فصل 05

CHAPTER FIVE

Pocahontas falls in Love

After many months, Pocahontas met John Rolfe. He was a young tobacco farmer. John Rolfe was very kind to her. She loved him and he loved her. They were very happy together.

John Rolfe wanted to marry Pocahontas. But Pocahontas wanted to speak to her father first.

One day Pocahontas and John Rolfe went to visit Powhatan. The great chief was pleased to see his daughter.

“Father, this is John Rolfe. I met him in Jamestown. He is a very kind person. I love him and I’m going to marry him.”

“You are a young woman now, Pocahontas. It is time for you to marry the man you love.” Powhatan embraced his daughter and John.

“Great chief, I love your daughter and I want to take care of her,” said John Rolfe.

In April 1614, Pocahontas married John Rolfe in the Anglican Church. She was the first American Indian to marry a white man. Pocahontas wore a beautiful white dress. She had flowers in her hair. She and John Rolfe laughed and danced on this special day. All the people in Jamestown celebrated the marriage. There were great festivities with music and dancing. Nantaquas and many other Indians came to celebrate. At the wedding meal there were white men and Indians. They were all good friends. They sat around a long table. There were all types of good food to eat. Pocahontas’ marriage brought peace to the Virginia Colony. The colony began to grow.

Soon after their marriage, Pocahontas and John went to London. Pocahontas was surprised to see many new things in England. In London she wore beautiful English clothes. Everyone wanted to meet her. She met the most important people of London. She even met King James I! Everyone loved the Indian princess.

In London Pocahontas met John Smith again after many years! This was a wonderful surprise. They talked about their adventures in Jamestown.

Pocahontas and John Rolfe had a son. They were very happy. They called him Thomas. After Thomas’ birth, Pocahontas became very ill. She died in England in 1617, at the age of 21. This was a tragic event. Many people mourned her. They remembered the courageous Indian princess.

Young Thomas was educated in Britain by his uncle Henry Rolfe. John Rolfe was heartbroken. He didn’t want to live in Britain. He returned to Virginia to grow tobacco. He became an important tobacco farmer. He had a very big tobacco plantation.

When Thomas Rolfe was an adult, he left Britain. He went to America to visit his mother’s land. He met his mother’s tribe. He liked the New World and remained there. In 1788 the Virginia Colony became a state of the United States.

There are still descendants of Thomas Rolfe, Pocahontas’ son, in Virginia today.