Pocahontas, whose birth name was Amonute, was born around 1596. The name 'Pocahontas' was her nickname, meaning 'playful one' or 'spoiled child'. She was known as 'Matoaka', but would have only been called that by close relatives. While nothing is really known about her mother, we know much about her father. Some accounts hypothesize that her mother's name could also have been 'Pocahontas' and that she died in childbirth. She was the daughter of Wahunsenaca, the paramount chief to at least 30 Algonquian tribes of the Powhatan Chiefdom. Although he had many sons and daughters, Pocahontas quickly became and remained his favorite. But that did not mean she was allowed to be excused from a woman’s duties. She was still expected to know her place. She had help the community to farm, cook and forage for edible plants. Although most people think of her as an 'Indian Princess', life wasn't that much different than the regular women in her tribe. She may have been dressed a little better and well-protected, but she was still expected to be able to do woman's work. When the English arrived in Jamestown in1607, they were there for many months before they met the Powhatan people. John Smith, who was an English captain, was eventually captured by chief Powhantan's relative, Opechancanough, and brought before him. (There is much debate about whether Opechancanough was the chief's brother or just a close relation.) The story goes that John Smith was to be put to death, and upon hearing this, Pocahontas, who would have only been about ten or eleven at the time, put herself in between John and her people, stopping them from executing him. It also is said that there was a romantic link between the two. But there is much doubt that this ever happened. In one online article it states that Smith may never have been in any real danger. It tells us that there may have even been an adoption ceremony for Smith, gaining Pocahontas a brother. “In return fo