The Historical Inaccuracies of Disney's Pocahontas
Welcome to today's blog post!
Today we will be discussing and analyzing the historical inaccuracies of Disney's Pocahontas. Disney's movie is described to be loosely based on the actual historical figure, Pocahontas. But after reading this article you will see that Disney did not stay true to the real history of Pocahontas and her life. Disney failed to account for the fact that Pocahontas was around 10-12 years old, she would have never been allowed to go anywhere alone, and she never had a romantic relationship with John Smith.
In Disney's Pocahontas, it is very evident that Pocahontas is portrayed as a 20-30 year old woman. Disney also portrays Pocahontas's love interest, John Smith, to be around the same age. This is inaccurate because Pocahontas was actually a very young girl. According to Encyclopedia Britannica, "Pocahontas was a young girl of age 10 or 11 when she first became acquainted with the colonists who settled in the Chesapeake Bay area in 1607." This shows that Disney portrayed Pocahontas older than she actually was. It is highly likely that Disney studios made Pocahontas older so they could portray a legitimate relationship with John Smith.
Since Pocahontas was so young and was the chief Powhatan's daughter, she was never allowed to go anywhere by herself. Because of her status, she would have been accompanied by a guard at all times. The History Chicks address this in their podcast about Pocahontas. They mentioned that Pocahontas was a young girl and would not have been allowed to travel by herself without protection from a guard of some sort from her village. In Disney's Pocahontas, Pocahontas is almost always by herself when she goes to venture in the woods, and when she leaves her village.
Finally, Pocahontas never had a romantic relationship with John Smith. The National Women's History Museum touches on Pocahontas's relationship with John Smith and John Rolfe, who she ends up marrying and making him the father to her child. It reads, "Pocahontas told her father that she wished to marry Rolfe. Powhatan consented and the April 5, 1614 marriage was viewed by all as a peace-making event—the 'Peace of Pocahontas'...Pocahontas bore a son named Thomas and, in 1616, the Rolfes traveled to England, spending time in London and Norfolk, where the extended Rolfe family lived.” The Historic Jamestown website defines the "Peace of Pocahontas" to be "a lull in the inevitable conflicts between the English and Powhatan Indians." This shows that Disney lied about Pocahontas's relationship with John Smith. She was not romantically inclined with John Smith. The National Park Service website also mentions that Pocahontas never saved John Smith like she is depicted to do in the movie. It says, "The most famous event of Pocahontas' life, her rescue of Captain John Smith, did not happen the way he wrote it. Smith was exploring when he encountered a Powhatan hunting party. A fight ensued, and Smith was captured by Opechancanough." This solidifies Disney's inaccuracy of Pocahtonas's love interest. She never had romantic relations with John Smith, but she did marry and bear a child with John Rolfe. Not only did Disney use Smith's false story to put Pocahontas in the middle of the conflict between the Indians and the Englishmen, they also do so with the wrong event of the wrong man. Pocahontas's actual marriage with John Rolfe connected the two different worlds and somewhat calmed the tensions between the two. In Disney's movie, her love for John Smith (and the wind) is what connects the two opposing sides. Disney's false telling does not follow the true events of history and should, therefore, be discredited.
Michals, Debra. "Pocahontas." National Women's History Museum. 2015. Accessed October 28, 2019.
https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/pocahontas
Price, David A. “Pocahontas.” Encyclopedia Britannica. Encyclopedia Britannica, inc. April 30, 2019. Accessed October 28, 2019.
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Pocahontas-Powhatan-princess
"Pocahontas: Her Life and Legend." National Park Service Historic Jamestowne. U.S. Department of the Interior. July 17, 2015. Accessed October 28, 2019.
https://www.nps.gov/jame/learn/historyculture/pocahontas-her-life-and-legend.htm
Graham Beckett, and Vollenweider Susan, hosts. "Pocahontas." The History Chicks (podcast). December 23, 2017. Accessed October 28, 2019. http://thehistorychicks.com/episode-99-pocahontas/
Today we will be discussing and analyzing the historical inaccuracies of Disney's Pocahontas. Disney's movie is described to be loosely based on the actual historical figure, Pocahontas. But after reading this article you will see that Disney did not stay true to the real history of Pocahontas and her life. Disney failed to account for the fact that Pocahontas was around 10-12 years old, she would have never been allowed to go anywhere alone, and she never had a romantic relationship with John Smith.
In Disney's Pocahontas, it is very evident that Pocahontas is portrayed as a 20-30 year old woman. Disney also portrays Pocahontas's love interest, John Smith, to be around the same age. This is inaccurate because Pocahontas was actually a very young girl. According to Encyclopedia Britannica, "Pocahontas was a young girl of age 10 or 11 when she first became acquainted with the colonists who settled in the Chesapeake Bay area in 1607." This shows that Disney portrayed Pocahontas older than she actually was. It is highly likely that Disney studios made Pocahontas older so they could portray a legitimate relationship with John Smith.
This is how Pocahontas is portrayed in Disney's movie. As you can see here, she does not look 10-11 years old. Pocahontas looks like she's in around 20-30 years old. Wordpress.com.
Since Pocahontas was so young and was the chief Powhatan's daughter, she was never allowed to go anywhere by herself. Because of her status, she would have been accompanied by a guard at all times. The History Chicks address this in their podcast about Pocahontas. They mentioned that Pocahontas was a young girl and would not have been allowed to travel by herself without protection from a guard of some sort from her village. In Disney's Pocahontas, Pocahontas is almost always by herself when she goes to venture in the woods, and when she leaves her village.
In this picture, Pocahontas is with John Smith without any other Native American guardian to watch over her. The two of them are completely alone (with the exception of the raccoon). Weheartit.com.
Finally, Pocahontas never had a romantic relationship with John Smith. The National Women's History Museum touches on Pocahontas's relationship with John Smith and John Rolfe, who she ends up marrying and making him the father to her child. It reads, "Pocahontas told her father that she wished to marry Rolfe. Powhatan consented and the April 5, 1614 marriage was viewed by all as a peace-making event—the 'Peace of Pocahontas'...Pocahontas bore a son named Thomas and, in 1616, the Rolfes traveled to England, spending time in London and Norfolk, where the extended Rolfe family lived.” The Historic Jamestown website defines the "Peace of Pocahontas" to be "a lull in the inevitable conflicts between the English and Powhatan Indians." This shows that Disney lied about Pocahontas's relationship with John Smith. She was not romantically inclined with John Smith. The National Park Service website also mentions that Pocahontas never saved John Smith like she is depicted to do in the movie. It says, "The most famous event of Pocahontas' life, her rescue of Captain John Smith, did not happen the way he wrote it. Smith was exploring when he encountered a Powhatan hunting party. A fight ensued, and Smith was captured by Opechancanough." This solidifies Disney's inaccuracy of Pocahtonas's love interest. She never had romantic relations with John Smith, but she did marry and bear a child with John Rolfe. Not only did Disney use Smith's false story to put Pocahontas in the middle of the conflict between the Indians and the Englishmen, they also do so with the wrong event of the wrong man. Pocahontas's actual marriage with John Rolfe connected the two different worlds and somewhat calmed the tensions between the two. In Disney's movie, her love for John Smith (and the wind) is what connects the two opposing sides. Disney's false telling does not follow the true events of history and should, therefore, be discredited.
This is from Disney's Pocahontas. It shows Pocahontas saving John Smith. This is not historically accurate because Smith was captured by Opechancanough, Powhatan's brother. Virginiaplaces.org.
Bibliography
Michals, Debra. "Pocahontas." National Women's History Museum. 2015. Accessed October 28, 2019.
https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/pocahontas
Price, David A. “Pocahontas.” Encyclopedia Britannica. Encyclopedia Britannica, inc. April 30, 2019. Accessed October 28, 2019.
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Pocahontas-Powhatan-princess
"Pocahontas: Her Life and Legend." National Park Service Historic Jamestowne. U.S. Department of the Interior. July 17, 2015. Accessed October 28, 2019.
https://www.nps.gov/jame/learn/historyculture/pocahontas-her-life-and-legend.htm
Graham Beckett, and Vollenweider Susan, hosts. "Pocahontas." The History Chicks (podcast). December 23, 2017. Accessed October 28, 2019. http://thehistorychicks.com/episode-99-pocahontas/
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