Although the reasons for Pocahontas' conversion seem intuitive, a captive converting to the religion of their captor would most likely make their time together easier, there is no written record by Pocahontas on her reasons for converting. Alexander Whitaker, the man who baptized Pocahontas, attributed her conversion to Thomas Dale's "labors" in his letter "True Discourse." Despite this, little can actually be known about the courtship, conversion, and marriage of Pocahontas as none of the documents were written by her and those written about her do not mention her opinions or complaints about her situation.

Robertson, Karen. "Pocahontas At The Masque." Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society 21.3 (1996): 551.

http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.umw.edu/stable/pdfplus/3175171.pdf?acceptTC=true

John Rolfe in this letter was attempting to justify to the public, his marriage to Pocahontas as more than just a sexual act. Native American sexual and marriage practices were fascinating to colonists and would continue to be so as more Europeans would settle in the years to come. Native American's exotic martial and sexual customs were both perverse and tantalizing to the Christians who observed.

John Emilio and Estelle Freedman, Intimate Matters: A History of Sexuality in America (New York: Harper & Row, 1988), 3.

Pocahontas', or by this point Lady Rebecca's, goodness increased with her knowledge of the Christian God that she now accepted. For someone inside the faith, goodness could be a sign of being "saved."

It is ironic that Opochankano was the one to officiate the peace between the Algonquian Indians of the Virginia region. In 1622 he would order an uprising in attempt to drive settlers off Indian lands permanently. The "Peace of Pocahontas" the settlers enjoyed after Rolfe's marriage to her deteriorated rapidly after her death in 1617.

Frances Mossiker, Pocahontas: the Life and the Legend (New York: Da Capo Press, 1996), 182-183.

Unbeknownst to Thomas Hamor, this passage reveals that there was a shifting of power present during this time among Algonquin Indians of Virginia. The three brothers, Powhatan, his rightful successor Opitchapam, and Opechancanough were vying for power. Although Opitchapam was Powhatan's heir to the chiefdom, Opechancanough's influence was rivaling Powhatan while the chief was still alive.

Frank Gizzard and Boyd Smith, Jamestown Colony: A Political, Social, and Cultural History (Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2007), 155-156.

John Rolfe used harsh words when describing what other people might say about him that question his motives for wanting to marry Pocahontas. He reiterated that his want for marriage had nothing to do with desperation or sexual desire. This passage enters in an additional criticism, the possibility of desperation in a colony nearly devoid of women. He denied the possibility, reiterating that he had gone over all of his choices for a match and that that was what he felt was the right thing to do as a Christian.

When translated from Latin this passage means "which is like a bronze wall."

Professor Romero thinks that when Rolfe used "quoe" it was actually an error and should be written as "quae." This distinction being "quoe" means what in Latin and "quae" meaning which in this context.

D'Amico, Margaret. "Latin Translation Help." Email from Professor Joseph Romero, 16 September, 2013.

This passage translates from Latin as "my conscience is clear."

D'Amico, Margaret. "Latin Translation Help." Email from Professor Joseph Romero, 16 September, 2013.

John Rolfe was undoubtedly a pious man. In his letter to Thomas Hamor he goes to great lengths to justify his marriage to Pocahontas, but none of them having to do with love. There are references of him being attached to her but this document is mostly about Christian duty and denying sexual desire for her. The absence of love and focus on Christian duty could have been due to two things. Firstly, that this letter was meant to be for public record, and secondly, that love was hoped for, but not expected in marriage in this time period.

"John Rolfe," Last modified August 22, 2013. http://www.nps.gov/jame/historyculture/john-rolfe.htm

Pocahontas showed signs of preference towards the English because her father, Powhatan, neglected to trade her for the weapons the Jamestown Settlers demanded. It is unclear whether she truly felt this way or whether her understanding of which party actually "loved" her was simply a conjecture on Thomas Hamor's part.

It is not surprising that the Powhatan Native Americans would harass the colonists given that the settlers' reaction to this particular attack was to burn down Native American homes and to steal their corn.

The Pamunkey River feeds into the York River. It runs parallel to the Rappahannock River.

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=pamunkey+river&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=0x89b0dc2782023b0d:0x21f0430e1307d4ea,Pamunkey+River&gl=us&ei=vq43UrTmBdf64APW7YB4&ved=0CJMBELYD

This passage articulates John Rolfe's internal struggle of sexual desire for Pocahontas versus his moral duty to Christianity. His conclusion, that the Christian thing to do would be to save her, makes him feel that his attraction is not sexual. He was not acting on sexual impulse but on the Christian duty to bring her to the one true faith.