So the quest still goes on. It has not taken a different turn but has broadened its scope to look for the truth. Native, Blacks, and other Minority women played a huge role in the new world (USA). In my History class we were discussing from Jamestown to the Reconstruction period, and we stumbled upon a native by the name of "Pocahontas." Her existence is real, but her story can be viewed as mythical. She is nothing like the fantasy Walt Disney illustrates. She was a young girl between the age of 11 and 14 and she got the name Pocahontas for being a little rambunctious, her name means "Wild Child." In the Disney movie they depict of her being a beautiful 20 something year old with gorgeous Pantene Provine hair that blows in the wind. John Smith, who kept a journal jotted just about everything that happened in Jamestown including his friendship with the young native girl. There was no record of them having a loving relationship or any chemistry for that matter.
She did find companionship with an English settler named John Rolfe. She converted to Christianity and took on the first name Rebecca before marring Rolfe and moving to England. She gave birth to a child by the name of Thomas Rolfe. She later died.
Okay why is she so significant. She was one of the very first native women and she was only known by what Smith wrote and Disney illustrates. There were natives living in this new world, however the British wanted to build something greater. This forced the natives and other minorities to the west and up north. Some may have started out in Jamestown and ended up in what we now call California.
No comments:
Post a Comment