Pocahontas: the true story
POV: It’s 1995 and Disney just released another banger. I loved the Pocahontas cartoon as a kid. Who didn’t? The music was incredible, the message was powerful, and all the characters were hot. Yeah, I’m including that cunty little raccoon. It’s also almost complete bullshit.
Yeah, it turns out John Smith wasn’t a super sexy blonde hunk and Pocahontas wasn’t a leggy megababe. We’ve been lied to! In fact, she was just a 10-year-old kid when Smith first showed up in the New World. But just because her story isn’t a Disney musical, doesn’t mean this Native American princess doesn’t have an incredible life story.
In 1607 Smith established the colony of Jamestown in Virginia. He and his party were exploring the Chickahominy River, when they were ambushed by Powhatans. Two of his men were killed and he was taken back to Werowocomoco, where he met the Chief, Wahunsenacah. In Smith’s memoir, which was written long after Pocahontas’ death, he describes the famous scene in which the princess risks her life to save his. Many historians believe this never actually happened. In fact, it isn’t mentioned in his original writings on his time in the New World (some historians believe because Pocahontas would have refuted it while she was alive). There’s also evidence that what Smith thought was an attempted execution, was actually a ritual intended to initiate him into the tribe.
He immediately established a relationship with the Powhatans, who were welcoming and willing to offer them desperately needed supplies. If you’ve read my previous blog on “The Starving Times” of 1609, you know where this ends up. In the autumn of 1608, there was a bad drought, meaning there wasn’t enough harvest for the Powhatans to share with the English. That paired with the fact that Smith returned to England a few months later meant relations quickly soured between the two groups.
Remember sexy Kocoum from the movie? The strong, silent Powhatan warrior? Pocohontas, whose real name was Matoaka (Flower Between Two Streams), married Kocoum around 1610 when she was 13 years old. She and John Smith were never romantically involved.
Unfortunately, this is not where her story ends. In 1613, Captain Samuel Argall heard that Pocahontas was visiting the nearby Patawomeck tribe and kidnapped her to be held for ransom. He believed this would give the English the upper hand against the Powhatans. She was held captive in Jamestown where she was baptized and had her name changed to Rebecca. Making the best out of a bad situation, she married an Englishman named John Rolfe in 1614. Together, they had a son named Thomas and in 1616 the three of them moved to England, far from her people and way of life.
The Virginia Company of London actually paid for their move, seeing Pocahontas as a fantastic PR opportunity. They essentially used her to market the New World and to drum up funds for more colonial ventures. It was after this publicity tour that Pocahontas became ill and passed away at the age of 21. She’d never see her beloved father or home again.
And that’s when John Smith reenters the chat. In 1612, he had written a bestselling account of his adventures in Virginia that falsely depicted Pocahontas as a foxy adult woman who was super into him. He claimed in a different book that Pocahontas and 30 other native women attacked him with a “ritual dance” and demanded sexual favors. Yikes. Even more gross? This account became the basis for how her story was told—eventually leading to the 1995 animated film we all know and love.
Here’s what we do know. Pocahontas tried to encourage understanding between two vastly different peoples. She endured a lot in her short life and was incredibly strong. It’s important we continue to tell her story as it really happened. ꩜