While imprisoned she met the widowed tobacco farmer John Rolfe and they both fell in love. After becoming captured by Captain Samuel Argall on his ship in 1613, Pocahontas became a prisoner in the First Anglo-Powhatan War. Whether or not he resembles his Disney interpretation that’s a bit of a mystery. It is not confirmed, but Pocahontas did marry a member of the nearby Patawamake tribe in 1610: Kocoum. One thing that Disney did get right in their Pocahontas films was her marriage to John Rolfe and the inclusion of Kocoum. Pocahontas Was Married Before John Rolfe Pocahontas and John Rolfe She was happy and inquisitive, which explains Just Around the Riverbend and poking around English settlements, doesn’t it?Īfter converting to Christianity and becoming baptized in 1613, her name was changed to Rebecca which remained until her death.ģ. The name “Pocahontas” means “playful one” or “ill-behaved child”. Pocahontas is a nickname given to her by her tribe. Her actual name was Amonute, but close friends and family called her Matoaka. Pocahontas is what we all know her by, but Chief Powhatan’s daughter had many names. Smith often tried to make himself out as the hero of the story and used it to get out of sticky situations, especially after he went down a dark path and tried for mutiny by the Virginia Company. Even with his written accounts, Smith was viewed as a liar and an embellisher. He bartered with Chief Powhatan for food and other goods until his return to England in 1609 after a gunpowder accident. After saving his life from her father Chief Powhatan, Pocahontas would help Smith translate and learn Algonquin during his time as their prisoner.