Headright

A headright is a legal grant of land, usually to settlers moving into an uninhabited area. Headrights are most notable for their role in the expansion of the thirteen British colonies in North America; the Virginia Company of London granted headrights to settlers, and the Plymouth Company followed suit. Most headrights were for 50 to 100 acres of land, and were given to anyone willing to cross the Atlantic Ocean and help populate the colonies. These were granted to anyone who would pay for the transportation costs of a laborer or Indentured servant. By giving the land to the landowning masters the indentured servants had little or no chance to procure their own land. This kept many colonials poor and led to strife between the poor servants and wealthy landowners.

The headright system

The "headright" system was introduced in 1618 and was used in Jamestown as an attempt to solve labor shortages due to the advent of the tobacco economy, which required large plots of land with many workers. Virginian colonists were each given two headrights of 50 acres (200,000 m²) each, immigrant colonists who paid for their passage were given one headright, and individuals would receive one headright each time they paid for the passage of another individual. This last mechanism increased the division between the wealthy land-owners and the working poor. Many persons came to the colonies in an attempt to gain land, but were denied headrights by "Kings."