The Real Story of Pocahontas

If you're a fan of the Disney movie Pocahontas, you may think you know all about the Indian princess and John Smith. But there are some things Disney either didn't tell you or embellished.

Pocahontas was a nickname given in childhood. It means "little wanton", and was a good fit for the playful girl who was hard to control. Her real name was Matoaka and she was the daughter of Powhatan, the Algonquian Indians chief who ruled the land that would become Virginia. Powhatan had several children but Pocahontas became his favorite.

Pocahontas did keep the colonists fed during their first winter. She did continue visiting John Smith until October 1609, when she was told he was dead. He was actually back in England nursing a badly wounded leg.

In the movie, it appears that Pocahontas and John Smith are at least in the same age range. When they first met, she was actually 11 and he was 28. Also in the film, Pocahontas was engaged to Kocoum and eventually chose Smith instead. In reality she chose John Rolfe instead.

After evidently marrying Kocoum in 1610, she was kidnapped and held captive on Captain Samuel Argall's ship. Powhatan coughed up enough of the ransom to ensure his daughter's safe return. After her safe return, she moved to Henrico, where she met John Rolfe.

Ratcliffe was the governor of the new colony in the movie. In real life the colony was governed by a council, which had a president, for the first few years. Captain Newport was actually in charge of the fleets. A man named Wingfield was president of the council before Ratcliffe was. Ratcliffe was president for about a year, then John Smith took over. A man named Percy took over when Smith went back to England.

Speaking of Percy, wasn't he the little dog? No. George Percy was actually a prominent colonist and even wrote two books about his experiences in the New World.

If you've seen the Disney version of Pocahontas, you probably remember the scene when John Smith is nearly executed: he was about to be executed outdoors, while colonists watched. He was actually going to be executed in Powhatan's home, with no colonists present. The colonists didn't even know where Smith was.

No movie depiction of real life is completely accurate, but some think that Disney's Pocahontas doesn't even come close. These are the big discrepancies that show up in the film. Read more about Matoaka and decide for yourself how accurate the film is.

Sources:
http://pocahontas.morenus.org/
http://www.apva.org/history/pocahont.html