Pocahontas (c. 1595 – March 21 1617) was a Native American woman who married an Englishman, John Rolfe, and became a celebrity in London toward the end of her life. She was a daughter of Wahunsunacock (also known as Chief or Emperor Powhatan), who ruled an area encompassing almost all of the neighboring tribes in the Tidewater region of Virginia (called Tenakomakah at the time). Her formal names were Matoaka and AmonutePrice, Love and Hate, p. 66.; 'Pocahontas' was a childhood nickname referring to her frolicsome nature (in the Powhatan language it meant "little wanton", according to William StracheyStrachey, Historie, p. 111).
Pocahontas is the thirty-third animated feature in the Disney animated features canon. It was produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and was originally released to theaters on June 16, 1995 to selected cities by Buena Vista Pictures. The film is based loosely on the encounter between the colonists of Jamestown, Virginia and the native Powhatan tribe, and in particular presents a highly emotionally charged and dramatic account of the meeting between Pocahontas and John Smith.