n.
born 0441; 1595, near present-day Jamestown, Va., U.S.
died March 1617, Gravesend, Kent, Eng.
Powhatan Indian woman.
Pocahontas helped maintain peace between English colonists and Native Americans by befriending the settlers at Jamestown, Va. Daughter of the powerful chief Powhatan , Pocahontas intervened to spare the life of the colony's captive leader, John Smith . She subsequently converted to Christianity and wedded the colonist John Rolfe , which furthered efforts toward peace. She traveled to England, where she was received at court, but she died of smallpox there.
Pocahontas, detail of a portrait by an unknown artist, 1616.
Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.