2. Table Of Contents Table of contents About Pocahontas Pocahontas's, family Her religion Encounter with John Smith 1616 1607 James town Relationship Pocahontas's accomplishments When she died and what she dies from Resources
3. About Pocahontas Native American princess Born around 1595 near Jamestown, Virginia Pocahontas was the daughter of chief Powhatan Pocahontas's real name was Matoaka. As a child, she was also called Pocahontas, meaning "playful one," Pocahontas was the daughter of a Native American chief in Virginia named Powhatan (born in 1550–1618)
4. Family Pocahontas and Rolfe had one child, Thomas Rolfe, who was born at Varina Farms in 1615 before his parents left for England. Through this son, Pocahontas has many living descendants. Many First Families of Virginia trace their roots to Pocahontas and Chief Powhatan, including such notable individuals as Edith Wilson, wife of Woodrow Wilson; George Wythe Randolph; Admiral Richard Byrd; Virginia Governor Harry Flood Byrd; fashion-designer and socialite Pauline de Rothschild; former First Lady Nancy Reagan; and astronomer and mathematician Percival Lowell.
5. Encounter with John Smith In May 1607, when the English colonists arrived in Virginia and began building settlements, Pocahontas was between twelve and fourteen years old, and her father was the leader of the Powhatan Confederacy. One of the leading colonists, John Smith, subsequently recounted that he was captured by a group of Powhatan hunters and brought to Werowocomoco, one of the chief villages of the Powhatan Empire. According to Smith, he was laid across a stone and was about to be executed (by being beaten with clubs), when Pocahontas threw herself across his body: "Pocahontas, the Kings dearest daughter, when no entreaty could prevailed, got his head in her arms, and laid her own upon his to save him from death, She earned respect from the other people and the English Settlements.
6. 1607 In 1607 English colonists founded Jamestown. They had been sent by the Virginia Company, a company in London that had the English king's permission to set up a colony in the area for trade with England. As a young girl, Pocahontas often played at the Jamestown fort. She became friends with some of the boys there.
7. 1616 In 1616 the Virginia Company invited Pocahontas to visit England, thinking that her visit would aid the company in securing investments from the British. Rolfe, Pocahontas, her brother-in-law Tomocomo, and several Indian girls sailed to England. There Pocahontas was a great success. She was treated as a princess, entertained by the Anglican bishop of London, and introduced to England's King James I and Queen Anne.
8. James town Captain John Smith (c. 1580–1631), who was the leader of the Jamestown colony until 1609, reported that Pocahontas saved his life when he was captured by warriors in 1608. According to Smith, whose story is not believed by all historians, Pocahontas's actions kept Smith from being killed by Powhatan's men. Saving John Smith also saved the Jamestown colony.
9. Relationship Relations between the Native Americans and the settlers were not always smooth, but Pocahontas's friendship with the settlers may have helped keep peace.
10. Pocahontas's accomplishments Pocahontas was one of the first women to play an important role in what became the United States. Her friendship with the English settlers helped ensure the success of Jamestown, which became the first permanent English settlement in America.
11. How Pocahontas died Early in 1617 Pocahontas and her party prepared to return to Virginia. However, she became ill while in the village at Gravesend. Pocahontas had developed a case of smallpox, an infectious and dangerous disease caused by a virus and leading to high fever. Pocahontas died from the disease and was buried in Gravesend Church. Her only child, Thomas Rolfe, was educated in England, and later returned to Virginia.
