Rolfe returned to Virginia, but her son Thomas remained with relatives in England. George’s church in Gravesend on March 21, 1617. Indeed, the marriage brought a season of peace to the region. The match was considered an important step towards re-establishing positive relations between the colonists and the Indians. It’s unclear what happened to Pocahontas’ first husband, but divorce was allowed in Powhatan culture.
They sent word to Chief Powhatan that they wanted to marry he consented as did the Virginia governor, Sir Thomas Dale. The couple decided to marry, likely for both love and political purposes – although the decision wasn’t an easy one for the staunchly Christian Rolfe until Pocahontas converted.
Pocahontas converted to Christianity, was baptized and given the name “Rebecca.” Marriage to John Rolfeĭuring her imprisonment, Pocahontas met widower and tobacco planter John Rolfe.
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. Much to Pocahontas’ dismay, her father only sent half the ransom and left her imprisoned. She supposedly earned the nickname Pocahontas, which means “playful one,” because of her happy, inquisitive nature.Īrgall informed Chief Powhatan that he wouldn’t return Pocahontas unless he released English prisoners, returned stolen weapons and sent the colonists food. Pocahontas was named Amonute at birth and went by the name Matoaka.
But when the first European settlers arrived on Powhatan land to begin the colony of Jamestown, Pocahontas became embroiled in a series of events with Captain John Smith and John Rolfe that permanently linked her to America’s colonial heritage. As far as historians know, nothing in Pocahontas’ childhood indicated she would become known as a folk icon. She was the daughter of the powerful Chief Powhatan, the ruler of the Powhatan tribal nation, which at its strongest included around 30 Algonquian communities located in the Tidewater region of Virginia. Pocahontas was a Native American woman born around 1595.