Inheritance laws--Younger sons were left without any share in the family estate.
In England, only the oldest son was provided land through inheritance. The younger sons in the family had to rely on the oldest son to provide some land or they had to find a trade. The Americas provided new land for men to acquire or a chance to work and start from scratch. They were given a chance to become wealthy on their own.
Tobacco plantations--A labor-intensive crop led to labor shortages.
Tobacco plantations need a lot of labor to produce the crop. A system of indentured servitude began bringing men who could not afford to pay for their passage to the Americas on loan status. They would work off their passage on the plantations and after an agreed upon time had lapsed they would be provided some money and land to begin on their own.
Wool industry--Displaced farmers were left without fields to farm.
The increased demands for wool in England left farmers without land to farm or they were bought out of their land by wealthier farmers. The industry created an increase of jobless farmers. Again the Americas offered new, cheap land for farmers to farm and have a chance at wealth.
