Trivia: After Rodmilla and her daughters leave for the masque, during the next scene at the royal palace a large sculpture can be seen in the courtyard, especially in some closeups from different angles, such as when Gustave approaches Leonardo. This mythologically themed sculpture consists of a tailed figure riding upon one of two creatures holding their reins, with a ship behind them. This sculpture can be seen during the very first scene, albeit with a few changes. When Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm walk into the Grande Dame's chamber she is sitting up in an unusual type of bed. Note the bed's "headboard" and "footboard" are the ship hull (in the fullscreen version the bed's side is visible with its distinctive design), and we also see the creatures (minus their horns) with the rider's arm holding their reins at the foot of the bed. Something else to notice near the end, when Leonardo gifts the young couple the belated wedding present the room they're all in is not in the royal palace, they are in the manor, gathered in the dining room where Marguerite had burned Danielle's book Utopia.
Super Grover
Answer: They would have become indentured servants - basically their debt be bought by someone in the Americas and they would be forced to work for the buyer until the debt had been worked off.