Why did Pocahontas go to England? Why did she want to stay there?

Pocahontas's marriage to John Rolfe was of great significance. For one thing, it was seen as an opportunity to bring peace between the English and the Algonquian tribes, who had been involved in a long and bitter conflict with each other for a number of years. Royal marriages in Europe were made primarily to cement diplomatic alliances between different countries, and the practice was transplanted to American soil, as Pocahontas herself was considered royalty, being...

Pocahontas's marriage to John Rolfe was of great significance. For one thing, it was seen as an opportunity to bring peace between the English and the Algonquian tribes, who had been involved in a long and bitter conflict with each other for a number of years. Royal marriages in Europe were made primarily to cement diplomatic alliances between different countries, and the practice was transplanted to American soil, as Pocahontas herself was considered royalty, being the daughter of a chief, Powhatan.

With the marriage and the peace treaty concluded, thoughts turned to reviving the flagging fortunes of the Virginia Company. At the time of Pocahontas' marriage the Company was in dire financial straits, and the initial burst of enthusiasm there had been in England for American colonial settlements was very much on the wane. So the idea was conceived to bring Pocahontas to England as a way of drumming up renewed interest in the English colonial project. As Pocahontas had also converted to Christianity, a number of clerics such as Dr. John King, the Bishop of London, believed that her example could serve as an impetus for the establishment of the Christian religion among the natives of the New World.

As to why Pocahontas wanted to stay in England, the simple answer: we don't know. The main problem is that Pocahontas's voice has been largely lost to history, and so we have to rely on the words of others. For instance, her husband John Rolfe said that returning to Virginia was "sore against her will," but we only have his word for that.