The Untold Story of Pocahontas
The true story of Pocahontas has been buried by all of the myths and fairy tales that have been published about her. Her real name wasn't even Pocahontas, Pocahontas was only a nickname which means playful one in their native language. Her birth name was Amonute and her more private name was Matoaka, which she only shared with people she trusted. Her story has been exploited by many people for their own monetary gains and success. Many history books and even Disney are guilty of this exploitation. The true story needs to be told more often.
Pocahontas was born daughter to Chief Powhatan in 1596. She was raised by her many aunts because her mother died while giving birth to her. Despite what the Disney Movie about her life might tell you, Pocahontas was not even a teenager at the time of John Smith and the settlers arrival in Jamestown, she was never romantically involved with him, and she definitely never saved his life. Pocahontas did meet John Smith and probably saw him multiple times on her trips to and from the settlement.
In 1610, when Pocahontas was about 14, she married Kocoum. In the movie, Disney claims that there were arranged marriages within her tribe. This was not the case, most woman were free to choose who they wanted to marry within their society. Not much is known about Kocoum, but, unlike Pocahontas, he was not very high in status which suggests that their relationship could have been formed out of love.
3 years later, Pocahontas was kidnapped by an English sailer named Samuel Argall. It is believed that they kidnapped her to improve relations(gain leverage) on the Powhatan people. During her captivity, She was taken to Jamestown where she met John Rolfe, who later introduced the tobacco cash crop to North America. Her and John eventually got married, apparently out of love, which obviously severed her relationship with Kocoum. After the marriage, Pocahontas was converted to Christianity and her name was changed to Rebecca.
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With this successful marriage between a Native American and an Englishmen, the Virginia company wanted Pocahontas to visit England. They saw this 'success' as an opportunity to incite some interest in the New world and possibly gain new backers. Pocahontas, now known as Rebecca, traveled to England in 1616 with her family and 10 other Powhatan tribe members. In England, Pocahontas and her group explored the country and even were in the same room as the King and Queen. Later on, John Smith and Pocahontas reunited and she scolded him for the way he treated her people.
As Pocahontas and her party were sailing home, Pocahontas came down with a grave illness. Pocahontas died from this unknown illness at the age of 21 and was buried in England. Despite being happy with her new Rolfe family, we must not forget that Pocahontas was kidnapped from her home, stripped of her culture, and then taken to a foreign land as an example of one of the "good Indians". Her story is a sad tale and an example of how truly misrepresented Native Americans are in history,
Sources:
This source talks about the life of Pocahontas.
https://www.nps.gov/jame/learn/historyculture/pocahontas-her-life-and-legend.htm
This source also talks about the life of Pocahontas and also provided me with the only known painting of Pocahontas.
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Pocahontas-Powhatan-princess
This source gave me John Smiths photo.
https://newsmaven.io/indiancountrytoday/archive/the-true-story-of-pocahontas-historical-myths-versus-sad-reality-WRzmVMu47E6Guz0LudQ3QQ/
This source gave me Pocahontas' Photo
http://www.pocahontaslives.com/the-disney-representation-of-pocahontas.html
This source gave me Kocoum's photo
https://theunitedorganizationtoonsheroes.fandom.com/wiki/Kocoum
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| Pocahontas from the Disney Adaptation of Pocahontas |
Pocahontas was born daughter to Chief Powhatan in 1596. She was raised by her many aunts because her mother died while giving birth to her. Despite what the Disney Movie about her life might tell you, Pocahontas was not even a teenager at the time of John Smith and the settlers arrival in Jamestown, she was never romantically involved with him, and she definitely never saved his life. Pocahontas did meet John Smith and probably saw him multiple times on her trips to and from the settlement.
 |
| Depiction of John Smith |
In 1610, when Pocahontas was about 14, she married Kocoum. In the movie, Disney claims that there were arranged marriages within her tribe. This was not the case, most woman were free to choose who they wanted to marry within their society. Not much is known about Kocoum, but, unlike Pocahontas, he was not very high in status which suggests that their relationship could have been formed out of love.
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| Kocoum from Disney's adaptation of Pocahontas |
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| Depiction of Pocahontas |
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With this successful marriage between a Native American and an Englishmen, the Virginia company wanted Pocahontas to visit England. They saw this 'success' as an opportunity to incite some interest in the New world and possibly gain new backers. Pocahontas, now known as Rebecca, traveled to England in 1616 with her family and 10 other Powhatan tribe members. In England, Pocahontas and her group explored the country and even were in the same room as the King and Queen. Later on, John Smith and Pocahontas reunited and she scolded him for the way he treated her people.
As Pocahontas and her party were sailing home, Pocahontas came down with a grave illness. Pocahontas died from this unknown illness at the age of 21 and was buried in England. Despite being happy with her new Rolfe family, we must not forget that Pocahontas was kidnapped from her home, stripped of her culture, and then taken to a foreign land as an example of one of the "good Indians". Her story is a sad tale and an example of how truly misrepresented Native Americans are in history,
Sources:
This source talks about the life of Pocahontas.
https://www.nps.gov/jame/learn/historyculture/pocahontas-her-life-and-legend.htm
This source also talks about the life of Pocahontas and also provided me with the only known painting of Pocahontas.
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Pocahontas-Powhatan-princess
This source gave me John Smiths photo.
https://newsmaven.io/indiancountrytoday/archive/the-true-story-of-pocahontas-historical-myths-versus-sad-reality-WRzmVMu47E6Guz0LudQ3QQ/
This source gave me Pocahontas' Photo
http://www.pocahontaslives.com/the-disney-representation-of-pocahontas.html
This source gave me Kocoum's photo
https://theunitedorganizationtoonsheroes.fandom.com/wiki/Kocoum
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