How did early settlers in America divide up, pay for land?
By David W. Myers Friday, November 27, 2009 When the first Pilgrims came to America, how did they divide up the land? How much did they pay? The first Pilgrims came ashore in 1620 in Plymouth Rock, Mass. They soon struck up a friendly alliance with Massasoit, a local tribal leader, who simply gave them the land for free. The Pilgrims and Native Americans lived together relatively peacefully for the first few decades, but the constant influx of newcomers eventually began taking its toll on the environment. Even a modest house required 12 tons of lumber to build, writes author Nathaniel Philbrick in “Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community and War” (Viking Press, 2006). Each Pilgrim family also needed several more tons of wood for cooking and heating purposes. “It’s been estimated that the average 17th century New England home consumed 15 cords, or 1,920 cubic feet of wood per year, meaning that a town of 200 homes depended upon the deforestation of as many as 75 acres per year,” writes
