Origins-Disney Version

Pocahontas

Pocahontas is one of the few Disney stories that has a known historical basis. Of course, it’s been romanticized almost beyond recognition. The real Pocahontas wasn’t a princess. Her father, Chief Powhatan, was the equivalent of a king, but inheritance was matrilineal – only the children (usually sons) of royal women, not royal men, could inherit. And her name wasn’t really Pocahontas – that’s a nickname meaning “naughty child.” But John Smith probably met her under that name because her real name, Matoaka, was a secret. Following the traditions of her tribe, she also took the name Amonute when she got older. Then she got one final name I’ll explain later.

Matoaka met John Smith after he was captured by a hunting party in late 1607. She was only about 10 years old at the time. There’s a huge dispute among historians as to whether she actually saved him from her father. The first written account of it was done by John Smith 17 years after the fact. Originally, all he wrote was that the tribe treated him well. Regardless, most historians agree that Matoaka and Smith became friends. After he was released, she would visit him in Jamestown, even bringing food to keep the colonists from starving. However, there’s no sign that they were ever lovers.

Smith didn’t take a bullet for Powhatan like in the Disney movie, but a year or two later, he was injured in a gunpowder explosion, and had to return to England. Disney’s Pocahontas ends there, but that’s not where Matoaka’s story ends. To keep the comparison going, I’m going to delve a little into Pocahontas II.*

After John Smith left, the English told the tribe he was dead, and Matoaka stopped visiting Jamestown. Not long afterwards, war broke out. In 1613, when Matoaka was about 17, she was kidnapped and kept as a hostage. Princess or not, her father liked her a great deal, and he returned some of his captives for her – but not enough weapons, so the English didn’t return her. During her time with the colonists she improved her English skills and was baptized, changing her name to Rebecca. Reportedly, after a year of being a hostage, she told the tribe she wanted to stay with the English. A month later, she married an English farmer named John Rolfe.*

Did she stay with the English and marry John Rolfe under duress? We don’t know. But there are signs that their marriage helped create peace between the tribe and the colonists.

Pocahontas II features a voyage Pocahontas and John Rolfe take to England. In this version, John Rolfe is a diplomat, and he brings Pocahontas to negotiate on behalf of her tribe. They romance each other on the way. The two really did go to England together in 1616, but they were already married and had a young son named Thomas. In both the Disney version and in real history, Rebecca saw John Smith during their trip. After thinking he was dead for seven years, historical accounts make it sound like she was pretty pissed.

Unfortunately, the real reason for their journey wasn’t so much diplomacy as propaganda. Rebecca was paraded around the high circles of England to demonstrate how Native Americans could be “civilized,” and that’s how she became famous. The stories that grew around her afterward focused on the “from savage to saved” theme. In short, racism is responsible for all the myths and other fictional stories we have about her.

Pocahontas II includes a bit of commentary on this, when King James I threatens war against the Powhatan unless Pocahontas proves she is “civilized” at a ball. She fails, but after she and Rolfe foil a war-mongering plot, the king forgives them. Their job done, the pair arranges a voyage back to Jamestown together. As they set sail into the sunset, Pocahontas and John admit their love for one another, and enjoy their first kiss.

In reality, their ship didn’t even make it out of England before Rebecca died from unknown causes. She was 21 years old. But her son Thomas lived, and through him she has many American descendants, including former First Lady Nancy Reagan.