© 2005 The Posy Collection.

Pocahontas
Counted Cross Stitch Kit

Pocahontas was the favorite daughter of Powhatan, a powerful Algonquian chief. She was also John Smith's special guardian, having saved him from death, according to Smith's account. She was saddened when Smith was badly injured by a gunpowder explosion in 1609 and had to return to England for medical treatment. Pocahontas was kidnapped by the English in 1613, who hoped to exchange her for English prisoners held by Powhatan. When her father refused, she remained with the English, studied Anglican religion, and was baptized as "Rebecca." In 1614, she married John Rolfe, the man who introduced tobacco cultivation to the colony. They had a son, Thomas, in 1615. This marriage resulted in a period of general peace between the English and the Indians. In 1616, to encourage financial support for the Virginia venture, the Virginia Company sent Pocahontas and her family to London. There, she became sick. Just as the group was ready to return to Virginia in 1617, Pocahontas died. She is buried at Gravesend, England.