Powhatan's true name was Wahunsonacock.
He was the chief of the Pumunky Indian tribe of
Virginia. The English settlers at the Jamestown settlement called him Powhatan which was
actually the name of a confederation of Indian tribes which he led. There were roughly
100,000 Indians in the area. He was a shrewd leader and was responsible for organizing
the confederation. The Indians were not happy to have the Europeans on their turf but
decided to adopt a "wait and see" attitude before taking any
action.
The incident of John Smith with Pocahontas
(Powhatan's daughter) is partially true, but John Smith embellished it quite a bit.
Pocahontas's real name was Matawoka. Pocahontas was a nickname which loosely meant
"frisky." At the time of the threatened "beheading," Pocahontas was only eleven years
old, so it definitely wasn't love at first sight. Indeed, the whole incident was a
staged performance by the Indians to demonstrate to Smith--and anyone else exposed to
the ritual--that Powhatan had the power of life and death over them. Needless to say,
she later married John Rolfe in what was actually a political marriage to seal a peace
treaty with the Indians.
Upon his death, Powhatan was
succeeded by his brother, Openchancanough, at a time when relations
with the English settlers had gotten quite bad. Openchancanough attacked Jamestown and
killed over 300 people, including John Rolfe. Pocahontas had previously died in England
at a very young age.
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