Land Question (Prince Edward Island): Difference between revisions

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{{Short description|Question of land ownership on Prince Edward Island}}

[[File:Prince Edward Island map 1775.jpg|thumb|Map of [[Prince Edward Island]] in 1775. Titled: "A plan of the island of St. John with the divisions of the counties parishes & the lots as granted by government likewise the soundings round the coast and harbours. Surveyed by [[Samuel Holland (surveyor)|Capt. Holland]]. 1775."]] {{good article}}

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The '''Land Question''', as it pertains to the history of [[Prince Edward Island]], now in [[Canada]], related to the question of the system of ownership of [[land (economics)|land]] on the island. Proprietors, the owners of the land parcels on Prince Edward Island, favoured a system of renting to tenants, but the tenants preferred a system of [[Freehold (law)|freehold]]. In 1767, the British government divided all land in Prince Edward Island into lots to be owned by proprietors, who would collect rent from the settlers, or tenants. Problems soon arose with this scheme, and the low numbers of tenants resulted in proprietors collecting little rent, which in turn led to many proprietors defaulting on their [[quitrent]]s. An attempt at compulsorily acquiring the land by the Prince Edward Island government from rent defaulters in 1781 resulted in [[Colonial Office]] intervention in 1783. In 1786, Governor [[Walter Patterson (governor)|Walter Patterson]], who had set in motion the compulsory acquisition, was removed from office.

The '''Land Question''' was a major issue in the history of [[Prince Edward Island]], now part of [[Canada]]. It was about who should own the [[land (economics)|land]] on the island. The land was divided into lots by the British government in 1767 and given to private landowners called proprietors. These proprietors wanted to rent the land to settlers, known as tenants, but the tenants wanted to own the land themselves through [[Freehold (law)|freehold]] ownership.

In 1797, the Escheat Movement was born with the goal of convincing the Crown to acquire land from the proprietors and sell it back to the tenants. In 1803, members of the movement won in the [[General Assembly of Prince Edward Island]], but their attempts to set in motion the escheat scheme were blocked by the British government. In the following years, a number of General Assemblies attempted to acquire land from the proprietors but were repeatedly blocked by the British government. Following an unsuccessful attempt at [[civil disobedience]] in 1864 to 1865, the proprietors gradually pulled out of the real estate market and sold their land piece-by-piece back to the local governments of the island for sale to the occupants of their land. In 1873, Prince Edward Island joined the [[Canadian Confederation]] on the condition that the system be scrapped, which ended the Land Question in the province.

The plan didn’t work well. There weren’t enough tenants, so the proprietors didn’t make much money from rent. Because of this, many of them couldn’t pay the government their required land tax, called a [[quitrent]]. In 1781, the island's government tried to take back the land from proprietors who weren’t paying, but the [[Colonial Office]] in Britain stepped in and stopped it in 1783. The governor who led this plan, [[Walter Patterson (governor)|Walter Patterson]], was removed from office in 1786.

In 1797, a political movement called the Escheat Movement began. Its goal was to convince the British Crown to take back land from the proprietors and sell it to the tenants. In 1803, supporters of this idea were elected to the [[General Assembly of Prince Edward Island]], but the British government blocked their plans. Over the next few decades, the Assembly kept trying to buy land from the proprietors for the tenants, but these efforts kept failing.

From 1864 to 1865, tenants tried a [[civil disobedience]] campaign, but it didn’t succeed. Eventually, many proprietors gave up and sold their land piece by piece to the local government, which then sold it to the people living on it. Finally, in 1873, Prince Edward Island joined the [[Canadian Confederation]]—but only if the landlord system was ended. This agreement solved the Land Question once and for all.

== Background ==