Pocahontas As A Go-Between

Pocahontas As A Go-Between

Pocahontas was a well-known individual that acted as a go-between in the middle ground between Native Americans and the European colonists. To begin with, Pocahontas was not her real name, her real name was Amonute, and she was born in 1596 (Kupperman, 2019). According to the Powhattan tradition, Pocahontas’s mother died during childbirth and that Pocahontas was named after her mother. Pocahontas was her nickname, and it means an ill-mannered child or playful one depending on who is asked. At the age of 11 and 12, Pocahontas would go to the European colonies and play with the boys hence the playful meaning one(Kupperman, 2019).  Pocahontas was the daughter of Powhatans, the ruler of more than 30 native American tribes that spoke Algonquian. At this period, the early English settlers claimed Jamestown, Virginia. Pocahontas became known for her association with the European culture. The English men captured Pocahontas during the wars between Native Americans and the European settlers. During this period, she was encouraged to convert to Christianity, where she was then baptized and given the name Rebecca. She was later married to John Rolfe, who was a tobacco hunter in 1614(Kupperman, 2019). She then traveled to London, where she was presented to the England people as the civilized savage as a way to encourage investment in Jamestown. The Rolfe family again planned to set out for Virginia, but Pocahontas died at the age of 20 or 21 for unknown reasons(Kupperman, 2019). She was buried in Gravesend, where she had died. The marriage of Pocahontas to John Rolfe helped to create better relations between the colonists and the Indians. John Smith, who was an English settler and soldier, indicated that Pocahontas had saved his life during the period he was captured by the native Americans. Pocahontas is referred to as the popular culture princess as she was her father’s favorite daughter.

Assessment of Pocahontas As A Go-Between

The first English settlers arrived in Jamestown in 1607. Their arrival created mixed feelings among the Indians, with one of their first reactions to the arrival of the English settlers being hostility(Feest, 2017). They attacked an English ship even before it landed. The attack may have been due to the poor treatment the Indians received from the Spanish settlers. However, they soon began helping the English settlers where they offered them food and other traditional Indian hospitality. As the colonists settled, they neglected farming and became more dependent on the food they obtained from the Indians. With the deterioration of the colony’s fortunes, captain john smith established trade with the native Americans. However, john believed that they should treat the Indians as the Spanish did, compelling them to slavery. Occasionally when the negotiations between the natives and the settlers failed, smith took what he wanted forcefully. Powhatan, who was the leader of the Indians, realized the English settlers would stay for long and was disappointed by the way they treated the Indians despite the help they gave to the English people.

Indians began attacking the English settlers, burning their crops, and killing their livestock. In retaliation, the English settlers began conducting raids, destroying the crops of Indians. Both groups committed atrocities with each other. It is during this period that the colonists captured Pocahontas by the settlers and married to John Rolfe. Their marriage helped to improve the relationship between the two warring sides. The act of Pocahontas living Indians and converting to Christianity is seen as a way of bridging the two cultures(Feest, 2017). The act of doing so makes Pocahontas a go-between as she assisted in ending the war. It is also a representation of the strong character of Pocahontas. It helped reduce the deaths of many native Americans, given that they could not have defeated the English settlers in the long run as they had superior technologies compared to those of the native Americans..

Analysis of Go-Between Life

Pocahontas’s life as a go-between is seen in the letter written by john smith, who describes how he met her in 1608 when she was ten years old. In the letter, john states that the girl had helped save his life after Opechancanough warriors had captured him. In the letter written to Queen Anne, john describes how chief Powhatans attempted to have him killed using clubs, but Pocahontas saved his life by risking her own. Her act convinced the chief of her father that john should not be killed, and he was returned to Jamestown. Although the first versions of the discussion do not refer to Pocahontas, there is a secure link in later versions of how Pocahontas helped to save john smith.  There are also facts supporting the relationship between Pocahontas and the Jamestown settlement. There is evidence of her befriending the colonists and playing with their children. As a go-between, her friendship with the settlers helped save a lot of lives during the starvation time. The growth of the colony resulted in conflict between them and the Indian tribes. It is during this war that she was captured by the English soldiers and held for ransom. The English demanded the release of all goods stolen and the release of English captives. It is during her period of capture that Pocahontas interacted with Alexander Whitaker, a local minister who taught her Christianity and helped improve her English (Smith, 2019). Her marriage to the john Rolfe helped to end the war between the two sides as she berated her father for valuing weapons and tools more than his daughter(Smith, 2019). The life of Pocahontas affected the Jamestown settlement and improved the relationship between the natives and the settlers. Her life bound the Indians and the English in many ways, making her a successful go-between.

Reference list

Kupperman, Karen Ordahl. Pocahontas and the English Boys: Caught Between Cultures in Early Virginia. NYU Press, 2019.

Feest, Christian F. “Pride and prejudice: The Pocahontas myth and the Pamunkey.” In The Invented Indian, pp. 49-70. Routledge, 2017.

Smith, E. Boyd. The Story of Pocahontas and Captain John Smith. Good Press, 2019.