Many turned to cannibalism, digging up the graves of both English and Indian dead” (Cox). After this hardship only 60 settlers out of 500 were still alive. They were going to give up and go back home, but they turned back around another ship and a new governor along with more settlers were heading to the New World.
When they returned, the settlers came back for revenge. Under their new governor they no longer had any care for maintaining peace with the Natives. They began killing any and all who got in their way and they destroyed their crops and supplies (Foner 59). Then, in 1613, they took Pocahontas as a prisoner to ensure there wasn't any retaliation from Powhatan or any of his people.
While she was in Jamestown, Pocahontas was treated extremely well. She was taught the ways of Christianity, eventually baptized Anglican, and renamed Rebecca. Shortly after, she married a man she had met in Jamestown, John Rolfe. A number of people from Pocahontas’ tribe came to the wedding, and although her father vowed to never go onto the settlement of white men, the wedding brought peace to the Powhatans and settlers of Jamestown—and was even referred to as the “Peace of Pocahontas”(Rodeback).
About a year later, Pocahontas and John Rolfe had a son named Thomas; and then another year later, the couple decided to go to England. Once they arrived, Pocahontas was treated extremely well and was invited to stay with the Queen of England. Pocahontas enjoyed living there and didn’t want to leave. However, when they went to England a number of the Powhatan tribe joined them on their trip and they were all becoming very sick because of the disease in England. Pocahontas was included with those who were ill and it was decided that they were to head back to Virginia.
They left in 1617 but had to stop in Gravesend because Pocahontas was not well enough to make the trip home; after she was settled in somewhere to rest, they sent for a doctor but she was far too sick and she died before the doctor made it there. She ended up being buried in Gravesend, England (Rountree 183); after she left her the land of her ancestors she never saw it again. Her death brought about the end of the peace between the Powhatans and settlers, and the two sides began fighting once again. Her father died a year later, and his brother Opechancanough took over.
As soon as Opechancanough gained control, he began to create a plan that would remove the settlers from the land of his people (Rountree 208). This lead up to the Massacre of 1622, a outbreak that forever changed the relationship between Native Americans and the English settlers who took their land. Although Pocahontas did not make it past the age of 21, she was the person who gave her people the last bit of peace they would ever have.
Cox, Brad. "A Brief History of Jamestown, Virginia." Virtual School. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Feb. 2014.
<http://virtualschool.edu/mon/SocialConstruction/Jamestown.html>.
Foner, Eric. Give Me Liberty! : An American History. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2014. 54-59. Print.
Rodeback, Tammy. "Pocahontas." Teacher Link. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Feb. 2014. <http://teacherlink.ed.usu.edu/tlresources/units/byrnes-
famous/poca.html>.
Rountree, Helen C. Pocahontas Powhatan Opechancanough: Three Indian Lives Changed by Jamestown. Charlottesville: University of Virginia,
2005. 83-157, 183-210. Print.
Pocahontas was born as Matoaka in 1595 to Chief Powhatan of the Virginia tribes. She is better known by her nickname Pocahontas; this is because Native Americans believed that it was dangerous for any outsiders to know their tribal name. Pocahontas was 12 years old when the settlers first came to the New World in 1607. In December of that year, Powhatan had Smith sentenced to death and it is said that Pocahontas took his head and held it in her arms so she could claim him as her own (according to the laws of their tribe) and save his life (Rodeback). That first encounter was the introduction of the two and they became close friends. Powhatan then decided to make an alliance with John Smith because he felt that they might benefit from trading with the settlers.
So Pocahontas, along with other members of her tribe, would often bring food to and trade furs with the settlers in Jamestown. Some fur traders on the colony’s frontier even married Native American women because they wanted to use the connections offered by the tribe to prosper (Foner 55). However, most of the settlers chose complete separation from the Natives. They were only interested in what they would be able to gain from the tribes like food and land. The relationship between both sides went like this for a little while. Each side trading items they had in abundance to get other things they otherwise did not have access to (Foner 56).
However after the first few years that were relatively peaceful, the alliance began to fall apart. Powhatan’s people enjoyed the tools they received from the Englishmen and eventually created a game where they went to the fort and took weapons. This was a kind of test of bravery. However, the settlers were not particularly happy with this behavior and slowly began to cut back the supply of tools and weapons they were trading to the Natives. Around the same time they got another shipment of food from England so they really had no reason to trade with them for awhile. Even though the trade ended, the Natives still wanted to get the tools so they kept going back to the settlement and were eventually held prisoner for stealing (Rountree 102).
Powhatan was not happy with the way the settlers were going back on their end of the deal and treating his people, and he felt betrayed by Smith. While the prisoners were still at the settlement, they were interrogated and Smith found out that Powhatan was upset about what had happened. Then, Smith sent messengers back to Powhatan in an attempt to smooth things over between the two sides (Rountree 103). They became allies once again, but the relationship was extremely rough and it only lasted about a year.
There were a number of confrontations between the two groups once the alliance ended. One in particular was when Smith was a target for Opechancanough, Powhatan’s brother. Opechancanough had planned an ambush for Smith and in an attempt to get him to fall into the trap, he tried to get Smith to go outside the fort. However, Smith didn’t fall for the trick and ended up turning on Opechancanough, pointing a pistol at him, and forcing him to walk among all his people. Opechancanough was extremely embarrassed by this because it made him seem weak among his tribe and never forgave Smith (Rountree 125).
Then, in October 1609 John Smith was sent go back to England because of a serious wound inflicted by a gunpowder explosion. After that followed one of the most difficult times the settlers had to face: the Starving Time. In the winter of 1609-1610, Powhatan trapped the settlers in their colony so they couldn’t go out to get supplies. “Trapped within their walls by Powhattan's renewed enmity, the Jamestown residents ate their way through their livestock, their pets, mice, rats--and each other. Many turned to cannibalism, digging up the graves of both English and Indian dead” (Cox). After this hardship only 60 settlers out of 500 were still alive. They were going to give up and go back home, but they turned back around another ship and a new governor along with more settlers were heading to the New World.
When they returned, the settlers came back for revenge. Under their new governor they no longer had any care for maintaining peace with the Natives. They began killing any and all who got in their way and they destroyed their crops and supplies (Foner 59). Then, in 1613, they took Pocahontas as a prisoner to ensure there wasn't any retaliation from Powhatan or any of his people.
While she was in Jamestown, Pocahontas was treated extremely well. She was taught the ways of Christianity, eventually baptized Anglican, and renamed Rebecca. Shortly after, she married a man she had met in Jamestown, John Rolfe. A number of people from Pocahontas’ tribe came to the wedding, and although her father vowed to never go onto the settlement of white men, the wedding brought peace to the Powhatans and settlers of Jamestown—and was even referred to as the “Peace of Pocahontas”(Rodeback).
About a year later, Pocahontas and John Rolfe had a son named Thomas; and then another year later, the couple decided to go to England. Once they arrived, Pocahontas was treated extremely well and was invited to stay with the Queen of England. Pocahontas enjoyed living there and didn’t want to leave. However, when they went to England a number of the Powhatan tribe joined them on their trip and they were all becoming very sick because of the disease in England. Pocahontas was included with those who were ill and it was decided that they were to head back to Virginia.
They left in 1617 but had to stop in Gravesend because Pocahontas was not well enough to make the trip home; after she was settled in somewhere to rest, they sent for a doctor but she was far too sick and she died before the doctor made it there. She ended up being buried in Gravesend, England (Rountree 183); after she left her the land of her ancestors she never saw it again. Her death brought about the end of the peace between the Powhatans and settlers, and the two sides began fighting once again. Her father died a year later, and his brother Opechancanough took over.
As soon as Opechancanough gained control, he began to create a plan that would remove the settlers from the land of his people (Rountree 208). This lead up to the Massacre of 1622, a outbreak that forever changed the relationship between Native Americans and the English settlers who took their land. Although Pocahontas did not make it past the age of 21, she was the person who gave her people the last bit of peace they would ever have.
Cox, Brad. "A Brief History of Jamestown, Virginia." Virtual School. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Feb. 2014.
<http://virtualschool.edu/mon/SocialConstruction/Jamestown.html>.
Foner, Eric. Give Me Liberty! : An American History. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2014. 54-59. Print.
Rodeback, Tammy. "Pocahontas." Teacher Link. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Feb. 2014. <http://teacherlink.ed.usu.edu/tlresources/units/byrnes-
famous/poca.html>.
Rountree, Helen C. Pocahontas Powhatan Opechancanough: Three Indian Lives Changed by Jamestown. Charlottesville: University of Virginia,
2005. 83-157, 183-210. Print.