Pocahontas was born in 1596 to the daughter of an Indian chief leader of Virginia, named Powhatan (Egloff). In the year 1617, she died from a terrible illness at the age of twenty-two years old (Pocahontas, 1595-1617). Chief Powhatan had many children, but Pocahontas seemed to be the most liked. Pocahontas nickname meant “the playful one”. She was often called “Amonute,” and also called Matoaka (NPS). Pocahantas will always be remembered as an important person in history that participated in the colonization of the town in Virginia called Jamestown. In this little town, she helped to keep it from being extinct with her peaceful agreements along with cooperation efforts between the Powhatan Indians and the colonists in the new settlement of…
In 1607 John Smith was captured by the Indians and was taken to the chief Powatan. Impressed by Smith's self-confidence, the chief took him in and had him participate in some of the Indian rituals. John Smith was released in friendship after about four weeks of captivity and returned to Jamestown.…
From the story of John Smith, the author examined the first efforts of colonization by the English in Virgina. From Smith’s point of view, this land was very fruitful and befitted for human’s lives, but in fact, the first years in Virgina was dreadful. The harsh weather, the aggressive Indians, the hot and humid summer killed many settlers. Ten years after the first landing, only 400 settlers out of 2000 alived.…
By the time the English arrived, Powhatan was the head of the Indians, dominating a few dozen tribes in the James River area. Initially, the Indians considered the English as potential allies because the English helped them to control other Indian tribes in the region. However, the relationship between them aggravated as time went on. One of the reasons is because the different languages and cultures caused general precautions. But, more importantly, it was the confliction upon the matter of survival. Since the majority of the early colonists were adventurous gentlemen who were highly educated and not accustomed to hard labors, there were insufficient labor forces for farming and domestic affairs. Therefore, the initial colonists often confronted significant food deficiencies, which…
“For the good of the plantation, the honor of our country, for the glory of God, for mine own salvation. John Rolfe talking about his uncommon marriage to his Native American wife Pocahontas on the date of April 5th, 1614. Pocahontas was the daughter of a Native American Chief Powhatan of the Algonquin tribe. John Rolfe was an english settler and a local tobacco farmer. Because of this marriage the local natives and the english settlers had a “shaky” peace for multiple years.…
Jamestown was first built in the year 1607 with the purpose of establishing a colony that would send back supplies and gold. Jamestown started to collapse very soon after its creation because of mosquitos that carried disease and the brackish water that leaked into their water supply. They decided to trade with the Indians in order to survive, but most of the Indians realized it would be easier to kill them or let them die out. In 1608 a man by the name of John Smith took control of the colony and stated that if a man did not work, he would not eat. Smith was then captured by the Indians and as soon as he was about to be killed, Pocahontas saved him. Pocahontas helped the English establish peaceful terms with the Indians, but she was then captured and used as a bargaining chip by the English. A year later John Rolfe arrived from England with tobacco, this crop effectively saved Jamestown.…
What do you think of when you hear the name, “Pocahontas”? For me, the Disney movie, “Pocahontas”, pops up in my head. The movie where animals followed Pocahontas while she was singing gracefully about love and freedom. To be honest, as a kid, I absolutely did not understand the plot of the movie. The storyline was not simple as a poor girl who magically obtained a dress and fall in love with a prince in the movie, “Cinderella”. But as I became older, I began to learn that the story took place in Jamestown, the first permanent settlement in the Americas. Jamestown was a settlement in the colony of Virginia. Jamestown demonstrates the act of anthropocene in America when people first inhabited it. The settlement of Jamestown ecologically…
Mary Rowlandson was an English woman born in 1636. Her parents were John and Joan White. They had moved to Massachusetts in the year of 1639. They were a Puritan family and strongly devoted to their religion. Mary Rowlandson was especially devoted. She went through what is called King Philip’s War. The Indians following Metacomet raided the homes of Plymouth. During this war about 5,000 Indians were killed and about 2,500 colonists were killed. Mary was moved and sold, along with many others including her children, by the Indians(213). The Indians beat, starved, tortured, dehydrated, and killed the colonists that they took. Some of the Indians were not abusive towards their “property” or slaves. Some were gentle and helped the colonists in their time of need.…
9. Pocahontas (63): Pocahontas was the daughter of Chief Powhatan. She saved John Smith when he trespassed. Powhatan let Smith go in exchange for weapons, beads and trinkets. She was captured in 1614 by Jamestown to try and blackmail Powhatan. She ended up converting to Christianity, changed her named to Rebecca, and married, had a kid and moved to London with John Rolfe. She was a reason Indians and colonists relations improved.…
Sacagawea was an adventurous and courageous woman. During her life she traveled with Lewis and Clark. She will be remembered for being and interpreter on the expedition to find the Northwest Passage to the Pacific Ocean. The influential person that saved America I’ll be writing about is Sacajawea, meaning “Bird Woman.” For starters, Sacagawea symbolizes women’s worth and independence, erecting several statues and plaques in her memory, and doing much to spread the story of her contributions. Her main contribution is guiding the Lewis and Clark expedition in ____. With the help of Sacajawea, America would not be what it today.…
Its first settlement at Jamestown, Virginia was established a year before France's arrival. The early colonists first named the Native Americans incorrectly as the "Powhatans" under the name of their powerful leader. Soon, the Old and New World began to mix. The settlers brought new plants and animals with them such as grass, dandelions, pigs and horses that the Indians later used. They also adopted Indian crops such as corn, beans, and potatoes which later revolutionized the whole world. Relations stayed peaceful if not stable. But soon settlers who were too busy searching for gold and forgot to plant food began to starve. They took to raiding Indian villages for supplies which angered the Natives and shattered the relationship between the two. With the arrival of Lord de la Warr, the colonists began to take military action against the Indians, leading to a war against the Indians. Englishmen raided villages, burned houses, and plundered. Although a peace settlement concluded this First Anglo-Powhatan War and an interracial union was created when John Rolfe and Pocahontas were married, the fragile respite that followed was broken when the Indians struck back in 1622. They had been hard pressed for land and ravaged by English disease to which they had no defense to and couldn't take it anymore. After failing to uproot the English, the Indians fell into a sullen trade relationship with the Englishmen. Firearms and…
John Rolfe also brought the ever famous tobacco seeds, and it is quite baffling how he managed to obtain these seeds, especially since The Spanish Government had a monopoly on the growth, care, harvest, distribution, marketing, and sale of all tobacco products and the tobacco industry in general. Therefore, it would have been nearly impossible for John Rolfe to obtain the tobacco seeds that he did. Nevertheless, he got the seeds and brought them, them being the tobacco seeds, to the New World. By some miracle, the tobacco seeds sprouted and flourished. The Virginia soil, which was very poor for growing the crops that the settlers brought with them from England, turned out to be absolutely perfect in every way for the growth of tobacco. From then on things changed in the tiny little settlement of Jamestown, Virginia. Because it BOOMED. Everybody flocked to Jamestown from England. John Rolfe helped out even more by marrying Pocahontas, the daughter of the local native chief. John Rolfe married Pocahontas to bring peace to the native and the settlers. Pocahontas was later baptized and renamed Rebecca, she also caused what is referred to as “The Peace Of…
In the popular story shown by the movie, Captain John Smith arrived in America along with a royal charter from England. Disease, lack of supplies, and animosity with regional Native Americans threatened the settlement’s success, so Smith set out on a mission to find supplies and trade. On his journey, Native Americans captured him and brought him before Chief Powhatan. Right when he was about to be executed, the chief’s daughter, Pocahontas, jumped in front of him to prevent his being killed. This moment— when Pocahontas kept John Smith from being killed—may contain a bit of truth in this embellished story. In the Powhatan tribe, some women had the power to determine the fate of captives (Brown). The film continues with John Smith living as a prisoner among the Powhatan people, who are depicted as an ideal, peaceful people, living in perfect harmony. The film exaggerates, but the Powhatan people did have a place and a job for every member of their tribe. Women were in charge of farming, raising children, and spiritual rituals, while men hunted, fished, and took the role as warriors. Men and women’s roles complemented each other. Because of women’s equal importance, lineage wealth and political power was shared among females, as well as males (Brown). Women were treated with respect, which the film portrays beautifully, although…
Throughout the entire book of “Pocahontas and the Powhatan dilemma” the reader will be left shocked from discovering the real essence of the Native American culture. By unfolding many mysteries related to the English men-Powhatan relationship, Camilla Townsend intends to give the readers an awareness of the great plethora of lies written by the English people about the Native Americans that has been instilled in popular culture. The problem with all of this is that the author herself has failed to give an accurate account of history due to three main reasons.…
Powhatan’s speech to John Smith was about change through peace. Powhatan was really concerned that the settlers did not intend to engage in peaceful trade with the Indian peoples. Powhatan warns John Smith not to take advantage of the hospitality, which has been extended to the settlers from the…