3. She Died While Trying to Sail Back Home
After serving her purpose as the symbol of peace in The New World, Pocahontas pleaded with John Rolfe to let her sail home to see her family. For the first time in five years, she was told that she could finally go back to Virginia. She was 21 at the time. They celebrated by having dinner with Captain Argall. Remember that Argall was the same man who kept her captive, and he was possibly one of the men who raped her. That same night, after eating the food they placed in front of her, she began to vomit blood. Soon after their meal, she died. Rolfe and Argall claimed that she had consumption, which was common at that time.
Considering that she was 21 years old, it was shocking that she would die so suddenly. Usually, tuberculosis takes a very long time to kill someone. Her sister and the other natives who were with her in England say that she was in perfect health in the days leading up to her dinner with Rolfe and Argall, as well. Many people believe that she was poisoned and that blaming it on consumption was an easy way out.
The other Native Americans who came with Pocahontas to England were not allowed to return home, either. They were sold as circus attractions. Since Pocahontas was legally married to John Rolfe, and she had become so famous at that point, the public would have been outraged if she had been sold off. Killing her and making it look like an illness seemed like the only way they could silence her forever.