America Celebrates Veterans Day (17/11/9).showing no thought or care for the rights, feelings, or safety of others a hard, shiny, white ball that is formed inside the shell of an oyster and that is often used as jewelry causing or tending to cause annoyance or minor harm or damage to think of or describe something as larger or greater than it really is to officially make someone a member of a specified Christian church through the ceremony of baptismĮxaggerate - v. a union between people, groups, countries, etc.īaptize - v. Write to us in the Comments Section or on 51VOA.COM. Caty Weaver was the editor.ĭoes your country have history stories that might not be true? We want to hear from you. Phil Dierking adapted the story for VOA Learning.
This story was originally written by Cecily Hilleary for VOANews.
Non-Native researchers also suspect the truth of this story, taking note that even in his own time, people saw Smith as a liar who had an inflated sense of his own importance. They say such behavior would not have been consistent with Virginia Native culture or custom. Today, the Mattaponi say it could not have happened. But, he wrote, Pocahontas threw herself down on top of the prisoner, which saved his life. Smith said they were ready to kill him with a club. Smith claimed that he had been taken prisoner by a group of fighters, who brought him before Chief Wahunsenaca. Pocahontas is most famous for an event that likely never happened: Saving British explorer Captain John Smith from death by Chief Wahunsenaca in 1607. A memorial statue for Pocahontas stands there today. George's Church in the Kent town of Gravesend on March 21, 1617.
However, Pocahontas became sick, and later died before she and Rolfe could return to Virginia. Historical records say she was well-received. She was presented to the Queen as Virginia's first Christian. Pocahontas later traveled to England with Rolfe and Thomas to help bring attention to the new Virginia colony. However he gave her a necklace made of pearls harvested from Virginia's coastal waters as a gift. The Mattaponi say her father did not attend the wedding. Rolfe married Pocahontas in 1614, and she gave birth to a son, Thomas. In his writings, Rolfe said that he loved Pocahontas but also recognized that a marriage alliance between Britain and Virginia tribes would be helpful. The details of their relationship are not clear. During that visit Pocahontas told her sister that she had been raped.ĭuring her time at Jamestown, a British farmer named John Rolfe took an interest in her. The Mattaponi say at one point the English settlers permitted her sister to visit her. They kept her for a year at the settlement of Jamestown.Īt some point during her imprisonment, Pocahontas was declared a Christian and her British captors gave her a new name: Rebecca. In 1613, the English took Pocahontas and imprisoned her because they thought it would help influence negotiations with her father. The book also says that the English murdered the older Kocoum. They had a child called Little Kocoum, who was raised among the Mattaponi. It says Matoakoa married a young Potowomac fighter named Kocoum when she was about 14. Linwood's book, The True Story of Pocahontas, the Other Side of History reports about Mattaponi oral history. Linwood "Little Bear" Custalow was a member of the Mattaponi tribe, an ally of Wahunsenaca's. Little is known of Pocahontas' childhood. Tradition has said that her father also called her "Pocahontas." This has several possible meanings, including " wanton" to " mischievous." The name suggests she had a lively personality. Courtesy John Carter Brown University, Brown University. Pocahontas, from a 1616 engraving believed to be the work of Simon van de Passe.