Then, in , the long suspected English plan to kidnap Pocahontas was carried out. Captain Samuel Argall demanded the help of Chief Japazaw.
A council was held with the quiakros , while word was sent to Wahunsenaca. Japazaw did not want to give Pocahontas to Argall; she was his sister-in-law. However, not agreeing would have meant certain attack by a relentless Argall, an attack for which Japazaw's people could offer no real defense.
Japazaw finally chose the lesser of two evils and agreed to Argall's plan, for the good of the tribe. To gain the Captain's sympathy and possible aid, Japazaw said he feared retaliation from Wahunsenaca.
Argall promised his protection and assured the chief that no harm would come to Pocahontas. Before agreeing, Japazaw made a further bargain with Argall: the captain was to release Pocahontas soon after she was brought aboard ship. Argall agreed. Japazaw's wife was sent to get Pocahontas. Once Pocahontas was aboard, Argall broke his word and would not release her.
Argall handed a copper kettle to Japazaw and his wife for their "help" and as a way to implicate them in the betrayal. Before Captain Argall sailed off with his captive, he had her husband Kocoum killed - luckily their son was with another woman from the tribe.
Argall then transported Pocahontas to Jamestown; her father immediately returned the English prisoners and weapons to Jamestown to pay her ransom. Pocahontas was not released and instead was put under the care of Sir Thomas Gates, who supervised the ransom and negotiations.
It had been four years since Pocahontas had seen the English; she was now about fifteen or sixteen years old. A devastating blow had been dealt to Wahunsenaca and he fell into a deep depression. The quiakros advised retaliation. But, Wahunsenaca refused. Ingrained cultural guidelines stressed peaceful solutions; besides he did not wish to risk Pocahontas being harmed.
He felt compelled to choose the path that best ensured his daughter's safety. While in captivity, Pocahontas too became deeply depressed, but submitted to the will of her captors.
Being taken into captivity was not foreign, as it took place between tribes, as well. Pocahontas would have known how to handle such a situation, to be cooperative. So she was cooperative, for the good of her people, and as a means of survival. She was taught English ways, especially the settlers' religious beliefs, by Reverend Alexander Whitaker at Henrico. Her captors insisted her father did not love her and told her so continuously. Overwhelmed, Pocahontas suffered a nervous breakdown, and the English asked that a sister of hers be sent to care for her.
Her sister Mattachanna, who was accompanied by her husband, was sent. Pocahontas confided to Mattachanna that she had been raped and that she thought she was pregnant. Hiding her pregnancy was the main reason Pocahontas was moved to Henrico after only about three months at Jamestown. Pocahontas eventually gave birth to a son named Thomas. His birthdate is not recorded, but the oral history states that she gave birth before she married John Rolfe. In the spring of , the English continued to prove to Pocahontas that her father did not love her.
They staged an exchange of Pocahontas for her ransom payment actually the second such payment. During the exchange, a fight broke out and negotiations were terminated by both sides. Pocahontas was told this "refusal" to pay her ransom proved her father loved English weapons more than he loved her.
Shortly after the staged ransom exchange, Pocahontas converted to Christianity and was renamed Rebecca. Whether she truly converted is open to question, but she had little choice. She was a captive who wanted to represent her people in the best light and to protect them. She probably married John Rolfe willingly, since she already had a half-white child who could help create a bond between the two peoples. Her father consented to the marriage, but only because she was being held captive and he feared what might happen if he said no.
John Rolfe married Pocahontas to gain the help of the quiakros with his tobacco crops, as they were in charge of tobacco. With the marriage, important kinship ties formed and the quiakros agreed to help Rolfe. In , the Rolfes and several Powhatan representatives, including Mattachanna and her husband Uttamattamakin, were sent to England.
Several of these representatives were actually quiakros in disguise. By March , the family was ready to return to Virginia after a successful tour arranged to gain English interest in Jamestown.
While on the ship Pocahontas and her husband dined with Captain Argall. Shortly after, Pocahontas became very ill and began convulsing. Mattachanna ran to get Rolfe for help. When they returned, Pocahontas was dead. She was taken to Gravesend and buried in its church.
Young Thomas was left behind to be raised by relatives in England, while the rest of the party sailed back to Virginia. Wahunsenaca was told by Mattachanna, Uttamattamakin and the disguised quiakros that his daughter had been murdered. Poison was suspected as she had been in good health up until her dinner on the ship. Wahunsenaca sank into despair at the loss of his beloved daughter, the daughter he had sworn to his wife he would protect. Eventually, he was relieved as paramount chief and, by April , he was dead.
The peace began to unravel and life in Tsenacomoco would never be the same for the Powhatan people. What little we know about Pocahontas covers only about half of her short life and yet has inspired a myriad of books, poems, paintings, plays, sculptures, and films. It has captured the imagination of people of all ages and backgrounds, scholars and non-scholars alike.
The truth of Pocahontas' life is shrouded in interpretation of both the oral and written accounts, which can contradict one another. One thing can be stated with certainty: her story has fascinated people for more than four centuries and it still inspires people today. It will undoubtedly continue to do so. She also still lives on through her own people, who are still here today, and through the descendents of her two sons. Author's note: There are various spellings for the names of people, places and tribes.
In this paper I have endeavored to use one spelling throughout, unless otherwise noted. Custalow, Dr. Linwood "Little Bear" and Angela L. Daniel "Silver Star. Golden: Fulcrum Publishing, Chaplain: Roundhouse, Rountree, Helen C. Randolph Turner III. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, Even though it conveyed more myths, the Native American character is the star—she's the main character, and she's interesting, strong and beautiful and so young Native Americans love to watch that movie.
It's a real change for them. The other thing that's different is that the scholarship is so much better now. She was a spunky girl who did everything she could to help her people. Once they begin to realize that they understandably become a lot more interested in her story.
So the lesson passed down by mainstream culture is that by leaving her people and adopting Christianity, Pocahontas became a model of how to bridge cultures. Largely, the lesson is one of extraordinary strength even against very daunting odds. Pocahontas' people could not possibly have defeated or even held off the power of Renaissance Europe, which is what John Smith and the colonizers who came later represented.
They had stronger technology, more powerful technology in terms of not only weapons, but shipping and book printing and compass making. All the things that made it possible for Europe to come to the New World and conquer, and the lack of which made it impossible for Native Americans to move toward the Old World and conquer.
So Indians were facing extraordinarily daunting circumstances. Yet in the face of that, Pocahontas and so many others that we read about and study now showed extreme courage and cleverness, sometimes even brilliance in the strategizing that they used. So I think what will be the most important lesson is that she was braver, stronger and more interesting than the fictional Pocahontas.
During your extensive research what were some details that helped you get to know Pocahontas better? The documents that really jumped out at me were the notes that survived from John Smith. He was kidnapped by the Native Americans a few months after he got here. Eventually after questioning him, they released him. But while he was a prisoner among the Native Americans, we know he spent some time with Powhatan's daughter Pocahontas and that they were teaching each other some basic aspects of their languages.
The first English settlers arrived in Jamestown colony in May According to Smith, his head was placed on two stones and a warrior prepared to smash his head and kill him. Chief Powhatan then bartered with Smith, referred to him as his son and sent him on his way. Many historians believe Smith was never in peril and the placement of his head on the stones was ceremonial.
Pocahontas became known by the colonists as an important Powhatan emissary. She occasionally brought the hungry settlers food and helped successfully negotiate the release of Powhatan prisoners in But relations between the colonists and the Indians remained strained. By , drought, starvation and disease had ravaged the colonists and they became increasingly dependent on the Powhatan to survive.
Desperate and dying, they threatened to burn Powhatan towns for food, so Chief Powhatan suggested a barter with Captain Smith. Soon after, Smith was injured and returned to England; however, Pocahontas and her father were told he died.
While in captivity, Pocahontas lived in the settlement of Henricus under the care of a minister named Alexander Whitaker where she learned about Christianity , English culture and how to speak English. During her imprisonment, Pocahontas met widower and tobacco planter John Rolfe. They sent word to Chief Powhatan that they wanted to marry; he consented as did the Virginia governor, Sir Thomas Dale. Pocahontas married Rolfe in April The match was considered an important step towards re-establishing positive relations between the colonists and the Indians.
Indeed, the marriage brought a season of peace to the region. In , Sir Thomas Dale sailed to England to rally financial support for the Virginia Company, the company owned by wealthy Londoners that had financed the Jamestown colony. The company also wanted to prove they had met their goal of converting Native Americans to Christianity, so Rolfe, Pocahontas, their infant son Thomas born in and a dozen Powhatan Indians accompanied Dale on the trip.
Much to her surprise, Pocahontas encountered Captain Smith whom she thought was dead in London. Powhatan moved his capital farther west to a location much harder for the English to reach, and Pocahontas quit visiting the fort.
Thomas Savage moved with the Powhatans, and was soon joined by another boy, year-old Henry Spelman. Henry absconded to join a friendlier chief on the Potomac and Pocahontas intervened to save his life when her father sent men to bring him back. Powhatan decided it was time for Pocahontas to enter adult life, so she married a man named Kocoum.
And he sent Thomas back to Jamestown, severing his last ties with the colony. Little was heard from Orapax for a while. Then, toward the end of , Capt. Samuel Argall was, as usual, looking for food. He forced the Patawomekes, the people who had sheltered Henry Spelman after he left Orapax, to trick her into going on to his ship and sailed away with her, so year-old Pocahontas returned to Jamestown as a prisoner.
A young puritan minister named Alexander Whitaker instructed her about Christianity, and a man named John Rolfe began to fall in love with her. Sir Thomas Dale with exactly the same wording, stressing that her conversion was voluntary.
Her baptismal name was Rebecca, and she became Rebecca Rolfe when she married John. Colonists had been trying to grow tobacco for years, but without success.
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