Charter holders could buy land without limitations. They could enact laws for the territory, provided none clashed with the laws of England, and they could fine and punish individuals. In return for these privileges, those holding the charters had certain obligations—to act as the “English nation” in the territory, to settle the territory, to develop a profitable trade for the mother country, to make payments in gold and silver to England (usually one-tenth of profits), and to take an oath of allegiance to the crown.
