Pocahontas and the Powhatan Dilemma

Relations between the colonists and the Indians appeared friendly on the surface, but neither group quite trusted the other. Captain Newport and Powhatan agreed to a cultural exchange in which “sons” of each leader would go to live with the other group, but neither man provided an actual son. The English traded a young indentured servant named Thomas Savage for a “son” of Powhatan’s called Namontack.

The settlers further displayed their mistrust of the Indians by ostentatiously practicing their shooting, which displeased Powhatan. The two groups took hostages from each other. In one especially tense standoff, the English sprayed a village with lead shot and tortured Indian prisoners.

At this point, Powhatan sent the 10-year-old Pocahontas and a wise man whose name the English recorded (likely incorrectly) as “Rawhunt” to recover the hostages. Pocahontas, who had likely learned some English from Thomas Savage, translated Rawhunt’s diplomatic message: “Powhatan, Rawhunt said, had not only affection but also respect for the English, in proof of which, he had trusted them so much as to send his dear child to see them and bring them presents” (70). Sending a daughter as emissary in such situations was not unheard of, but it’s unclear why Powhatan chose Pocahontas: his special affection for her, her relative unimportance politically, or her language skills could all have been factors.