Continuity And Changes In The Creoles

During the time of slavery, the Chesapeake Region went through various changes in how slaves were treated in addition to their roles in society being shifted. Throughout the novel Many Thousands Gone, three different time periods illustrate the ever-changing attitudes regarding the separation of races and their roles. Each period provides an outlook on the rate of change. Slavery in the Chesapeake Region changed significantly within Religion, Domestic Life, Rights, and Crops. In 1619, the Atlantic Creoles identified closely with their ancestral religion – the Religion of Islam. At the time, Creoles would “[beat on the doors of established churches to gain a modicum of recognition.” They had continuously shown that their culture was directly

With the Creoles, work days weren’t as long and their days off included Holidays, Sundays, and half of Saturdays. The times they were allowed to themselves were substantially more than African-Americans would get. Creoles, at this time, were also given the opportunity to Labor independently and keep most of the profit. This resulted in their “economy [to take] place alongside [their] Masters’” (Page 34). The labeling of Creoles as slaves did not resemble how they were treated or lived their lives. They appeared to be just as free and equal to other civilians. For example, they held opportunity after opportunity “to connect with men and women of all social standing” which completely differs to African-American’s abilities at later times (Page

The need for slaves would continue to rise as tobacco took time, hard work, and money to grow. It allowed economy for both parties, slaves and masters’, to flourish and thrive until the beginning of the 18th century. What tobacco farmers were not aware of was the soil and the land were effected negatively from growing too much of the same type of crop. Towards the beginning of the 18th century, Tobacco became one of the many crops that plantations grew. The tobacco market was diminishing as a result of the costly production time. Crops such as wheat, corn, and other vegetables were easier to make since they required less maintenance during the process. Tobacco was the source of thriving plantations, but quickly turned over to these types of crops and the “practice of new trades” (pg. 242). Their new trades consisted of weaving cloth, churning butter, molding candles, cobbling shoes, boiling salt, and carting