Pocahontas (born
Matoaka, known as
Amonute, and later known as
Rebecca Rolfe, 1595 – March 1617) was a
Virginia Indian notable for her association with the colonial settlement at
Jamestown, Virginia. Pocahontas was the daughter of
Powhatan, the
paramount chief of a network of tributary tribal nations in the
Tsenacommacah, encompassing the
Tidewater region of
Virginia. In a well-known historical anecdote, she is said to have saved the life of an Indian captive, Englishman
John Smith, in 1607 by placing her head upon his own when her father raised his war club to execute him. Some historians have suggested that this story, as told by Smith, is untrue.