Timeline of the REAL POCAHONTAS
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1525 First European Contact with
Indians in Virginia
1584 Attempted English Colony at
Roanoke Island, N.C.
1607 Jamestown Established
1608 John Smith Captured by
Powhatan
1609 John Smith Returns to England
1614 Pocahontas Marries John Rolfe
1615 Thomas Rolfe, son of
Pocahontas and John Rolfe, born
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1616 Rolfe family visits England
1617 Pocahontas dies in England
1618 Powhatan dies in Virginia
1622 First Opechancanough War
1634 Thomas Rolfe returns to
Virginia
1644 Second Opechancanough War
1646 Opechancanough Dies
1677 Powhatans give up all lands in
Treaty
1722 Powhatans believed extinct
Map of the United States showing the location of Jamestown.
FICTION
Movie: Disney's
Pocahontas
FACT
Primary Sources
How old do you think Pocahontas and
John Smith are? ___________
Pocahontas was a girl of 11; Smith was a man of 28.
Do they look like they are about the same
age? ________________
Pocahontas was a naked child when she visited John
Smith in Jamestown. For Winter warmth, she would
Describe Pocahontas’
wear a mantle; one of hers was covered with
clothing_________________________
feathers. When she turned 12, she started wearing a
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leather dress with or without one shoulder strap.
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Dresses were often decorated with pictures of
________________________________
animals, birds, or tortoises. She probably did have
tattoos.
Describe how John Smith looks
__________________________________ John Smith was short, had a full beard, and wore
__________________________________ puffy pants (like everyone else). He did wear the
__________________________________ type of armor shown.
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What is the name of the ship the Colonists
The colonists sailed in three ships: the Susan
sailed on?
Constant, Godspeed, and Discovery.
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The colony did not have a governor for the first
couple of years. It had a council with a president.
Captain Newport was admiral and fleet commander
during the voyage of 1607. After they landed, they
opened the secret orders to see who was on the
What is the name of the governor of the governing council. (It was Smith, Ratcliffe,
colony?
Wingfield, Newport, Gosnol, Martin, and Kendall.)
_________________________________ The council elected Wingfield as the first president.
Ratcliffe was elected president in September, 1607.
Captain John Smith is elected council president of
Jamestown Virginia in 1608. In 1609, Smith left,
and Percy became President. Thomas West (Baron
De La Warre) was appointed the first Governor in
As soon as they landed, what does John
Smith do?
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When was John Smith captured?
______________________________
What did John Smith show Pocahontas on
his compass?
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When and where was John Smith going to
be executed?
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How did John Smith and Pocahontas
meet?
______________________________
Who was Pocahontas supposed to marry?
_________________________________
Who did she marry instead?
_____________________________
Who is Percy?
_______________________________
Who is Thomas?
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1609, but he did not arrive until 1610.
John Smith was arrested and clapped in irons during
the voyage, and was not released until a month after
the landing at Jamestown. After that, he did plenty
of exploring and trading. He mapped most of the
area.
John Smith was captured on an expedition one day
in December, when he and his Indian guide split off
from the other two Englishmen.
When Opechancanough captured him, John Smith
used his compass to demonstrate “the roundnesse of
the earth and skies, the spheare of the Sunne,
Moone, and Starres, and how the Sunne did chase
the night round about the world continually: the
greatnesse of the Land and Sea, the diversitie of
Nations, varietie of Complexions, and how we were
to them Antipodes...” (Wow! He said all that in
Algonquian?)
It appeared that John Smith was going to be
executed in Powhatan's long house, in front of
Powhatan's warriors and counselors. The colonists
did not know where he was.
John Smith met Pocahontas when she "rescued" him
from execution. Powhatan then adopted Smith as his
son, "Nantaquoud". Pocahontas and her new
kinsman became good friends.
This really belongs in Pocahontas II. After John
Smith went home to England, then Pocahontas was
engaged to Kocoum, but she chose John Rolfe
instead.
George Percy was a prominent colonist who
followed Smith as council president, and wrote two
books about his experiences. A clever name for the
dog! Thomas Savage, young laborer, arrived in
January 1608, and was sent to live with Powhatan
the next month, sort of like a "cultural exchange
student".
Discussion Questions
Answer in complete sentences.
1. Why would Disney change the facts about Pocahontas for the movie?
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2. Do you think Native Americans are happy about the way the Disney movie shows
them? Why or why not?
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3. Why do you think Pocahontas helped John Smith?
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Essay
4. What was your opinion of the movie? Explain how you felt about the movie? Did
you like the movie? Why or why not? What was your favorite part? Why? What
was your least favorite part? Why? If you could make changes to it, what would
they be?
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