A familiar story about colonial days in America recounts the way in which Pocahontas, daughter of the Indian chief Powhatan, saved the life of Captain John Smith. According to the story, Powhatan's warriors had captured Smith and were about to put him to death. When Pocahontas pleaded with her father to spare him, Powhatan relented, and Smith was allowed to go free.
Many historians doubt that the incident took place.
Only much later did he include the story in his 'Generall Historie of Virginia'. But even if Pocahontas did not save Smith's life, she was instrumental in maintaining peace between her people and the early Jamestown settlers. Pocahontas was a younger daughter of Powhatan, chief of a federation of Algonquian Indian tribes who lived in the tidewater region of Virginia. Her real name was Matoaka. She often visited Jamestown, and the settlers thought her a pretty young girl.