Colonization and Conflict:

Colonists and Powhatans

Virginia Studies 3g
The student will demonstrate knowledge of the first
permanent English settlement in America by

g) describing the interactions between the English

settlers and the Powhatan people, including the
contributions of the Powhatans to the survival of
the settlers.
SW 11/13/2003
 Jamestown Colony
• The first permanent
English colony in
America was founded
on May 14, 1607.
• The colony almost failed
because the settlers only
wanted to find gold and
did not prepare shelter or
start farms.
• Jamestown did become a
success largely due to help
from Pocahontas and the
Powhatans Indians.
 Need for a Strong Leader

• The colony needed

a strong leader to
take charge.
• Captain John
Smith took over as
leader of the colony
in 1608.
 Saving the Colony

• Captain John Smith had one simple rule which

helped restore order “He that will not work, will
not eat.”
• He also initiated trading relationships with the
Powhatan Indian tribes lead by Chief Powhatan.
• However, due to an injury he left the colony to
return to England in 1609.
Chief Powhatan
• The leader of the
Powhatan Confederacy, a
group of 30 Algonquian
Indian tribes.
• Powhatan was initially
friendly to the English
colonists.
• Mutual trade developed
between the Powhatans
and the colonists .
John Smith: Captive

• John Smith led

groups in exploring
the region. And to
trade with the
Indians.
• In 1608, John Smith
was captured by the
Powhatan Indians.
 Saved by an Indian Princess

• Chief Powhatan was

about to kill John
Smith but Powhatan’s
daughter Pocahontas
saved his life by
placing her head over
his body to protect
him.
 Pocahontas
• Pocahontas was the
daughter of Chief
Powhatan.
• As a child she often
visited the Jamestown
Colony.
• She persuaded Chief
Powhatan to provide
food to the starving
colonists.
The Powhatans traded:

Leather
Food
Furs

In return the colonists gave them:

Metal Tools Pots and Pans
Guns
The Powhatans introduced
Two Crops to the Colonists:
• Corn • Tobacco
 Colonists and Powhatans:
Growing Conflict

• The Colonists began stealing and attempting

to intimidate the Indians.
• The Powhatans realized the English
settlement would continue to grow and saw
the colonists as invaders that would take over
their land.
Pocahontas: Captive
• In 1613 the English
kidnapped Pocahontas but
Chief Powhatan refused to
pay the ransom for her
return.
• While living with the
English, she adopted many
of their ways and took the
English name of Rebecca.
 Pochantas and John Rolfe
• In 1614 she married John
Rolfe, a tobacco planter. This
began an eight-year period of
peace between the Indians and
colonists.
• In 1615, Pocahontas and John
Rolfe’s only child, Thomas was
born.
John Rolfe
Pocahontas Visits England

• In 1616, Pocahontas and

her family visited
England where she was
treated as a celebrity .
• Pocahontas met the king
and queen of England.
• Pocahontas died from
Smallpox in England in
1617.
 End of the Conflicts
• Mutual fears continued to
cause relations between
the colonists and Indians
to disintegrate once
again.
• In 1622 an attack by the
Indians killed 350
English settlers.
• Evenually diseases, such
as smallpox, killed
hundreds of Indians and
ended the conflicts with
the colonists.
 An American Legend:
John Smith and Pocahontas
United Streaming (www.unitedstreaming.com)

• From Colonies to Constitution: The

American Colonies:
• Virginia, 1607: The First English
Colony at Jamestown
• New World Colonized:
• Captain John Smith, Pocahontas,
and Tobacco