Much to Pocahontas’ dismay, her father only sent half the ransom and left her imprisoned.

She supposedly earned the nickname Pocahontas, which means “playful one,” because of her happy, inquisitive nature.Īrgall informed Chief Powhatan that he wouldn’t return Pocahontas unless he released English prisoners, returned stolen weapons and sent the colonists food. Pocahontas was named Amonute at birth and went by the name Matoaka. But when the first European settlers arrived on Powhatan land to begin the colony of Jamestown, Pocahontas became embroiled in a series of events with Captain John Smith and John Rolfe that permanently linked her to America’s colonial heritage. As far as historians know, nothing in Pocahontas’ childhood indicated she would become known as a folk icon.

She was the daughter of the powerful Chief Powhatan, the ruler of the Powhatan tribal nation, which at its strongest included around 30 Algonquian communities located in the Tidewater region of Virginia. Pocahontas was a Native American woman born around 1595.

Pocahontas (character)