Name: ___________________________
John Rolfe and Pocahontas Part 2
While Rolfe was working to grow good tobacco, the governor
of Virginia was having trouble with Chief Powhatan. The Indians had
taken a few English prisoners and had stolen guns. The governor
could not make the old chief send back the men or the guns.
Then the captain of an English ship at Jamestown heard that Powhatan’s daughter, Pocahontas,
was away from home. She was visiting in an Indian town on the Potomac River. The captain sailed up the
Potomac River and made friends with the chief of that town. He told the chief and his wife that he would
give them a copper kettle if they would bring Pocahontas aboard his ship. The Indians decided to trade
Powhatan’s daughter for a copper kettle. They brought her aboard the ship, and the captain sailed away
with her.
The captain took Pocahontas to the governor of Jamestown. The governor was very glad to have
her at Jamestown. He sent men to tell Powhatan that his daughter was safe and would be well cared for.
But he said, he would keep Pocahontas until Powhatan sent his English prisoners back to Jamestown.
Even then the old chief would not give up all the men or the guns, so the governor of Jamestown kept
Pocahontas at the fort.
Pocahontas by now was no longer a little girl. She was in her teens, and she was a lovely Indian
maiden. The governor sent her up the James River to a town called Henrico, where some of the settlers
were living. Remember, as more settlers came to Jamestown, the colony expanded into many different
settlements and plantations. One of those settlements was called Henrico. The people were kind to her
and introduced her to many of the English ways of life, which were very different from the Indians’ culture
and customs.
When she was a baby her name was Matoaka. Later she was called Pocahontas by John Smith and
others at the fort. But the people at Henrico gave her the English name, Rebecca. But today, we still
think of her as Pocahontas.
John Rolfe often saw Pocahontas at Henrico, and soon they fell in love. Before long, they were
married in the church at Jamestown on April 5, 1614. On the day they were married, there were flowers
in the church, and many planters and their wives were there. Of course Powhatan was invited, but he did
not come. He sent his brother and two of Pocahontas’ brothers to the wedding in his place.
The marriage of Pocahontas and John Rolfe was a special agreement that came at a very important
time in the colony's history. After the marriage, the English colonists enjoyed a peaceful friendship with
the native peoples, the Powhatan. This peaceful time during Pocahontas’ marriage is called the
“Pocahontas Peace.” This peaceful time with the Indians lasted until Powhatan's death in 1618.
Pocahontas adapted well to the English language and culture.
Directions: Choose the best answer.
1. Why was there trouble with the
Powhatan?
A. The Powhatan had killed 5 settlers and
taken many more captive.
B. The Powhatan had burned Jamestown
and a ship.
C. The Powhatan had taken English
prisoners and had stolen guns.
D. The Powhatan had stolen food from
the Jamestown storehouse.
6. Who did Pocahontas meet, fall in love
with, and marry in 1614?
A. John Smith
B. Matoaka
C.
D. Captain Newport
E. John Rolfe
2. What did the English captain promise to
exchange for Pocahontas?
A. gold
B. basket of corn
C. tobacco
D. copper kettle
7. Who was NOT present at Pocahontas’
wedding?
A. Her brothers
B. John Rolfe
C. Her father
D. Her uncle
3. What town did Pocahontas stay most of
her time as an “English prisoner”?
A. Jamestown
B. Henrico
C. Potomac
D. Werowocomoco
8. Why was Pocahontas and John Rolfe’s
marriage important to the English colony
in Virginia?
A. There was peace.
B. There was drought.
C. There was justice.
D. There was freedom.
4. What did NOT happened to Pocahontas
while she was a captive?
A. She learned the English customs and
culture.
B. She met John Rolfe and fell in love
with him.
C. She was given an English name.
D. She tried to escape twice, because she
was unhappy.
5. What was the English name that
Pocahontas was given?
A. Pocahontas
B. Matoaka
C. Rebecca
D. Rachel
9. What was the peaceful time during
Pocahontas’ marriage remembered as?
A. The Starving Time
B. The House of Burgesses
C. Freedom Years
D. The Pocahontas Peace
10. When did this peace end?
A. When Pocahontas died.
B. When John Rolfe died.
C. When Powhatan died.
D. When John Smith died.