Transcript

4.17.26 · History Hour

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Speaker 1: Hello and welcome. This is RADIOIS History Show and I'm
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your reader and hosts for today, Joseph Bolt. Happy to
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be with you for this time. And as always, before
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we begin, we need to remind you that Radio I
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welcome your comments suggestions about our programming and in particular
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about this history program. So if you have any thoughts
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to research it and see if we can come up
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please call us at eight five nine four two two
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six three nine zero. As you know, Radio I is
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a reading service that's intended for people who are blind
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or have other disabilities and make it difficult to read
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printed material. I'll cite the sources for today's program as
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we go along. What I thought we'd talk about today
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is somebody you've heard of in the past. I'm sure
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a lot of different stories about her. Let's set the
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record straight today by reading what we know to be
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true at this point in time and history, and that
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is the woman by the name of Poka Hantas so
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let's read about Pocahontas. Throughout history, countless stories have been
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told about Pocahontas, the brave daughter of a Native American chief.
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In the seventeenth century, the English called Pocahontas a quote
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noble savage, praising her as a selfless heroine who had
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risked her life to save Captain John Smith. When she
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sat for the only portrait ever created during her lifetime,
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she wore European clothes, including a neck ruff that was
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popular at the time. In the nineteenth century, painter John
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Gadsby Chapman created a famous artwork that depicted Pocahontas at
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her Christian baptism, and in the late twentieth century, a
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blockbustered Disney film portrayed Pocahontas as a free spirited Native
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American princess who was wise beyond her years. But who
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was the real Pocahontas, Why did she become famous and
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is it possible to separate the real Pocahontas from the
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myths about her? Well Born around fifteen ninety six, Pocahontas
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was the favorite daughter of Chief Poetan, the leader of
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a Poetan tribal nation. In modern day Virginia. There is
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no written record of Pocahontas's mother, except to say that
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they both had the same energetic, playful personality and nickname.
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According to custom, the Chief Poetan would sleep with many wives.
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When one wife became pregnant, she would go back to
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live in one of the thirty tribes where she came
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from and give birth to the chief's child. After giving birth,
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she was expected to breastfeed the baby. Once the child
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was weaned, they were brought back to Chief Poetan to
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live together with their half siblings. After doing her duty,
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she was allowed to marry another man, have a relationship,
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and raise more children without being expected to go back
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to Chief Poetan. Since Pocahontas's mother was, or rather is
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never described, many historians believe that she may have died
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in childbirth, or she may have still been alive and
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just chose not to visit the daughter that she gave away.
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Pocahontas wasn't actually her real name. Her name was Amanute,
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and she also had the more private name of Motoika.
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Pocahontas was simply a name for Motoka that meant playful one.
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Her family probably couldn't have guessed that this name would
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be the one that would stick with her for the
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rest of her life. Growing up, Pocahontas dressed like other
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Palatan children, which meant wearing minimal clothing. As a or rather,
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at a young age, she shaved most of her head.
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Among her people, only adult women could grow their hair long.
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As a young child, Pocahontas would have learned the traditional
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skills dictated by her gender. Like other women and girls,
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Pocahontas would have learned how to farm, cook, build baskets,
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and tinned fires. She would have processed meat and hides
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after men returned from the hunt. She would have gathered
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plants and herbs, and weeded and planted gardens for food.
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She maybe even helped construct or repair the yehawken she
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lived in like other young girls before puberty. But life
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for the Palatan would change forever in sixteen o seven,
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when about one hundred English settlers landed in Virginia to
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establish Jamestown. One of these colonists was a man named
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Captain John Smith, leader of the Virginia Colony at Jamestown.
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Though Smith is portrayed as Pocahontas's love interest, in the
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famous Disney movie, there's really no evidence of any real
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life romance between the two of them. In fact, Pocahontas
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was just about eleven years old and maybe younger when
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she met him. Despite the fact that their real relationship
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differed greatly from the movie, Smith did portray poke Hantas
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in an extremely favorable light to the English. In fact,
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Smith's tales of Pocahontas were the reason why she became famous. However,
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his stories may have been far from truthful. In John
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Smith's narrative the story that made Pocahontas famous, the Palatan
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tribe captured Smith and threatened to kill him while he
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led an exploration along the Virginia and Chesapeake Bay rivers.
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But then the chief's brave daughter intervened save his life
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at the last moment, at the minute of my execution,
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Smith wrote in sixteen sixteen, Pocahontas hazard the beating out
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of her own own brains to save mine, And not
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only that, but so prevailed with her father that I
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was safely conducted to Jamestown. But even Smith told this
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story and consistently in his sixteen eight account. Smith didn't
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meet the chief's daughter until months after he met other
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members of the tribal nation. Pocahontas only appeared as the
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heroine of the story years later, when Smith wrote to
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Queen Anne and when he wrote his book, Smith transformed
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the brief tale into something even more dramatic. Yet the
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oral traditions passed down by the Palatan tell a different story.
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According to oral history, the Palatan never tried to execute
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John Smith. Instead, they performed a tribal ritual to formalize
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Smith's place among the Palatan. According to some accounts, several
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warriors grabbed Smith, forced him to stretch out on two
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large flat stones, and stood over him with clubs, as
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though ready to beat him to death if ordered. Suddenly,
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the chief's daughter, little Pocahontas, rushed and took Smith's head
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in her arms and saved him from death. Pocahontas pulled
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him to his feet, and the chief declared they were
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now friends. He then adopted Smith as his son or
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as a subordinate chief. This mock quote execution and salvation
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ceremony was traditional among Native peoples, and if Smith's account
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is valid, Pocahontas's actions were likely part of that ritual,
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a symbolic death and rebirth had transformed Smith into a chief.
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As for the relationship between Pocahontas and Smith, evidence shows
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that the chief's daughter befriended Smith and was a frequent
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visitor to Jamestown. She delivered messages from her father, accompanied
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by other tribe members with food infursed trade, and spent
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time visiting with John Smith during these visits. Unfortunately, relations
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with the Palatan and the Jamestown settlers deteriorated. Though necessary
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trading continued, hostilities became more open, Pocahontas's visits to the
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fort became much less frequent. In October of sixteen o nine,
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a gunpowder explosion badly injured John Smith, forcing him to
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return to England. When Pocahontas next visited the fort, she
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was told that her friend Smith had died. The major
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event of Pocahontas's life was not saving John Smith. Instead,
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it was her kidnapping, which was done by Smith's fellow colonists.
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The once friendly relationship between the English and the Powhatan
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continued to say when the English demanded more supplies from
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the Palatan, even during droughts that left the nation vulnerable. Tragically,
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Pocahontas became a bargaining ship for the English. In the
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midst of the conflict, Captain Samuel Argall plotted to kidnap
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Pocahontas and hold her for ransom, hoping her father would
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return English prisoners and stolen tools. Argall carried out his plan.
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He tricked Pocahontas into visiting his ship and refused to
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let her leave. She began to be exceedingly pensive and discontented,
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but she eventually became calmer and even accustomed to her captivity.
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Argall sent word to Palatan that he would return his
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beloved daughter only in exchange for the English prisoners that
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Palatan had held, along with some arms and some corn.
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After a while, Palatan sent part of the ransom and
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asked that they treat his daughter well. Pocahontas was eventually
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moved to a new settlement, Henry Co under Sir Thomas
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Dale's leadership. Here she learned about the beliefs and practices
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of the English people, learned their language, began her education
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in the Christian faith, and met a successful tobacco planter
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named John Rolfe. In July of sixteen thirteen, Pocahontas was
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allowed relative freedom within the settlement, and she began to
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enjoy her role in the relations between the colony and
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her own people. But the Powhatan saw the kidnapping in
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very different terms. According to oral tradition, Pocahontas suffered a
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mental breakdown and even told her sister that she had
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been raped while in captivity and that she had only
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gone along with the marriage to Rolfe because she had
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little choice. After almost a year of captivity, Dale brought
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one hundred and fifty armed men and Pocahontas into Palatan's
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territory to obtain her entire ransom. Attacked by the Indians,
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the Englishman burned many houses, destroyed villages, and killed several
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Indian men. By sixteen fourteen, Pocahontas had converted completely to
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Christianity and taken the name Rebecca, and later that year
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she married a settler named John Rolfe. As we have
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stated earlier, roth was a very religious man who agonized
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for many weeks over the decision to marry an Indian,
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but finally decided to do so once she had been
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fully converted to Christianity. A general peace and spirit of
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goodwill between the English and the Indians resulted at that
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moment from the mayor marriage. The English treated Pocahontas's marriage
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and conversion as a victory. The Virginia Company of London,
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which had funded the settling of Jamestown, used Rebecca Rolfe
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to encourage more settlers to travel to Virginia. At some point,
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Pocahontas gave birth to a son, and they named him
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Thomas Rolfe. While most English accounts state that Pocahontas had
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her son after Marion John rolf the Palatan oral history
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says that she had him before the wedding. In sixteen sixteen,
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Pocahontas and John Ralph crossed the Atlantic and met with
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the King and Queen of England. The trip was meant
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to show off Pocahontas as a quote tamed savage quote.
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Though she was not considered a princess in Powhatan culture,
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she was presented as the Princess Motoka to the English.
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Once in London, Pocahontas received new clothes and sat for
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a portrait by Simon van de Pass, a Dutch artist
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working in London. In this the only known image of Pocahontas,
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she has seen depicted not only in her own traditional dress,
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or rather not in her own traditional dress, but in
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the high fashion of the English. A While in London,
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Pocahontas was presented as visiting royalty. She met with King
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James at Whitehall Palace, and Queen Anne and the Bishop
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of London, among others. One Englishman, after meeting Pocahontas, wrote
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that she quote carried herself as the daughter of a
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king end quote, while others regarded her not as equitable
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to royalty, but simply as quote the Virginian woman end quote.
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The Rolfs were in the city during the festive Christmas
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season and attended a masque, which was an elaborate play
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at King James's invitation on January sixth, sixteen seventeen. On
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that trip, Pocahontas also reunited with John Smith, whom she
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believed to have died many years before. By Smith's account,
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their reunion was not a particularly warm one. When she
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saw him, Smith recalled without any words, she turned about,
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obscured her face as not seeming well contented in quote.
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Other historical accounts have stated that Pocahontas reprimanded Smith for
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the way she had treated the Palatan people. She also
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told him that her father, Chief Palatan, had said of
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the English quote your countrymen will lie much quote. After
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seven months, Roth decided to return his family to Virginia.
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In March sixteen seventeen, they set sail. It was soon apparent, however,
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that Pocahontas would not survive the voyage home. She was
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deathly ill from pneumonia or tuberculosis. She was taken ashore,
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and as she lay dying, she comforted her husband by saying,
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all must die. 'tis enough that the child liveth Pocahontas
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died on March twenty one, sixteen seventeen, and was buried
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in a churchyard in Gravesend, England, at the age of
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twenty two. Chief Palatan was devastated upon learning of his
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daughter's death. He himself died about a year later, and
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relations between the Powatan and Virginia colonists declined rapidly afterwards.
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While some think that Pocahontas came down with the disease,
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the Palatan oral history suggests that she may have been poisoned.
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While at the same time Pocahontas fell ill, her son Thomas,
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who accompanied his mother and father to England, also became
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ill on the ship, and after Pocahontas died, Thomas was
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still too ill to travel, and so John his father,
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left him to be brought up by his brother in
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Norfolk for fear he would not survive the long Ocean void.
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So while Thomas remained in England, his father returned to
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Virginia from Jamestown. On June eighth, sixteen seventeen, Rolf wrote, quote,
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my wife's death is much lamented end quote. In a
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letter to Sir Edwin Sandy's, Rolf requested that Thomas be
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sent to Virginia as soon as his strength improved, adding
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that his son embodied the living ashes of his deceased mother.
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Thomas did not return to Virginia until sixteen thirty five,
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many years after his father's death. In sixteen twenty two,
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when Thomas did arrive back in Virginia, he found that
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his grandfather, Palatine, had left him thousands of acres on
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the James River, and that his own father had left
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him Verena, the plantation Thomas was born on, with plenty
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of land to live in. Work on Thomas, Roff began
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looking for a wife. At an unknown time, he married
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Jane Poythrus, the daughter of a wealthy landowner in Virginia. Today,
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it is unclear what Thomas Roff thought about his lineage
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and how conscious he was of the conflicts between the
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English settlers and the Native Americans. However, his future decisions
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point to a man very much in favor of his
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English heritage. In sixteen forty six, Thomas Roff became a
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lieutenant in the English military, a role that would have
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required him to fight against the Native Americans. He was
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eventually granted ownership over land called Fort James as payment
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for his services. His decision to embrace his English heritage
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by adjoining the military largely decided the fate of his lineage.
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All of his descendants reportedly lived within the English society. Unfortunately,
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the rest of Roth's life has largely been lost to history,
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but we do know that he ended as a wealthy
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landover in the mid seventeenth century. While the exact date
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of his death is unknown, according to his tombstone in Virginia,
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Thomas Roff died in sixteen eighty, thereby closing an important
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chapter in American history. Pocahontas played a significant role in
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American history. As a compassionate little girl, she saw that
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the colonists received food from the Indians so that Jamestown
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would not become another lost colony. She is said to
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have intervened to save individual colonists lives. In sixteen sixteen,
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John Smith wrote that Pocahontas was quote the instrument to
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preserve this colony from death, famine, and utter confusion. Pocahontas
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not only served as a representative of Virginia Indians, but
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also as a vital link between the Native Americans and
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the English Shman. Sources came from Battlefield dot org Who's
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the Real Pocahontas written by Kate Agner in November of
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twenty three, and from Legends of America dot com Pocahontas
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Powhattan Heroin Kathy Alexander, January twenty sixth All this interesting
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inside the true story of Pocahontas that Disney didn't tell
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by Genevieve Carlton, edited by Jacqueline Angelis in June of
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twenty four and all this interesting the complicated story of
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Pocahontas's son Thomas Roff, a man caught between two Worlds,
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written by Amber Morgan, edited by John Kroski in May
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of twenty twenty five. Well that does it again for
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a RADIOI history program. Thank you so much for your
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time today. I hope you enjoyed this reading as much
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as I did researching it for you, and I'll be
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back next time with another chapter of Radio eye history.
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Until then, happy trails to you,