An Indian "princess," daughter of the chief Powhatan, and one of the most famous women in American history. She was credited with having saved the life of Captain John Smith.
Pocahontas' Indian name was Matoaka, meaning "to play," because of her fondness for playthings. Her father called her Pokahantes, which had much the same meaning. She was given the title "princess" by the English, who believed that all rulers and their kin were members of royalty.
After Captain Smith left America and sailed for England in 1609, faith was not kept with the Indians, as had been promised, and Pocahontas was decoyed on board the ship of Captain Argall in the Potomac River, and carried off to Jamestown.
Here Pocahontas was held hostage for English prisoners in the hands of her father, Powhatan. But while on board the ship she met John Rolfe, an Englishman, and the two of them fell in love. With the permission of Powhatan and the governor of Virginia, they were married in April 1614. Pocahontas was converted to Christianity and baptized under the name of "Lady Rebecca."
The marriage brought about peace with the Indians. The young couple with several members of Pocahontas' tribe sailed for England two years later. The king and queen received Pocahontas as a princess. The following year she started back to America but was taken ill at Gravesend, England, where she died and was buried.
Pocahontas and Rolfe had one son, Thomas Rolfe, who settled in Virginia, and from whom many prominent Virginians claimed descent, among them John Randolph of Roanoke. Pocahontas' name is preserved in that of towns in Virginia, Arkansas, Illinois, Iowa, and Tennessee; and counties in Iowa and West Virginia.
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