Article 4
Pocahontas
Four hundredyearsafter her birth, this Native American girl is defined
more by myth than reality. What is the truth aboutPocahontas?
andRobertS. Tilton
By William M.S. Rasmussen
The trustworthinessof all the early accountscan be called
into question,but the scarcity of verifiable "facts" proved in a
way to be a boon to the literary and visual artistswho wished to
tell her story; they were therefore free to depict its events in
whatever form they wished. By the end of the nineteenthcentury, althoughtheir historical veracity was still at times debated,
their truth as sourceshad grown beyond the power of thosewho
would attemptto demythologizethe heroine of Jamestown.
FEw FIcuREs from America's early history are better known
than the Powhatan girl who has come to us as "Pocahontas."
Called America's Joan of Arc by some for her virtue and her
courage to dsk death for a noble cause,Pocahontashas even
beenreveredasthe "mother" ofthe nation, a female counterpafi
to GeorgeWashington.Her 1607rescueof Captain John Smith
is one of the most appealingepisodesin colonial history.
A number of the original chroniclers of the Jamestown
colony mention Pocahontasby name and note her interactions
with the English settlers.By the early 1700sher reputationwas
well established,but it was during the nineteenthcentury,when
the brief history of America was recognizedas containing elements useful in the constructionof romantic visual and literary
lrarratives, that saw the greatest dissemilation of the Pocawrested ftom the exclusive purfrontas legend. Her story was
lview of historians by novelists, dramatists,and artists, who,
noting the potentialin the great eventsofher life for stirring fictional portrayals, re-created and glamorized her accomplishments.
During the centuriessince its creation, therefore,the Pocahontaslarmtive hasso often beenretold and embellishedand so
frequently adaptedto contemporary issues that the actual, fleshand-blood woman has become almost totally obscuredby the
burgeoningmythology.
This young woman, who was known among her own people
as "Matoaka" and whose nickname was "Pocahontas"("little
wanton" or "little plaything"), apparentlypossesseda number
of exffaordinary qualities, including a spirited and engaging
personality,but only scatteredreferencesto her appearancaand
characterhave survived. William Strachey,in his rendition of
the early days of the Virginia colony (for which he was the frrst
secreta{y),provided the shocking depiction of her as a naked
young girl cavorting with the boys of the settlement,as well as
the report that she had been manied to an Indian named Kocoum. The chief architectof the Pocahontaslegend,however,is
Captain John Smith, who wrote of her ir'his Generall Historie
Dublishedin 1624.
T
Inhis GenerallHistorle.Smith recordedlhal afterbeingtaken
prisonerby Indians in December 1607,his life was endangered
by the men of the village to which he was taken. As they prepared to "beate out [my] braines," he wrote, Pocahontas-the
adolescentdaughter of Chief Powhatan "got his head in her
armes,and laid her owne upon his to savehim from death."
Through much ofthe late 1800s,New Englandhistorians,intent on discrediting the South's efforts to formulate an impressive history of its own, concludedthat debunkingthe legend of
Pocahontaswould cause the "Virginia aristocracy" to be "utterly gravelled." These historians ultimately succeeded in
casting seriousdoubt on whether a rescuehad ever taken place.
Ethnologists are inclined to disrniss the rescue as highly
problematical becauseSmith did not mention it in his earliest
accountsof his capture, and the behavior describeddoes not
conform to what is known of Indians of the PowhatanConfederacy.
Sharing the ethnologists' suspicion that Smith's life was
never in danger,somehistorianshave suggestedthat the rescue
was a ritual the Englishmaa simply did not understand.According to that theory, Pocahontasservedas a sponsorfor Smith
as he was adopted into Powhatan's tdbe. Smith's death was
only ceremonial, a prelude to his rebith into Indian society.
Ethnologists,however, have no evidencethat the Indians pmcticed such a ritual.
A final possibility is that the incident was a test of Smith's
manlinessand that the outcome was left unresolvedwhen Pocalontas intervened. Throughout their lives, the courage of
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Article4, Pocahontas
Powhatanmen was under scrutiny. Becausethey were repeatedly tested, they often similarly tested opponents though physical torture or the threat of it.
Rolfe's "diligent care" she was taught to speak English."as
might well bee understood,"and was "we1l instructedin Chdstianitie."
Smith's accountofthe tescuewas apparentlyacceptedby his
contemporaries.In 1623,when Smith testified to a comrnission
conducting an in-depth investigationof the Virginia Company,
he creditedthe "King's daughterasthe meansto retume me safe
to Jamestowne." He would hardly haye lied to an investigative
committee that had accessto multiple witnesseswith firsthand
krowledge.
During Pocahontas'scaptivity, "John Rolfe had bin in love
with [her] and she with him." Although is "hafiie and best
thoughts [had] a long time bin so intangled," Rolfe agonized
over what he perceiyed to be a moral dilenma. He attempted to
convince himself that he was not motivated by "the unbridled
desire of carnall affection" but was acting "for the good of this
plantation,for the honour of our countrie, for the glory of God,
for my owne saluation,and for the convefting to the true knowledge of God and JesusChrist, an unbeleevingcreature...." Finally, Rolfe concluded that marriage to Pocahontaswould be
morally correct,even a "holy... worke."
Did Pocahontas really rescue Smith? The question may
never be answeredconclusively. Although there are disturbing
anthropologicalquestions,the historical evidenceis persuasive.
Until proven otherwise, Pocahontas should probably be
awardedcredit for saving Smith, if only from a test ofhis composureunderduress.
Powhatanfound the proposedmarriageof his daughter"acceptable" and gave his consent.He sent "an olde uncle of hirs,
named Opachisco,to give her as his deputy in the €hurch, and.
two of his sonnesto seethe mariage solemnized."
T
In the springof 1613.CaptainSamuelArgall. a navigatorand
administratorwho had arived in the colony in 1612, learned
that Pocahontaswas visiting the PatowomeckIndiansof what is
now northem Vtginia. He arrangedfor her abductionin order
to exchange her for several English prisoners held by Powhatan
and for arms.tools. and com.
-F
I ro y.-, iarer.Pocahontas
lraveledto Englandwith her hLsband and young son, Thomas. Her joumey was an arangement
of the Virginia Company, the organization that sponsoredthe
Jamestownsettlement.The company was continually in search
of investors ald colonists and eager for the potential hnancial
reward of colonization, but its leadershipalso had a genuine
concem that Virginia's Indians be Christianized. Pocahontas,
the conyerteddaughterof a chief, was impressiveevidence of
the athactivenessofVirginia as an investmentand of the founding's successas a missionaryendeavor.
Powhatanwas "much grieved" to leam of the captureofPocahontas.He immediately sent instructionsthat the Englishman
should"use his Daughterwe1l,andbring my lArgall's] ship into
his River, and there he would give mee my demands."Within a
"few dayes" Powhatan retumed seven English hostages and
three tools. This was not enough to satisfy the English, however, and a year went by before another attempt was made to resolve the impasse.
Pocahontas,Rolfe, and Thomas left Virginia in the spring of
1616 with Dale and his pafty. The Virginia Company provided
Pocalontaswith a small living allowancewhile in England and
saw to it tlat shewas presentedto society.The receptiongiven
"RebeccaRolfe" was warm, and her visit generateda great deal
of attention and excitement.She "did not onely accustomeher
selfe to civilitie, but still carried her selfe as the Daughter of a
King, and was accordingly respected,not onely by the company... but ofdivers parlicular personsofHonor, in their hopefull zealeby her to advanceChdstianitie."
In March 16i4, colonial administratorSir Thomas Dale set
out toward Powhatan's residence with Pocahontasand 150
men, determined"either to move lthe Indians] to fight for her...
or to restorethe residueof our demands."
When the two sides met, a batde seemed imminent until
"[t]wo of Powhatanssonnesbeing very desirous to see their
sister... came unto us, at the sight of whom, and her well fare. . .
they much rejoyced, and promised that they would undoubtedly
persuade their father to redeeme her, and to conclude a firme
peaceforever with us."
The Rolfes began-the return trip to Virginia in the spring of
1617 but got no further than Gravesend.There Pocahontasdied
at the age of twenty-two, the victim of an illness that had "unexpectedly" developed.Her Christiar faith remained constant;
. those who witnessedher death were "joy[ous]... to heare and
seeher make so religious and godly an end."
At this point, however, colonist John Rolfe, a twenty-eightyear-old widower, announcedto Dale by letter his love for Pocahontas and his interest in marrying her. Dale readily approved
the pairing and thereby ended any chanca for the "redemption"
of Pocahontas,who had already been baptized,or who was in
the processof becoming well versed enough in the religion of
her captorsto contemplateconversion.
There is no written account of the details surrounding Pocahontas's baptism in 1613 or early in 1614, at which she was
given the name Rebecca.John Smith recorded, however, that by
Dr. William M. S. Rasmussenis Virginius C. Hall Curator ofArt at the
Virginia Histoical Societ!. Dr. Robeft S. Tilton is professor ofAmerican Literature at Queens College in Neh, York.
Frcm Anerican Histoty, July 199s. Copyfight O 1995 by PrimediaConsumerMedia and Magazines,Inc. All riShtsreseNed-Reprintedwiih
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