How did Croatan Indians become black?
” Shepherd explained that during the days of colonial slavery, Africans as well as people from other countries along trade routes, including native Americans, were taken as slaves by the colonists, many served as galley slaves aboard whaling ships. Since both the Africans and Indians were oppressed by the white man, strong alliances were formed and rebellions carried out, Shepherd added. He also noted colonial law stated that those who accepted Christianity would no longer be considered “heathens,” and in turn, if Christian, the individual would be deemed a free person. He also referred to other laws that stated if only one of an individual’s parents was white, the child was considered by law to be a free person. These factors, along with the ratio of men to women, Shepherd and Willard can only guess that these were powerful factors in the eventual mixing of the cultures. Many people’s history of survival Carolyn Pierce Smith Rayes of Piney Woods also attended the seminar with great in
