Pocahontas becomes Mrs Rolfe

April 5 1614 – American Indian princess Pocahontas marries an English Jamestown colonist, tobacco planter John Rolfe, in Virginia. Born in 1586, her real name was Matoaka but she was also known as Amonute. However, she remains known by her nickname, Pocahontas – meaning “little wanton” (also interpreted as “playful one”). She was the daughter of Powhatan, the paramount chief of more than 30 Algonquian-speaking tribes in the Tsenacommacah, their homeland where English settlers arrived in 1607 and established Jamestown, Virginia. Pocahontas was captured and held for ransom during hostilities in March 1613. While in captivity, she was encouraged to convert to Christianity and was baptised under the name Rebecca. The couple’s marriage brings a temporary peace between the settlers and Powhatan’s tribes. Their son, Thomas, is born on January 30 1615. In June 1616, they travel to England where she is entertained at various social gatherings. In March 1617, Rolfe and

Pocahontas board a ship to return to Virginia, but they sail only as far as Gravesend on the River Thames when she becomes gravely ill. She is taken ashore and dies soon after. Her funeral is held on March 21 1617 in the parish of St George’s Church, Gravesend, where a bronze statue of her, presented by a group from Virginia, has stood since 1958. Her story has inspired many art forms. The 1616 portrait engraving by Simon de Passe, right, was used in a 1907 commemorative postage stamp in the US.