Headright system

The "headright" system 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 (50 acres each), immigrant colonists who paid for there 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.