*Ø* Blogmanac April 5, 1614 | Pocahontas: UnDisney
1614 The Marriage of Pocahontas
Pocahontas is known throughout the world, especially to Americans and Britishers, as an example of friendly relations between the races as well as an epitome of the Rousseauvian 'noble savage'.
Her images adorn Washington's Capitol building in portraits and friezes, and she has been a character in numerous dramas, beginning in the 17th century with Ben Jonson. In 1995, Walt Disney's studios made an animated movie of the famous Smith-Pocahontas tale, in which the native princess is portrayed as a rather voluptuous and beautiful woman. Her body is scarcely contained within a buckskin outfit that is not only split on both sides of its skirt, but is several inches shorter than the dresses of the other women in Disney's unhistorical Indian tribe.
We know that when Captain John Smith, 42, met her, Pocahontas was only 11 years old, and we also know that she did not resemble Disney’s ridiculous heroine. (There are numerous assertions on the Internet that Smith raped her and left her with a child, but I have found no verification of these.)
The only portrait known to have been made while she was alive was an etching made in England by Dutch engraver, Simon Van de Passe (used on an American stamp in 1907), prints of which were sold at the time to the curious. Over time, images of her (as in the case of Cleopatra) were beautified to suit contemporary tastes, but John Chamberlaine, a member of the English nobility, commented that she was "no fayre [beautiful] Lady".
On April 5, 1614, at Jamestown, Virginia, one of England’s earliest New World colonies, 18-year-old native Algonquin 'princess' Pocahontas married wealthy English tobacco planter, John Rolfe. Pocahontas was a nickname meaning 'naughty one' or 'spoiled child', her real name being Amonte (as she was known to her parents), or Matoaka, her clan name. She had already married an Indian warrior named Kocoum in 1610. Her aging father, the Mamanatowick (great chief) Powhatan, did not attend the wedding, although some relatives were there ...
This is just a snippet of today's stories. Read all about today in folklore, historical oddities, inspiration and alternatives, with more links, at the Wilson's Almanac Book of Days, every day. Click today's date when you're there.
1614 The Marriage of Pocahontas
Pocahontas is known throughout the world, especially to Americans and Britishers, as an example of friendly relations between the races as well as an epitome of the Rousseauvian 'noble savage'.
Her images adorn Washington's Capitol building in portraits and friezes, and she has been a character in numerous dramas, beginning in the 17th century with Ben Jonson. In 1995, Walt Disney's studios made an animated movie of the famous Smith-Pocahontas tale, in which the native princess is portrayed as a rather voluptuous and beautiful woman. Her body is scarcely contained within a buckskin outfit that is not only split on both sides of its skirt, but is several inches shorter than the dresses of the other women in Disney's unhistorical Indian tribe.
We know that when Captain John Smith, 42, met her, Pocahontas was only 11 years old, and we also know that she did not resemble Disney’s ridiculous heroine. (There are numerous assertions on the Internet that Smith raped her and left her with a child, but I have found no verification of these.)
The only portrait known to have been made while she was alive was an etching made in England by Dutch engraver, Simon Van de Passe (used on an American stamp in 1907), prints of which were sold at the time to the curious. Over time, images of her (as in the case of Cleopatra) were beautified to suit contemporary tastes, but John Chamberlaine, a member of the English nobility, commented that she was "no fayre [beautiful] Lady".
On April 5, 1614, at Jamestown, Virginia, one of England’s earliest New World colonies, 18-year-old native Algonquin 'princess' Pocahontas married wealthy English tobacco planter, John Rolfe. Pocahontas was a nickname meaning 'naughty one' or 'spoiled child', her real name being Amonte (as she was known to her parents), or Matoaka, her clan name. She had already married an Indian warrior named Kocoum in 1610. Her aging father, the Mamanatowick (great chief) Powhatan, did not attend the wedding, although some relatives were there ...
This is just a snippet of today's stories. Read all about today in folklore, historical oddities, inspiration and alternatives, with more links, at the Wilson's Almanac Book of Days, every day. Click today's date when you're there.
Pip Wilson posted item above at 1:47 PM | Permalink
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