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2006 SESSION
068354428WHEREAS, Pocahontas, an Algonquian princess and wife of the English settler and farmer John Rolfe, made vital contributions to the settlement at Jamestown; and
WHEREAS, Pocahontas was the daughter of Chief Powhatan, whose name was Wahunsenacawh, the powerful ruler of the Powhatan Confederacy of Tidewater Algonquian tribes during the establishment of the Jamestown Colony; and
WHEREAS, Pocahontas, whose birth name was Matoaka, was born in 1595 in Werowocomoco (Wicomico) in Gloucester County and died in Gravesend, England, on March 17, 1617; and
WHEREAS, Pocahontas most likely first interacted with the 104 Jamestown settlers nearly 400 years ago in 1607; and
WHEREAS, the colonists were struggling to survive the hot, oppressive summers and the mosquito-infested swamps of the James River peninsula; there were few skilled workers in the camp to insure survival, and deadly skirmishes between the English and the Indians were common; and
WHEREAS, the dramatic events of Pocahontas's brief life and her lasting friendship with the colonists at Jamestown have formed the basis of popular and highly romanticized legend; and
WHEREAS, the story that Pocahontas rescued Captain John Smith from execution by her father, as well as celebrated tales of a love affair between them, are considered fiction by most scholars; and
WHEREAS, most historical accounts agree that Pocahontas brought tangible benefits to the English and proved to be an invaluable liaison with the Indians; and her frequent visits to the settlement brought Algonquian customs and language, and thus communication, as well as important means of sustenance and even survival to the settlers; and
WHEREAS, in 1612, at the age of 17, Pocahontas was taken prisoner by the English and held hostage at Jamestown for over a year in order to obtain concessions from Chief Powhatan; and
WHEREAS, in 1614 during her captivity, Pocahontas married the prominent 28-year-old widower, John Rolfe, who had cross-bred imported Trinidad tobacco seed with indigenous tobacco, creating a superior tobacco product and the future economic stability of the colonies; and
WHEREAS, the arranged union of Pocahontas and John Rolfe was of great importance, because it brought a period of peace between the Indians and the English colonists; and
WHEREAS, Pocahontas, who took the name Rebecca, was the first Indian in America to learn English, as well as the first to be baptized as a Christian; and
WHEREAS, Captain Smith wrote to Queen Anne in England that Pocahontas "was . . . the instrument to preserve this Colonie from death, famine and utter confusion;" and
WHEREAS, in the spring of 1616, John Rolfe, his wife, and their infant son, Thomas, sailed to England, where Pocahontas was presented at court to King James I; introduced to a glittering London social life; and entertained, as well as manipulated by the Virginia Company to promote their Jamestown investment; and
WHEREAS, the story of Pocahontas ended sadly, when she, John Rolfe, and their son set sail for their Virginia home in March of 1617; Pocahontas became seriously ill and had to be taken off the ship at Gravesend, England, where she died March 21, 1617; and
WHEREAS, the oldest treasure in the National Portrait Gallery’s 18,000-piece collection is the widely-recognized engraving of Pocahontas and her only known life portrait, in which she appears in a “Jacobean stovepipe hat and lacy ruff" as the regal and exotic princess of America, who aided and befriended the English colonists; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly designate March 17th, in 2006 and in each succeeding year, as Pocahontas Day in Virginia in recognition of her vital contributions to the settlement at Jamestown; and, be it
RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates post the designation of March 17th as Pocahontas Day in Virginia on the General Assembly's website.