My concept for the Vision Casting Chronicles (VCC) was originally inspired by my vague impression of the 18th century, largely influenced by Pirates of the Caribbean. However, when I realized my protagonist was a slave from Barbados, I knew I needed to do more research on the time period. Although I would not classify VCC as historical fantasy, it is inspired by the period of world history during the mid-1700s.
Here are a few resources I used to help visualize this time period and the world my characters inhabit. If you’re writing something set in the 18th century, you may find these sources helpful as well.
Comment and let me know what you think!
Lyndsay Elizabeth: For the Love of Culture YouTube Channel
Lyndsay Elizabeth has a YouTube channel “dedicated to the pure love of culture and sharing all aspects of the African Diaspora.” Her channel has videos on black Caribbean culture that helped frame an understanding of my protagonist’s experience. She also has a video on the plantation life of slaves I used as a basis for crafting the entire second chapter of my novel, which takes place on a re-imagined version of a sugar cane plantation in the mid-1700s. Lyndsay's passion for black Caribbean culture is contagious and inspires me to learn more about my own Caribbean culture and background.
Townsends YouTube Channel
Stumbling across Townsends on YouTube encouraged me at one of my lowest points of 18th-century research fatigue. This YouTube channel is devoted to exploring the 18th-century lifestyle. Their detailed videos focus on life in the North American colonies, and although VCC is set in the Caribbean, this information was valuable to me as it covers practical concerns like food, dress, and housing during this time period. They have videos on how to build cabins, popular drinks of the time, even house to wash clothes like an 18th-century washerwoman. A few of my scenes were directly inspired by information learned from this channel.
Revolutions Podcast by Mike Duncan
I didn’t learn about the Haitian Revolution until I was twenty-eight-years-old. That was last year. Considering I went through semesters worth of history curriculum in high school and college, I’d call that a bitter shame. The history taught in schools is incredibly Eurocentric and that needs to be changed. Anyway, when I stumbled across the podcast Revolutions by Mike Duncan, I was blown away. The author and writer dives into the intricacies of the Haitian Revolution and paints a clear picture of its key players with masterful storytelling. The information I learned inspired an entire chapter and multiple characters within the Vision Casting Chronicles.
The link below leads to the first episode on the Haitian Revolution released in 2015, but you can also listen on Spotify.
Eighteenth-Century England: A Site Created by and for Literature Students at the University of Michigan
This site was created way back in 1999 by students at the University of Michigan. It’s entirely dedicated resource about life in the 18th century. The website itself is a bit difficult to navigate, but I found this page on 18th-century currency incredibly helpful.
Check out the main page for the website here:
18th Century Slang
Well, this one was a lot of fun! It was difficult not to fall down the rabbit hole of researching and reading examples of slang from the 18th century. It’s fascinating to imagine how some of these phrases developed. I can’t help feel folks of the 18th century had a biting wit surpasses our own. Consider that “marriage music” was a euphemism for screaming babies. Lol.
Insults from the 1700s
Street Slang of the 1700s
Slang, Euphemisms, and Terms from the 1700s – 1800s
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