The real story of Pocahontas: what Disney didn't show? Interesting facts Pocahontas is a historical figure.

A favorite of her father and a true child of nature, Pocahontas had the gift of a diplomat from childhood. Thanks to the young princess, for many years there was a delicate balance of two completely different worlds. The daughter of the leader took into account the interests of her native tribe and was interested in a foreign culture. By giving her hand and heart to an Englishman, Pocahontas delayed the death of a primitive civilization at the hands of the invaders.

The history of the legend

One of the most detailed written references to a girl named Pocahontas dates back to 1616. The letter, dedicated to his own salvation and the role of a little Indian girl in this, was written personally by John Smith. The note is addressed to an aristocrat who organized a reception on the occasion of the arrival of such an exotic person in England.

There is no doubt that Pocahontas is a real person, as evidenced by the many references to the “right-thinking savage”. But modern researchers believe that the image created by Smith and other Englishmen is different from the real personality of the princess.

For example, saving the life of a colonialist, so circulated in the world, could not be a salvation at all. On the territory of Tsenakommakah (as the Indians call Virginia), the custom flourished to accept strangers into the tribe, depicting their death. Probably, John Smith became a participant in an unfamiliar action, which he misinterpreted.


Yes, and the love of an Indian girl for an English planter loses its romantic veil after reading the notes of the contemporaries of a married couple. Rolf's marriage to the leader's daughter (yes, and here Smith's role is exaggerated) became a political and economic event. There was talk of an interracial union:

"He is one example of bad breeding, barbaric manners and the influence of a damned generation, beneficial only to the prosperity of the plantation."

Biography


Little Matoaka was born in 1595 (in other sources - in 1596) in the family of an Indian leader of the Powhatan tribe. The Indian settlement was located on the territory of the modern state of Virginia. The cheerful girl was nicknamed Pocahontas for her curiosity and liveliness. The daughter of the chief of the tribe stood out among the locals, as evidenced by an entry from the diary of an unknown Englishman (presumably John Smith):

“She was a charming young girl, with her self-control, her posture, she stood out among all the Indians, and in spirit, her mind surpassed everyone around her.”

Thanks to the colonialists, the biography of Pocahontas is known. In 1606, an English ship landed near the place where the Indians lived. The invaders founded their own colony on the land of the Powhatans called Jamestown.


The head of the colony, John Smith, seeing the plight of the British, who were dying without food and water, went to the Indians for help. It is not known what went wrong, but the Powhatan tribe decided to get rid of the outlander. Smith was saved from death by an Indian princess. The girl shielded John's head with her own body. The warriors of the tribe did not dare to argue with the leader's favorite and spared the Englishman.

There is no evidence that Pocahontas and John Smith had a love relationship. The young beauty had just turned 12, and the colonist was already 27. In addition, according to contemporaries, Smith was not distinguished by beauty and charm.

The friendly relations that began in such a non-standard way reconciled the British and Indians. The leader's daughter acted as an envoy and diplomat. The girl often visited Jamestown and taught English.


Frame from the cartoon "Pocahontas"

The truce ended abruptly. John Smith became seriously ill and had to leave the colony. The new leaders of Jamestown could not find a common language with the neighboring tribe. To force the Powhatans to cooperate, the British kidnapped Pocahontas. What happened to the girl in captivity is unknown. Some sources claim that the leader's daughter was protected like a treasure. Other evidence supports the theory that Pocahontas was severely bullied.

While imprisoned in Jamestown, Pocahontas meets planter John Rolfe. After a short time, the leader's daughter accepts Christianity and marries a new acquaintance. What prompted Pocahontas to take such a step is impossible to know. It was love or a political calculation, but the Indian princess found a husband and a European name - Rebecca Rolf.


In 1615, Pocahontas became a mother - Thomas Rolf was born in Jamestown. Soon, new workers were needed on John's plantations, so Rolf gathered his wife and son and went to England.

The journey brought Pocahontas a lot of new experiences. In the homeland of her husband, an Indian girl was perceived as a curiosity. The beauty stood out from the crowd even in a traditional English dress. An unusual couple was received in the noble houses of the Old World. Pocahontas was even introduced to King James I of England.


Shortly before returning home, Mrs. Rolf fell ill. There are several theories about what kind of illness struck a smart and determined girl. According to official figures, Pocahontas died of smallpox. But the researchers do not exclude that the disease could be pneumonia or tuberculosis. The possibility that Rebecca Rolfe was poisoned is not ruled out. Allegedly, the girl found out about the impending extermination of the tribe and was going to warn her native people.

John Rolf recorded the last words of his dying wife:

“Everything must someday die, and the tree, and the flower, and I ... An ear will sprout from my body. Don't cry, love. Take comfort in the fact that our child will live!”

Pocahontas was buried in the English city of Gravesend. The monument dedicated to the diplomat girl guards the peace of the leader's daughter and is a place of pilgrimage for tourists from all over the world.

Screen adaptations

One of the first stories of love between Matoaka and an English colonist was told by director Lew Landers in the film Captain John Smith and Pocahontas. The debut of the film took place in 1953. Most of the scenes were filmed in Virginia. The role of the daughter of the leader of the Indians went to actress Jodi Lawrence.


A film co-produced by the United States and Canada, released in 1995 under the title "Pocahontas: Legend", repeats the plot of the previous film. The fictional fairy tale of love was an extraordinary success. Matoaki's husband is not mentioned in the script. The role of Pocahontas was played by Sandrine Holt.

In parallel with the Canadian film, the world saw the first full-length cartoon of the Disney company, based on historical events. Music became a feature of Pocahontas - composer Alan Menken was awarded two Oscars for the compositions that he created for the cartoon. The characters in the animated film looked realistic and captivated viewers of all ages.


In 1998, the sequel to the cartoon "Pocahontas 2: Journey to the New World" was released. In the second part of the adventure, the princess went to England to prevent the war. The voice of Pocahontas in both films was given by Irene Bedard.

The drama "New World" was released in 2005. The film raises the subject of the conquest of the first Indians and touches on the love story of John Smith and Pocahontas. The role of a shrewd Native American girl went to actress K "Orianka Kilcher, who played a colonial adventurer.

  • The meaning of the name of the heroine is “white feather”, and the nickname “Pocahontas” is translated as “naughty”.
  • Pocahontas died at 22.

  • Among the descendants of the Indian princess are two first ladies of the United States - Nancy Reagan and Edith Wilson.
  • According to unconfirmed reports, before her marriage to John Rolf, Pocahontas was married to a tribesman Kokoum, but left the man for the plantation owner.

", filmed in 1995. Pocahontas is the beautiful young daughter of the leader of the Powhatan Indian tribe. She is stubborn, brave and strong in mind and body. She has long dark hair and dark brown eyes. Around her neck she wears her mother's necklace, given to her by her father. Walks barefoot. Has three friends: Miko the raccoon, Fleet the hummingbird and Percy the dog.

Pocahontas
English Pocahontas
First appearance Pocahontas
Pocahontas 2: Journey to the New World
The Lion King 3: Hakuna matata
prototype Pocahontas, Turlington, Christy, Charmaine Craig[d], Campbell, Naomi, Kate Moss And Natalie Vinicia Belcon [d]
Execution Irene Bedard
Judy Kahn & Vanessa Williams (singing)
Information
Type Human
Floor Female
Occupation Princess
Relatives Chief Powhatan (father); mother (deceased); grandmother willow

Pocahontas is one of the official Disney princesses and the only squaw (female Indian) among them. Pocahontas is also the first Disney princess of American origin (the second was Tiana from the cartoon The Princess and the Frog).

Character

The name Pocahontas is translated as "little darling" or "naughty". The image of this heroine is based on a real historical figure.

Pocahontas is depicted as a noble and free-spirited girl. She has wisdom beyond her years and kindness. Most of all she loves adventure and nature. In the film, Pocahontas has shamanistic powers, as she was able to communicate with nature, speak with spirits, empathize with animals, and understand unknown languages.

Appearances

Pocahontas

A ship leaves from England to North America. Most of the crew is driven by the desire for profit, as they are haunted by the fact that the Spaniards, who arrived in South America decades earlier, found huge amounts of gold there. The ship sails to the land of the tribe whose princess is Pocahontas, where she meets a young and very handsome young man named John Smith. Their relationship develops against the backdrop of a war between white people and natives.

Pocahontas 2

Princess Pocahontas learns the sad news: John Smith died in his homeland. On the seashore, in an English settlement, she meets John Ralph, who has just arrived from England, but the meeting was very cold. They later meet in the girl's hometown. Pocahontas offers John Ralph his services as a diplomat to negotiate with King James to resolve the conflict between whites and Indians. The girl has a long journey across the ocean, to see a lot of new things, to get acquainted with English etiquette and ... to meet an old enemy. If only he could hear his heart again...

", filmed in 1995. Pocahontas is a young beautiful Indian woman, the daughter of the leader of the Powhatan tribe. She is stubborn, brave and strong in mind and body, with long dark hair and dark brown eyes. Around her neck she wears her mother's necklace, given to her by her father. Walks barefoot. Has three friends: Miko the raccoon, Fleet the hummingbird and Percy the dog.

Pocahontas is one of the official Disney princesses and the only Indian of them. Pocahontas is also the first Disney princess of American origin (the second was Tiana from the cartoon The Princess and the Frog).

Encyclopedic YouTube

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    ✪ Pocahontas | POCAHONTAS | the whole film for children in Russian | TOONS FOR KIDS | EN

    ✪ Pocahontas Listen with your heart

    ✪ Pocahontas 2: Journey to the New World on Disney Channel!

    Subtitles

Character

The name Pocahontas is translated as "little darling" or "naughty". The image of this heroine is based on a real historical figure.

Pocahontas is depicted as a noble and free-spirited girl. She has wisdom beyond her years and kindness. Most of all she loves adventure and nature. In the film, Pocahontas has shamanistic powers, as she was able to communicate with nature, speak with spirits, empathize with animals, and understand unknown languages.

Appearances

Pocahontas

A ship leaves from England to America. Most of the crew is driven by the desire for profit, as they are haunted by the fact that the Spaniards, who arrived in South America decades earlier, found huge amounts of gold there. The ship sails to the land of the tribe whose princess is Pocahontas, where she meets a young and very handsome young man named John Smith. Their relationship develops against the backdrop of a war between white people and natives.

Pocahontas 2

Princess Pocahontas learns the sad news: John Smith died in his homeland. On the seashore, in an English settlement, she meets John Ralph, who has just arrived from England, but the meeting was very cold. They later meet in the girl's hometown. Pocahontas offers John Ralph his services as a diplomat to negotiate with King James to resolve the conflict between whites and Indians. The girl has a long journey across the ocean, to see a lot of new things, to get acquainted with English etiquette and ... to meet an old enemy. If only he could hear his heart again...

mouse house

The princess is a frequent visitor to the Mouse House. Her friend Miko the raccoon can be seen in the cutscene along with Goofy. And in the storage of personal belongings of the guests you can find a box with the inscription "Flowers of the Wind" ( Flowers of Rains).

Aladdin 3: And the King of Thieves

When the Genie finds out that Aladdin is the son of the King of Thieves, he cannonaded the American troops. As a prank, he jumps from a helicopter in the guise of Pocahontas, yelling "Let's go!".

The Lion King 3: Hakuna Matata

At the end of the cartoon, Timon and Pumbaa are joined by Disney cartoon characters. The silhouette of Pocahontas can be seen next to Peter Pan, who is crowing in the air.


Everybody knows Princess Pocahontas like a Disney character who saved the life of her lover, a European settler John Smith. In fact, the girl was about 10 years old when the Indians wanted to kill the Englishman, and there was no romantic story between them. But she did marry a European. Her life was cut short at the age of 22, and the grave was thousands of kilometers from her homeland. What was the fairy tale story of Pocahontas?





Very little information has been preserved about the life of the girl, and some of them are very contradictory. There are no reliable pictures of her. In fact, Pocahontas is not a name, but a nickname that meant "naughty". The real name of the girl was Matoaka ("white feather"), it was hidden from strangers. She was born about 1595 in an Indian tribe and was the favorite daughter of the leader.



In 1607, English settlers appeared on the lands of the Indian tribes. John Smith was really going to be executed for the murder of an Indian, but the girl begged her father to save his life. A year later, she helped the British by revealing to them her father's plans to liquidate the colony. After being wounded, John Smith had to return to his homeland. Perhaps Pocahontas was really sad after parting, but this did not last long.



In 1613, the colonists stole it for a ransom. According to one version, she was treated with respect, according to another, she was raped in captivity. All this time she acted as an intermediary in negotiations with the Indians, and soon married the tobacco planter John Rolfe. For the sake of her husband, she even converted to Christianity, since then her name was Rebecca Rolf. This marriage allowed the British to make peace with the Indians for 8 years. And two years later, Pocahontas and her husband went to England. It remains to be seen who she really was - a heroine or a traitor in relation to her tribe.





In England, she was accepted as the "Empress of Virginia", the girl changed her image, learned secular manners. But happiness did not last long - a year later Pocahontas died. Death came either from pneumonia, or from tuberculosis, or from smallpox. According to one version, the British poisoned the girl before she was about to return to her homeland so that she could not warn the Indians about the intentions of the British to destroy their settlements.





The true story of Pocahontas makes you think about the unfabulous realities of that time, about which an American of Indian origin eloquently said: “What is the true story of Pocahontas? White guys come to a new land, deceive an Indian chief, kill 90% of men and rape all women. What is Disney doing? They translate this tragedy, the genocide of my people, into a love story with a singing raccoon. I wonder if you, a white man, would make a love story about Auschwitz, where a skinny prisoner falls in love with a guard, with a singing raccoon and a dancing swastika? I was ashamed that my daughter watched this cartoon.”

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Pocahontas
Pocahontas
Portrait after an engraving from 1616
Name at birth:
A place of death:
Father:
Spouse:

John Rolf (1585-1622)

Children:

son People: Thomas Rolf (1615-80)

To the cinema

  • Pocahontas is a 1995 American cartoon.
  • Pocahontas 2: Journey to the New World is a 1998 American cartoon.
  • "New World" - a 2005 film.

Write a review on the article "Pocahontas"

Literature

  • Philip L. Barbour. Pocahontas and Her World. - Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1970. - ISBN 0-7091-2188-1.

Notes

Links

An excerpt characterizing Pocahontas

And Pierre now deserved the passionate love of the Italian only by the fact that he evoked in him the best sides of his soul and admired them.
During the last time Pierre was in Orel, his old acquaintance, the Mason, Count of Villarsky, came to him, the same one who introduced him to the lodge in 1807. Villarsky was married to a wealthy Russian who had large estates in the Oryol province, and occupied a temporary position in the city in the food department.
Learning that Bezukhov was in Orel, Villarsky, although he never knew him briefly, came to him with those declarations of friendship and intimacy that people usually express to each other when they meet in the desert. Villarsky was bored in Orel and was happy to meet a man of the same circle with himself and with the same, as he believed, interests.
But, to his surprise, Villarsky soon noticed that Pierre was very behind the real life and fell, as he himself defined Pierre, into apathy and egoism.
- Vous vous encroutez, mon cher, [You start, my dear.] - he told him. Despite the fact that Villarsky was now more pleasant with Pierre than before, and he visited him every day. Pierre, looking at Villarsky and listening to him now, it was strange and incredible to think that he himself had very recently been the same.
Villarsky was married, a family man, busy with the affairs of his wife's estate, and service, and family. He believed that all these activities are a hindrance in life and that they are all contemptible, because they are aimed at the personal benefit of him and his family. Military, administrative, political, Masonic considerations constantly absorbed his attention. And Pierre, without trying to change his look, without condemning him, with his now constantly quiet, joyful mockery, admired this strange phenomenon, so familiar to him.
In his relations with Villarsky, with the princess, with the doctor, with all the people with whom he now met, there was a new trait in Pierre that earned him the favor of all people: this recognition of the possibility of each person to think, feel and look at things in his own way; recognition of the impossibility of words to dissuade a person. This legitimate feature of every person, which previously excited and irritated Pierre, now formed the basis of the participation and interest that he took in people. The difference, sometimes a complete contradiction in the views of people with their lives and among themselves, pleased Pierre and evoked in him a mocking and meek smile.
In practical matters, Pierre suddenly now felt that he had a center of gravity, which was not there before. Previously, every money question, especially requests for money, to which he, as a very rich man, was very often subjected, led him into hopeless unrest and bewilderment. "To give or not to give?" he asked himself. “I have, and he needs. But others need it even more. Who needs more? Or maybe both are deceivers? And from all these assumptions, he had not previously found any way out and gave to everyone as long as there was something to give. In exactly the same perplexity he was before at every question concerning his condition, when one said that it was necessary to do this, and the other - otherwise.
Now, to his surprise, he found that in all these questions there were no more doubts and perplexities. Now a judge appeared in him, according to some laws unknown to him, deciding what was necessary and what was not necessary to do.