This article has an unclear citation style. (July 2024) |
"Ancient planter" (sometimes called ancient colony men[1]) was a term applied to early colonists who migrated to the Colony of Virginia when the settlement was managed privately by the Virginia Company of London. A colonist received a land grant if they remained in Virginia for at least three years. Under the terms of the "Instructions to Governor Yeardley" (issued in 1618), these colonists received the first land grants in the New World.[2][3]