Pocahontas

Origin
Pocahontas, the Indian princess born around 1595 was the favorite daughter of the powerful chief, Powhatan, who ruled over an expansive area that included what we now know as Virginia. Pocahontas is known for aiding the English in their attempts to settle the North American continent and for becoming one of the first Native Americans to be accepted and honored in Europe.

Pocahontas is said to have saved the life of John Smith, one of the first English settlers, in 1607. It is not clear whether the ten-year-old girl actually did offer her own life to save his or whether this famous tale is a myth. She did, however, become a close friend of John Smith after he helped save the colony from starvation and immediate failure. Pocahontas continued to help the Jamestown colony even after Smith returned to England in 1609 and after her father and the English were no longer on friendly terms.

In 1613, Pocahontas was captured by Captain Samuel Argall who hoped to ransom her in exchange for English prisoners and weapons, which were in Powhatan's possession. During her captivity, Pocahontas was treated as a royal hostage and learned a great deal about English culture. She was baptized in 1614 and received the Christian name, Rebecca. Powhatan, meanwhile, did not grant the English wishes and war between the two cultures continued.

It was not until Pocahontas asked for Powhatan's permission to marry an Englishman named John Rolfe, whom she had met during her captivity, that her father made peace with the English. With Powhatan's permission, Pocahontas and John Rolfe were married on April 5, 1614 - a marriage that created an important political alliance between the English and Powhatans until Powhatan died in 1618.

In 1616, Pocahontas and John Rolfe, together with their son, Thomas (born 1615), and several Indian men and women, traveled to England. In England, Pocahontas was introduced to King James I and Queen Anne and became the center of attention in English society. She had her portrait painted by famous artists and was reunited with her friend John Smith.

Pocahontas became deathly ill just as she and her family planned to leave England in 1617. She died in March, 1617, at only 21 years of age, and was buried in Saint George's churchyard in Gravesend, England.