Pocahontas
Pocahontas
Pocahontas (pronounced /ˌpoʊkəˈhɒntəs/), also known as Matoaka and later known as Rebecca Rolfe, was a Native American woman notable for her association with the colonial settlement at Jamestown, Virginia.
Etymology
The name Pocahontas is believed to have been a nickname, which means "playful one" or "mischievous one", in the Powhatan language. Her formal names were Matoaka (which means "flower between two streams") and Amonute (which does not have a clear translation). After her baptism, she took the Christian name Rebecca.
Biography
Pocahontas was the daughter of Powhatan, the paramount chief of a network of tributary tribes in the Tsenacommacah, encompassing the Tidewater region of Virginia. She is most famously linked with the English colonial settlement at Jamestown, Virginia. She is said to have saved the life of an Englishman, John Smith, in 1607 by placing her head upon his own when her father raised his war club to execute him.
In 1614, at about the age of 17, she was captured by the English during hostilities and held for ransom. During her captivity, she converted to Christianity and took the name Rebecca. She chose to remain with the English and married tobacco planter John Rolfe in April 1614.
Related Terms
- Powhatan: The paramount chief of a network of tributary tribes in the Tsenacommacah, encompassing the Tidewater region of Virginia.
- Jamestown, Virginia: The first permanent English settlement in the Americas, established by the Virginia Company of London as "James Fort" on May 14, 1607.
- John Smith: An English soldier, explorer, colonial governor, Admiral of New England, and author.
- John Rolfe: One of the early English settlers of North America, credited with the first successful cultivation of tobacco as an export crop in the Colony of Virginia.
External links
- Medical encyclopedia article on Pocahontas
- Wikipedia's article - Pocahontas
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