English colonists arrived in what is now Virginia in 1607. They founded the Virginia colony—land that was claimed by the English for themselves. Their first settlement, or community, was called Jamestown. John Smith was 27 years old in 1607, and was a soldier and explorer from the Virginia colony. He traveled to trade with the local people for food because the English colonists were starving.

The land Smith explored was just a small part of the kingdom of Powhatan. Powhatan was a very powerful leader who controlled the land on which Jamestown was built. On one of Smith's journeys, he was captured by a group of warriors and taken to see Powhatan.

One of Powhatan's children was his daughter Matoaka, whose nickname was Pocahontas. Pocahontas was about 11 or 12 years old when the colonists arrived in Jamestown. She may have been there when Smith met her father.