Pocohantas aka Rebecca Rolfe

  General Notes:

Young Pocahantas was accustomed to luxury. As the favorite child of Powhatan, the powerful ruler of 30 tribes in what is now eastern Virginia, she never knew a desire or demand that went unsatisfied. in 1607, when Pocahantas was only 12, these carefree times ended abruptly. That year, seafaring colonists from England arrived on the shores of Powhatan's empire. Out of curiousity, the girl began to visit the newcomers. Soon, she developed close ties to the Englis as she learned about their language and customs. Witnessing their struggles to survie in a foreign land, the sympathetic Pocahantas ofered the settlers gifts of food. Her friend Captain John Smith later described Pocahonta's kindess as the "instrument that saved the colony from death, famine, and utter confusion." Powhatan was far less enamored of the foreigners. He recognized their growing settlement, Jamestown, as a threat to his rule and to his people. When the colonists ignored Powhatan's order to leave his realm, the Indian leader prepared to wage war. Suddenly, Pocahantas was faced with the impossible choice of betraying either her father or her English friends. Her decision would shape the fate not just of her homeland but of the entire New World. Take from the book, Pocahantas by Chelsea House Publishers.

Her Indian name was Amonute Matoaka

Pocohantas married John Rolfe on 5 Apr 1614 in Jamestown. (John Rolfe was born in 1585 and died in 1622.)