Complex sentence: Essentially they were considered hostages to persuade their peoples in the West to keep peace, and from this funding for the university that Hampton was able to grow into a university, though over time the student population would shift to Black students.
Split into simpler sentences: Essentially they were considered hostages to persuade their peoples in the West to keep peace. From this funding Hampton was able to grow into a university, though over time the student population shifted to Black students.