← Explore on the interactive map

Pocahontas

Type Figure Region Virginia Time c. 1596–1617 Also known as Rebecca

Daughter of a Powhatan confederacy chief who contacted Jamestown colonists as a child, bringing food to the settlement in 1607–1609;…

Timeline

  1. 1607–1609Jamestown · VirginiaColonial records describe her frequenting Jamestown from childhood, bringing corn and other food to starving colonists and making contact with John Smith and others; her liaison role within the patriarchal diplomatic network is disputed between oral tradition and colonial texts.
  2. 1609–1610James River basin · VirginiaIn the winter of 1609 relations between colonists and the Powhatan confederacy broke down, and the settlement fell into famine and siege; Pocahontas was still seen by both sides as a potential mediating link, but her room for maneuver grew increasingly restricted as violence escalated, laying the background for her capture in 1613 and conversion to Christianity.

Sources