Rebecca Rolfe - Young Leader

Bravery and compassion are two interesting characteristics that many leaders possess. I think of these traits as mature aspects that seasoned veterans have developed and demonstrate as a result of their wisdom and experiences. But the example below is found in a young lady, some believe only 12 years old. She only lived to be about 21. Her name was Rebecca Rolfe and she was born in 1595 in Virginia. She became a Christian when she was 18 and married John when she was 19, Two years later, at age 21 she died as a result of a sudden illness. But her story of young leadership is a famous one - it has been made into movies and described in most American history books. Rebecca Rolfe is better known as Pocahontas.

My three granddaughters love this Disney princess. This summer my wife made each of them a Pocahontas dress and feather headband. As a family, we visited a state park this July, made a teepee out of tree branches and watched the girls enjoy pretending to be three Indian princesses. I am not an expert on Pocahontas and I have not seen the Disney version of her life, but I understand the animated version is not always historically accurate (and it is probably good that it is not).

Pocahontas was the nickname of Mataoaka – the daughter of Powhatan, one of the important chiefs of the Algonquian Indians in the Chesapeake Bay area of Virginia. Most of the Pocahontas story comes directly from Captain John Smith (1580-1631). According to Smith, his life was spared only through the intervention of Pocahontas, who at the time was around 12 years old. Somewhere in the 19^th century the story took on a romantic flavor and was retold as a love story. But there is general agreement that Smith and Pocahontas were not sweethearts. In John's account, Pocahontas demonstrated great bravery and compassion on him as she risked her own life to save his.

John writes in the third person as he describes the event, “Two great stones were brought before Powhatan: then as many as could laid hands on him, dragged him to them, and thereon laid his head, and being ready with their clubs, to beate out his braines, Pocahontas the King's dearest daughter, when no intreaty could prevaile, got his head in her armes, and laid her owne upon his to save him from death...” (The Generall Historie of Virginia by John Smith)

There are other accounts that indicate that Pocahontas was a courageous and caring child who acted as a go-between for Powhatan and the settlers at Jamestown. Pocahontas assisted the colonists during that first winter and provided much needed food, helping to prevent the starvation of many. Pocahontas was known to pay regular visits to her friend Captain John Smith. Smith credited Pocahontas with preserving "this Colonie from death, famine and utter confusion" for "two or three yeeres" (The Generall Historie of Virginia by John Smith). When John Smith was forced to return to England because of severe burns that resulted from a gunpowder explosion, Pocahontas (who was told that he had died) stopped visiting the settlers.

A fews years later (in 1613) she was actually kidnapped by Captain Samuel Argall (another smart move by the white settlers) and held prisoner at a fort for a year as a potential negotiation chip in dealing with Powhatan. During her captivity, concerned colonists shared with her the claims of Christ. She embraced the truths of Christianity. One of those colonists, John Rolfe, fell in love with her, and she with him. Pocahontas was baptized as a Christian and christened Rebecca. In 1614 married John Rolfe and together they had a son, Thomas.

In 1616 she and John went to London as part of a plan to popularize Jamestown; she was presented to King James I, Queen Anne and the royal family. After seven months in England, Rolfe decided to take his family back to the New World and set sail for Virginia in March of 1617. Just as the voyage had gotten underway, Rebecca became gravely ill and the ship went ashore at Gravesend, England. She died there on March 21, 1619 and is buried there as well.

Bravery and compassion are usually the voices of the experienced leader, but they can be found in the young as well. Often children and young adults are overlooked for leadership. As we work with and are exposed to the next generation may we be careful not to miss the young Pocahontas in our midst. The capacity to save another; to lay down one's life for someone else; to help and serve somebody in need, is a capacity that is not bound by age, gender, race, or intelligence. Educators see them every day. Teachers have them in their classrooms everyday. Heroes can come in small packages - all that is needed is opportunity.

Photo: Many different depictions of Pocahontas exist today. Pictured clockwise from top left: Mary Ellen Howe (1994), Robert Matthew Sully (1850s), Thomas Sully (1852), Jean Leon Ferris (c. 1921) courtesy of William E. Ryde and the Virginia Historical Society.