By: Sydney D Hey guys! So I really enjoyed making “Myths & Origins” for Friday The 13th, it was fun and kinda funny, so I decided to make one for Pocahontas! Probably won't be as funny, but still informative! So disclaimer for all of the Disney lovers reading this, if you’d like to keep that untainted version of Pocahontas you might want to read my last post or just wait for my next one, because I am going to completely dismantle that image. First by stating that Pocahontas’s name wasn’t even Pocahontas, turns out it was a childhood nickname that roughly translates to “Little Mischief”. I couldn’t actually find an official name on record for her pre-marriage, but she had several other names like Matoaka and Amonute. However after marrying John Rolfe (No not John Smith- just a simple Tobacco planter) she took the name Rebecca. Some historians also believe that John Smith made up the story of him being captured (and by extension saved by Pocahontas), as it would go against true Algonquian culture and give way to much power to a (at the time) 12 year old girl. Who would have very little power in a traditionally patriarchal system. Speaking of John, another myth (largely fueled by the Disney movie) is that John Smith and Pocahontas fell in love after she saved him. Well, they never fell in love and she also didn’t even save him. They were extremely far apart in age, her being 12 and him 28, so an attraction of that sort wouldn’t have happened, and if by some odd chance it did (child brides were a common thing of the time) they only saw each other twice. Once when he was “captured” and again during her trip to England, which by them she was married to John Rolfe. Her marriage to John Rolfe was the result of Pocahontas’s kidnapping in 1613, which in the duration is it controversially believed the English killed her intended husband- Kocom- and raped her multiple times. Around March, 21, 1617 Pocahontas died with what was officially documented as an illness, but what has been passed through the generations within stories as a poisoning. Leave a comment below if you learned something or if I missed a different fact!! Citations:
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Sydney
A 18-year old who spends most of my time reading and taking photos. Most of what I write here is just things that I personally hope is interesting, important, or at the very least funny. Archives
October 2018
Categories
All
This website uses marketing and tracking technologies. Opting out of this will opt you out of all cookies, except for those needed to run the website. Note that some products may not work as well without tracking cookies. Opt Out of Cookies |