Pocahontas

Born: c. 1596, near present-day Jamestown, Virginia, U.S.
Died: March 1617, Gravesend, Kent, England
Pocahontas was the daughter of the Native American chief Powhatan. She was born in Virginia. Her real name was Matoaka; the name Pocahontas means “playful one”. According to a legend, in 1608 Pocahontas saved the life of Captain John Smith by holding his head in her arms as he was about to be clubbed to death by her father’s warriors. Many historians doubt the story, which is not found in Smith’s detailed personal narrative written at the time. The story first appeared in Smith’s Generall Historie of Virginia (1624). In 1612, Pocahontas was captured by the English and taken to Jamestown. She became a convert to Christianity and took the name Rebecca. In 1614, she married John Rolfe, one of the colonists, with the blessings of both the governor and her father. Eight years of peace between the Native Americans and the English followed the marriage.
In 1615, Pocahontas had her first child, Thomas, and the following year the family went to England. She met the king and queen of England and was received with royal honour. On the eve of her return to Virginia, Pocahontas died of smallpox and was buried in the chapel of the parish church in Gravesend, England. Her son was educated in England, but returned to Virginia and became an important settler; many prominent Virginians claim to be his descendants.