This is the 401st anniversary of the wedding of Pocohontas and John Rolfe — not John Smith. Unlike the Disney version of the story, Smith was quite a bit older than Pocohontas, although she had a serious crush on him. But when she was captured by the English, John Rolfe told her Smith was dead, which was a lie.
Pocohontas married Rolfe and changed her name to Rebecca, then travelled to England with her new husband…where she met John Smith once more, found out he was alive, married and a father, and that her husband had lied to her.
Not long after the meeting of Rebecca and John Smith, she fell into a coma and died. The circumstances are mysterious, and it’s possible Rolfe poisoned her because of his jealousy over Smith.
Rebecca was buried in an unmarked grave just outside London. She was 21 years old.
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