Pocahontas is a historical figure. The real story of Pocahontas: why the Indian princess converted to Christianity and left for England

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Portrait from an engraving of 1616
Pocahontas
Pocahontas

Birth name:
A place of death:
Father:
Spouse:	John Rolfe (1585-1622)
Children:	son: Thomas Rolfe (1615-80)

To the cinema

"Pocahontas" is an American animated film from 1995.
“Pocahontas 2: Journey to a New World” is a 1998 American animated film.
“New World” - 2005 film.

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Literature

Philip L. Barbour. Pocahontas and Her World. - Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1970. - ISBN 0-7091-2188-1.

Notes

An excerpt characterizing Pocahontas

And Pierre now deserved the passionate love of the Italian only because he aroused in him best sides his souls and admired them.
During the last period of Pierre's stay in Oryol, his old freemason acquaintance, Count Villarsky, came to see him, the same one who introduced him to the lodge in 1807. Villarsky was married to a rich Russian woman who had large estates in the Oryol province, and occupied a temporary position in the city in the food department.
Having learned that Bezukhov was in Orel, Villarsky, although he had never been briefly acquainted with him, came to him with those statements of friendship and intimacy that people usually express to each other when meeting in the desert. Villarsky was bored in Orel and was happy to meet a person of the same circle as himself and with the same, as he believed, interests.
But, to his surprise, Villarsky soon noticed that Pierre was very far behind real life and had fallen, as he himself defined Pierre, into apathy and selfishness.
“Vous vous encroutez, mon cher,” he told him. Despite this, Villarsky was now more pleasant with Pierre than before, and he visited him every day. For Pierre, looking at Villarsky and listening to him now, it was strange and incredible to think that he himself had very recently been the same.
Villarsky was married, a family man, busy with the affairs of his wife’s estate, his service, and his family. He believed that all these activities were a hindrance in life and that they were all despicable because they were aimed at the personal good of him and his family. Military, administrative, political, and Masonic considerations constantly absorbed his attention. And Pierre, without trying to change his view, without condemning him, with his now constantly quiet, joyful mockery, admired this strange phenomenon, so familiar to him.
In his relations with Villarsky, with the princess, with the doctor, with all the people with whom he now met, Pierre had a new trait that earned him the favor of all people: this recognition of the ability of each person to think, feel and look at things in his own way; recognition of the impossibility of words to dissuade a person. This legitimate characteristic of every person, which previously worried and irritated Pierre, now formed the basis of the participation and interest that he took in people. The difference, sometimes the complete contradiction of people's views with their lives and with each other, pleased Pierre and aroused in him a mocking and gentle smile.
In practical matters, Pierre suddenly now felt that he had a center of gravity that he did not have before. Previously, every money question, especially requests for money, to which he, as a very rich man, was subjected very often, led him into hopeless unrest and bewilderment. “To give or not to give?” - he asked himself. “I have it, but he needs it. But someone else needs it even more. Who needs it more? Or maybe both are deceivers? And from all these assumptions he had previously not found any way out and gave to everyone while he had something to give. He had been in exactly the same bewilderment before with every question concerning his condition, when one said that it was necessary to do this, and the other - another.
Now, to his surprise, he found that in all these questions there were no more doubts and perplexities. A judge now appeared in him, according to some laws unknown to himself, deciding what was necessary and what should not be done.

Everybody knows Princess Pocahontas like the Disney cartoon heroine who saved the life of her lover, a European settler John Smith. In fact, the girl was about 10 years old when the Indians wanted to kill the Englishman, and there was no romantic history between them. But she really married a European. Her life was cut short at the age of 22, and her grave was located thousands of kilometers from her homeland. What was the fairytale story of Pocahontas?

Very little information has been preserved about the girl’s life, and some of it is very contradictory. No reliable images of her have survived. In fact, Pocahontas is not a name, but a nickname that meant “prankster.” The girl’s real name was Matoaka (“white feather”), it was hidden from strangers. She was born around 1595 into a Native American tribe and was the chief's favorite daughter.

In 1607, English settlers appeared on the lands of Indian tribes. John Smith was really going to be executed for killing an Indian, but the girl begged her father to spare his life. A year later, she helped the British by revealing to them her father’s plans to liquidate the colony. After being wounded, John Smith had to return to his homeland. Perhaps Pocahontas was truly sad after the breakup, but this did not last long.

In 1613, it was stolen by colonists for ransom. According to one version, she was treated with respect, according to another, she was raped in captivity. All this time she acted as a mediator in negotiations with the Indians, and soon married tobacco planter John Rolfe. For the sake of her husband, she even converted to Christianity, and from then on her name was Rebecca Rolfe. This marriage allowed the British to make peace with the Indians for 8 years. And two years later, Pocahontas and her husband went to England. One can only guess who she really was - a heroine or a traitor to her tribe.

In England she was accepted as the “Empress of Virginia”; the girl changed her image and learned social manners. But the happiness did not last long - a year later Pocahontas died. Death occurred either from pneumonia, or from tuberculosis, or from smallpox. According to one version, the British poisoned the girl before she was about to return to her homeland so that she could not warn the Indians about the British intentions to destroy their settlements.

The true story of Pocahontas makes us think about the untold realities of that time, about which an American of Indian descent eloquently said: “What is the true story of Pocahontas? White guys come on new land, deceive the Indian chief, kill 90% of the men and rape all the women. What are Disney doing? They translate this tragedy, the genocide of my people, into a love story with a raccoon singing. I wonder if you, a white man, would make a love story about Auschwitz, where a skinny prisoner falls in love with a guard, with a singing raccoon and a dancing swastika? I was ashamed that my daughter watched this cartoon.” Prototype Pocahontas, Turlington, Christy, Charmaine Craig[d], Campbell, Naomi, Kate Moss And Natalie Vinishia Belcon [d]

Pocahontas is one of the official Disney princesses and the only one of them to be a squaw (female Native American). Pocahontas is also the first American-born Disney princess (the second was Tiana from The Princess and the Frog).

Character

The name Pocahontas translates as “little mistress” or “naughty.” The image of this heroine is based on a real historical figure.

Pocahontas is depicted as a noble and free-spirited girl. She has wisdom beyond her years and kindness. Most of all, she loves adventure and nature. In the film, Pocahontas possesses shamanic powers, as she was able to communicate with nature, speak with spirits, empathize with animals, and understand unknown languages.

Appearances

Pocahontas

A ship leaves from England to North America. Most of the crew is driven by the desire for profit, as they are haunted by the fact that the Spaniards, who arrived in South America decades earlier, found a huge amount of gold there. The ship sails to the land of the tribe, whose princess is Pocahontas, where she meets a young and very handsome young man named John Smith. Their relationship develops against the backdrop of a war between white people and natives.

Pocahontas 2

Princess Pocahontas learns the sad news: John Smith died in his homeland. On the seashore, in an English settlement, she meets John Ralph, who has just arrived from England, but the meeting was very cold. Later they meet in the girl’s home village. Pocahontas offers John Ralph his services as a diplomat to negotiate with King James to resolve the conflict between the whites and the Indians. The girl is about to travel overseas, see a lot of new things, get acquainted with English etiquette and... meet an old enemy. If only he could hear his heart again...

House of Mouse

The princess is a frequent guest at the House of Mouse. Her friend, Miko the Raccoon, can be seen in the cutscene along with Goofy. And in the warehouse of guests’ personal belongings you can find a box with the inscription “Flowers of the Wind” ( Flowers of Rains).

Aladdin 3: And the King of Thieves

When the Genie learns that Aladdin is the son of the king of robbers, he launches a cannonade from the American landing force. As a joke, he jumps from a helicopter dressed as Pocahontas, shouting "Go!"

The Lion King 3: Hakuna Matata

At the end of the cartoon, Timon and Pumbaa are joined by Disney cartoon characters. A silhouette of Pocahontas can be seen next to Peter Pan, who crows in the air.

Thanks to colorful Disney cartoons, the whole world knows the story of the Indian princess Pocahontas and her two lovers - Captain Smith and John Rolfe. However, was everything really like that, or did the creators of the cartoon and films about the Indian princess embellish the truth too much? And why did Pocahontas choose John Rolfe over his namesake Smith? To understand all this, it is worth learning more about the fate of Mr. Rolfe, as well as about the actor Christian Bale and other performers of this role.

The real story of Pocahontas

The Indian princess Pocahontas actually had a slightly different name - Matoaka. She was originally from the Powhatans (Powhatens) and was the daughter of Heleva - one of the many wives of the leader of the tribal union - Powhatan. Although the head of the tribal union had more than 80 children, Matoaka was his favorite, so he often followed her whims. Perhaps that is why the British called her Pocahontas - “prankster”, “mistress”.

It is believed that Matoaka was born in 1594-1595. in the Indian village of Werawocomoco (present-day Wicomico) near the Pamaunka River (now York River). Nothing is known about her early years.

In 1607, white people established the settlement of Jamestown on Powhatan lands. That's how John Smith came here. Being 15 years older than Pocahontas, he managed to visit a lot of places. Smith was a traveler and adventurer who took part in several wars. For the leader's daughter, who had never been anywhere in particular, a man like John was exotic, it is not surprising that she immediately fell in love with him.

When the Indians tried to kill John Smith and his men, who had wandered into the lands of the Redskins in search of food, the girl shielded the pale-faced captain and thereby saved his life. Later, thanks to her, the colonists' relations with the Indians improved, which helped them survive their first winter in new lands.

John Smith spent another year in Jamestown, and all this time he maintained a close acquaintance with the Indian princess, who became a real blessing for the colonists. How close their relationship was - history is silent.

In the fall of 1609, Captain Smith was seriously wounded and sent home to England, and Pocahontas was informed that he had died. Some historians believe that this was the idea of Smith himself, who thus wanted to end a protracted romance with a beautiful savage.

Some accuse John Smith of lying to gain attention, since the brave captain never mentioned this romantic story before Matoaka arrived in Britain in 1616. In addition, his memoirs featured a similar story about the hero’s rescue by the daughter of the Turkish Sultan.

On the other hand, it cannot be denied that with Smith’s departure, relations between the Indians and the inhabitants of Jamestown worsened, which means that he had a certain influence on their princess. In addition, only Smith's story can explain why the British later kidnapped the girl and blackmailed the Powhatan leader with her in order to end the war with them.

After holding Pocahontas captive for several months, the colonists realized that by marrying her to one of the settlers, they could achieve eternal peace with the Indians. But for this you need a suitable candidate. It was John Rolfe.

Biography of John Rolfe

This man was born in 1585 in Hechem. Unlike Smith, he was not a seeker of adventure and military glory. Rolf was more of a hard-headed entrepreneur who became famous through the tobacco trade.

At that time, the struggle for a monopoly on the tobacco trade market began in Europe. Since the British climate was unfavorable for growing this plant, it became necessary to develop new lands for this in America. Among those who went into this business was young John Rolfe.

Together with his pregnant wife Sarah Hacker, he went to Jamestown in 1609 to settle there and establish a tobacco supply. However, due to bad weather, the Rolfs were stranded. During this period, Sarah gave birth to a daughter, but John's wife and daughter soon died.

However, the widower did not give up. Having found a special variety of tobacco in Bermuda, he crossed it with one that was grown in Jamestown. The new variety gained incredible popularity in England and Europe, thanks to which both the colony and John himself began to prosper.

Meanwhile, Jamestown was still uneasy because of the Indians. Only the capture of Matoaka allowed peace to be achieved for a time. For the sake of the well-being of the colony, John agreed to become the husband of an Indian princess.

Love triangle: John Smith, Pocahontas and John Rolfe

According to legend, Rolf fell in love with Matoaka at first sight and, having achieved reciprocity, married her. However, in reality, this marriage was only a business agreement, which John did not decide on until the bride converted to Christianity.

And Pocahontas didn’t feel much passion for her groom. Not because of John Smith. If the princess was in love with him, then over time this feeling went away, and the leader’s daughter married a fellow tribesman and lived with him for several years. What happened to the husband is not known; he probably died before Matoaka was captured.

For many, it remains a mystery why the proud princess agreed to marry Rolf if she did not love him. Most likely, she saw in this marriage the only chance to gain freedom.

In April 1614, the colonist and the princess got married. The bride's father did not attend the ceremony, but gave gifts through his brother and son.

A year later, Mrs. Rolfe gave birth to a son, Thomas. Thanks to the marriage, peace reigned between the colonists and the Indians for many years, and Jamestown began to prosper. However, huge royal taxes prevented the city from developing. To persuade the king to reduce them, in 1616 John Rolfe, along with his wife and son, went to England. On this trip, Pocahontas played the role of an exotic curiosity who was supposed to win the favor of the monarch.

Rolf made the right decision - his wife created a real sensation at court. However, she herself was no less surprised when she learned that John Smith, whom she considered dead, was alive.

According to legend, Pocahontas found herself between two fires: she had to choose between two men, and, out of duty, she remained with her husband.

Smith himself claimed that when they met, Matoaka asked to be called her daughter, and he praised her very much. But eyewitnesses testified to the contrary: Mrs. Rolfe called Smith a vile deceiver and kicked him out. They did not meet again, and a few months later Pocahontas fell ill with smallpox and died.

After her death, John Rolfe left two-year-old Thomas in the care of relatives while he returned to America. A year and a half later, he remarried the colonist Jane Pierce. From this marriage a daughter, Elizabeth, was born.

With the death of Matoaka, relations with the Indians began to deteriorate. According to one legend, Rolf was killed by the Powhatans in 1622, as revenge for the capture and death of Pocahontas.

The fate of Thomas Rolfe

After the death of his mother, the boy also fell ill with smallpox, so he was left by his father in England. The child managed to survive, but John did not want to take him in and left him in the care of his brother Henry. The boy never saw his father again.

It is believed that Pocahontas’ son returned to America at the age of 21, but his fate in the next 6 years is unknown. He later married Jane Poythress. The couple had only one daughter, Jane.

The last written mention of John Rolfe's son dates back to 1658, and he is believed to have died in 1680.

Film history of the character

The legend about the noble daughter of a leader who fell in love with a Briton has been filmed several times. This happened for the first time in 1953. The movie was called “Captain John Smith and Pocahontas.” In this film, the plot was built around the couple Smith and the princess, so Rolf was a minor character.

2 years later, in the film magazine TV Reader's Digest, the issue of America's First Great Lady was dedicated to the story of Matoaka. In it, John Rolfe acted as a noble man who became an obstacle to the love of Smith and Pocahontas.

In 1998, the Disney studio released the cartoon Pocahontas 2: A Journey to New World».

The traditional story has been changed. Matoaka arrives in England to protect his lands from the machinations of Ratcliffe, who convinced the king that the Indians had gold. Rolf helps her get used to the new world, with whom she sincerely falls in love, and in his company returns to America, rejecting the advances of John Smith.

In 2005, the film “New World” was shot, in which the love story of the leader’s daughter was told in a traditional form.

John Rolfe: biography, filmography of the performer of this role Christian Bale

The first two film adaptations of the story of Pocahontas, filmed in the 50s, did not gain much popularity. But the film “New World” became the best of its kind.

In it, the role of a loving colonist was played by Christian Bale, already a fairly well-known actor at that time. John Rolfe turned out to be very sincere, and many believe that Bale played better than John Smith.

Christian Bale was born in 1974 in Britain in the family of a pilot and a circus performer. They moved endlessly from country to country. Already at the age of 9, young Christian starred in advertising. This actor first became known to domestic audiences thanks to the film “Mio, My Mio,” in which he played Yum-Yum. In subsequent years, Christian Bale starred a lot in costume television projects (Treasure Island, Little Women, Portrait of a Lady, etc.). Real fame came to him with roles in “American Psycho” and “Equilibrium.”

Later, Bale managed to consolidate his success thanks to the birth of Batman in the film trilogy. Moreover, Christian’s performance is recognized as one of the best in the entire history of the character’s existence.

In addition to Batman, during his career Bale managed to create a lot of characters on the screen. interesting images: John Connor, Moses, Michael Burry and John Rolfe. has more than 40 projects, and he does not plan to stop there. In 2017, with the participation of the actor, the film Hostiles will be released about an American captain accompanying the dying Cheyenne leader on the way to the lands of his ancestors.

Other actors who play John Rolfe

In addition to Bale, other artists played Pocahontas' husband. The first performer of this role was the hero of science fiction films of the 50s - Robert Clark. In "America's First Great Lady" John Rolfe was played by John Stevenson. And in the Disney cartoon, Pocahontas' lover was voiced by the famous Hollywood playboy, Billy Zane ("Titanic", "Sniper").

Interesting facts

Many Americans and Britons proudly call themselves descendants of Pocahontas. However, most of them are wrong. The fact is that in the 30s of the 17th century. Thomas Rolfe's namesake lived in England. In 1632 he married the British woman Elizabeth Washington. This couple had 5 children. Their numerous descendants consider themselves the heirs of Pocahontas. But, according to documents, this man lived in England in 1642, while the real Thomas Rolfe at that time lived thousands of kilometers away in Virginia, which is documented.

And Edith Wilson - the wives of two US presidents - are considered direct descendants of Pocahontas.

Before The New World, Christian Bale participated in another project related to the story of an Indian princess. He voiced one of the sailors in the cartoon "Pocahontas".

Unfortunately, the real fate of John Rolfe and his wife Pocahontas was not nearly as romantic as shown in the Disney cartoon or in The New World. But if it weren’t for her, then there would be nothing to inspire writers and artists who created beautiful masterpieces based on her, which the whole world admires to this day.

Reality.

Pocahontas existed. True, she was a representative of the tobacco industry, something of a living Indian "tobacco shop" in the days when tobacco stores had not yet opened.
The young Indian princess Pocahontas (1595 - 1617) was kidnapped by British settlers in 1613 - this was done in order to conclude a more favorable peace between the whites and the girl’s father, Chief Powhatan. They hoped to exchange Pocahontas for British prisoners. While she was imprisoned, the Reverend Father Whitetaker had sex with the girl. English language, introduced her to the Holy Scriptures, tried to “instill in her decent manners” (from childhood, Pocahontas was accustomed to walking naked to the waist and often asked the boys to “build her a carriage so that she could ride it without clothes”).
The girl showed good abilities - she grasped everything on the fly, learned quickly and quickly got used to her new life.
She was baptized with the name Rebecca and married to an Englishman, farmer John Rolfe. It was John's tobacco plantations (the first in Virginia) that gave the state a chance to survive.
In 1616, John took a trip to England to show new samples of the product, and Pocahontas was also one of the samples.
It should be noted that the English King James I hated tobacco, calling it “harmful to the eyes, disgusting to the nose and deadly to the brain.”
When Pocahontas, her husband and a dozen tribesmen arrived in London, the Indians were introduced to the court. Pocahontas was a success with Queen Anne. While all the Indians came to England in their usual dress, Pocahontas came to the palace dressed in the latest fashion - in a dress with a high English collar. Pocahontas became everyone's favorite. And it was then that John Smith for the first time - 10 years after it happened - began to tell others the story of “how-she-saved-me-from-death.” Here it should be noted that back in 1608, John Smith wrote a book called “The Real Discovery of Virginia” - and so, in this book there was NOT A WORD about his miraculous salvation with the help of the Indian girl Pocahontas! Another curious thing is that after John’s departure, Pocahontas married a fellow tribesman named Kokoum and, apparently, was his faithful wife until 1613, when she was kidnapped by the colonists. And the whole love story was described by John Smith only in 1624. Maybe Smith was just trying to attract a little more attention to himself? In addition, no evidence has yet been found that Captain John Smith and Pocahontas actually met during her stay in England.

Half of the Indians who arrived in England with John Rolfe died from unknown diseases. Pocahontas also fell ill with smallpox and, after much suffering, died in March 1617 at the age of 22. She is buried there, on the shores of Foggy Albion.
As for John Rolfe's mission, it failed: the king did not reduce taxes. However, Virginia doubled its tobacco exports in a year - from 20 to 40 thousand pounds.
John Rolfe (1585 - 1625) married again - this time to an Englishwoman, but a few years later he was killed - they say this was done by the Indians. And his legacy lives on today - in the Joe Camel tobacco company.

The four faces of Pocahontas.