1580-1631. English colonist. After an
adventurous early life he took part in the
colonization of Virginia, acting as president
of the North American colony 1608-09. He
explored New England in 1614, which he named,
and published pamphlets on America and an
autobiography. He traded with the Indians,
which may have kept the colonists alive in
the early years. During an expedition among
the American Indians he was captured, and his
life is said to have been saved by a chief's
daughter, Pocahontas, whom he married.