Sentence:  [...] would obtain permission from the West India Company to settle in certain areas in the New World and cultivate the land. Sometimes absentee <WSD>patrons</WSD> would give the colony to a group of interested persons and the <WSD>patrons</WSD> would finance ... 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  A property owner, a landlord, a master. (patroon).