Which term refers to the practice of granting land to settlers who could pay their own way to Virginia?

• A. Indenture
• B. Covenant
• C. Headrights
• D. Wealth tax

Answer: (C)

This question tests your understanding of how Virginia encouraged settlement by tying land to a settler’s ability to pay for their own voyage. The term is headrights. Under this system, about 50 acres of land were granted for each person whose passage to Virginia was paid, with the land often going to the person who funded the journey or to the immigrant themselves. It was a powerful incentive for wealthier colonists to sponsor others, speeding up colonization and helping to build a landowning class that supported tobacco agriculture. Indenture refers to a contract in which a person would work for a number of years in exchange for passage or other benefits, rather than receiving a land grant upfront. Covenant and Wealth tax don't describe this land-grant mechanism.