Pocahontas between two worlds: the colonization course in Virginia

Abstract

Pocahontas is a character that starred a variety of artistic representations from nineteenth century till now. It is due to historical roots that involve the English colonization of Virginia since 1607, as this paper pretends to explain in a double perspective. On the one hand, it will examine colonization strategies in which Pocahontas took part, including trade and conflicts between natives and settlers, emphasizing the nature of trade. It was so important for settlers´ survival that it has been seen as part of Indian collaborationism, but trade contains deep signs of their resistance against colonial development. On the other hand, it will focus in the transformations of Pocahontas´ identity and her experiences in contact with the English people that denounce not the progress of the colony but its weakness and its violent practices that remained during the first decade of settlement. The sources that make the analysis possible are very contrasting: the English texts and the Mattaponi´s oral history, whose records have recently been published.