Pocahontas was born in 1595 in what today is known as the state of Virginia, USA. She was an Indian princess. Her father was a powerful and important chief of the Algonquian Indians and his name was Powhatan. Her real name was Matoaka but her nickname was Pocahontas which means playful little girl.
She was about 12 years old when she first saw white men. Together with her tribe, Pocahontas watched the colonists build a fort and search for food.
She was interested in meeting the white men and she learned some English words. She traded with the colonists and brought messages from her father.
The colonists treated the Algonquian Indians badly. Then the Indians stopped helping the white men. Winter came and the colonists did not have enough food and were dying. Pocahontas helped them by bringing food to them.
A colonist called John Smith was captured by the Indians. He was brought to chief Powhatan who decided that Smith had to be killed. Pocahontas saved the colonist’s life by putting herself between John Smith and the Indians who were going to kill him.
Pocahontas was kidnapped by some white men in 1614. While being captive she converted to Christianity, was baptized Rebecca and got married to John Rolfe who was a colonist. They had a son called Thomas.
Because of this marriage there were several years of peace between the Indians and the colonists.
Pocahontas, her husband John Rolfe and their son Thomas sailed to England in 1616. The family traveled around England to help raise money to the Virginia colony. In England people were excited to meet a real Indian princess and she was treated very well. She even visited King James and Queen Anne.
She was called “Lady Rebecca”. Unfortunately, she got very sick. She had contracted small pox. She died in March 1617 at the age of twenty-one and was buried in Gravesend, England.
