History of Prince Edward Island

In Short

This book is a comprehensive historical account of Prince Edward Island, covering the period from its early British possession through its entry into the Canadian Confederation in 1873. It meticulously details the "Land Question"—the long-standing struggle between absentee landlords and tenant farmers—alongside the development of colonial governance, education, and infrastructure. Valued for its commitment to original archival research and its objective, analytical approach, the work remains an essential primary source for understanding the island’s transition from a neglected colonial outpost into a self-governing society.

The Story

The narrative begins with the island’s early administration under British rule, a period defined by a peculiar and problematic land-grant system. In 1763, the Earl of Egmont proposed a feudal structure, envisioning an island divided into "Hundreds" and "Baronies" governed by a Lord Paramount. This ambitious scheme, intended to bring order to the "vast, impervious, and dangerous forests," laid the groundwork for decades of contention. Because the land was granted to absentee proprietors residing in London rather than to those who occupied and cleared the soil, the island’s growth was chronically stifled.

As the colony matured, it became a theater of political friction. Governors and administrators struggled to balance the interests of the Crown against the vocal, often defiant demands of the local populace. The "Land Question" dominates the narrative arc, surfacing repeatedly in the forms of quitrent disputes, petitions for courts of escheat, and occasional outbursts of popular indignation. The reader follows this through the tenure of figures like Governor Patterson, whose conflicts with local committees and personal financial entanglements provide a lens into the era's pervasive administrative corruption.

The middle chapters document the slow, steady progress of the island toward institutional stability. The account tracks the professionalization of government, the expansion of schools, and the establishment of local newspapers like The Islander, which began to foster a sense of public consciousness. This period also witnesses the influence of prominent religious leaders, such as Bishop Bernard Donald McDonald, whose life and ministry illustrate the deep moral and social ties binding the island’s scattered communities. His death serves as a focal point for the transition between the island’s pioneering past and its more structured future.

The final act of the story centers on the mid-19th-century push toward Confederation. As the Canadian colonies considered unity, the island found itself deeply divided. The narrative captures the fierce public debates in Charlottetown, where unionists argued for the benefits of a larger political alliance against staunch anti-confederates who feared the loss of local autonomy and unfavorable financial terms. Despite the initial hostility of the public, the inevitability of change, underscored by the arrival of modern infrastructure like the railway in 1875, points toward a new era. The book concludes with the island fully integrated into the Dominion of Canada, looking ahead to a future where trade, improved civic sanitation, and new governance promise to finally settle the long-standing disputes of the past, leaving behind the era of feudal land claims for a modern, unified administrative existence.

How It Unfolds

The feudal vision The book opens with the Earl of Egmont’s 1763 proposal to transform the island into a rigid system of Baronies and manors. This plan highlights the profound disconnect between the expectations of British officials and the harsh, dangerous reality of North American colonial life.

The struggle for land rights The narrative examines the persistent conflict over quitrents and the failure of landlords to fulfill their settlement obligations. It details the resulting "paroxysms of just indignation" among the tenantry, who frequently petitioned for legal recourse against the absentee owners.

Governance and conflict Through the correspondence and actions of figures like Governor Patterson, the text reveals the precarious nature of early colonial administration. It chronicles the desperate measures taken by officials to maintain order and the subsequent rise of organized political resistance.

Social and institutional growth The focus shifts to the building of schools, churches, and civic institutions as the population grows. Figures like Bishop McDonald emerge as central figures, representing the moral and charitable efforts required to unite a widely scattered, diverse population.

The path to Confederation The final movement covers the intense debates regarding the proposed Canadian union. It features the arguments of prominent delegates who debated the economic and political future of the island, ultimately leading to its entry into the Dominion.

The People

The book focuses on a range of figures who define the island's political and moral landscape. The Earl of Egmont appears as the architect of the impractical, quasi-feudal land scheme that initiated the island's long-standing misery. His vision of a castle-defended colony stands in stark contrast to the reality of the settlers who struggled to survive. Governor Patterson is portrayed as a controversial administrator, whose struggles with the "quitrent bill" and his eventual dismissal show the precarious and often self-serving nature of colonial governance.

Mr. Stewart acts as the champion of the popular cause, representing the people's push for escheat and justice. His narrow escape from arrest by the governor’s officers is a high-water mark of the island's political turbulence. Bishop Bernard Donald McDonald provides a counterpoint to the political strife; he is described as a "great moral reformer" who traveled across the island to minister to the poor. His dedication to his five thousand followers, and his humble, tireless service, mark him as the spiritual anchor of the island’s history. Finally, W. H. Pope and Mr. Coles appear as the public faces of the Confederation debate, representing the clash of ideologies that would determine the island’s entry into the Canadian Dominion.

In Its Own Voice

"These courts--established by Alfred and others of our Saxon Princes, to maintain order, and bring justice to every man's door--are obviously essential for a small people, forming or formed into a small society in the vast, impervious, and dangerous forests of America."

This observation is part of a footnote detailing the original intent to impose traditional English manorial courts upon the isolated and unforgiving landscape of the island.

"To say that Mr. McDonald was faultless, would be to say that he was more than human. To say that, as a great moral reformer, he had no enemies, would be to say that he was a toady and a time-server."

This passage introduces the character of the revered Bishop McDonald, emphasizing his human fallibility and the strength of his conviction.

"The island having entered the confederation with the Dominion on the first July, 1873, Canadian manufactured goods since then have not come under the head of 'imports,' which explains the apparent decrease."

This concluding technical note clarifies how political changes fundamentally altered the economic data recorded by the colony.

What It's Really About

The book is fundamentally an argument about the triumph of local institutional development over the failures of absentee, imperial management. It posits that the island’s difficulties were not inherent to the land itself, but were the direct result of a flawed, feudal land-grant system that ignored the needs of those who actually worked the soil. The underlying question is one of justice: can a small society achieve prosperity and political maturity when its primary resources are controlled by distant owners? The author suggests that through education, religious leadership, and eventually, the structural stability offered by the Canadian Confederation, the island slowly moved toward a self-determined future, successfully shedding the archaic, restrictive practices that hindered its early growth.

Why Read It Today

Readers with an interest in colonial history or the specific evolution of Atlantic Canada will find this book a rewarding, if demanding, primary source. The prose is earnest and precise, reflecting the Victorian tendency for detailed, granular reporting on legislative acts, committee reports, and administrative correspondence. It does not shy away from the dry, technical aspects of colonial bureaucracy, which may prove challenging to those looking for a fast-paced narrative.

However, the reward for the patient reader is a vivid, grounded portrait of a society in the making. The author’s warmth emerges in his character sketches—particularly of the indefatigable Bishop McDonald—and in his occasional, dryly humorous critiques of Charlottetown’s civic shortcomings or the "useless anomaly" of certain temperance laws. While the text reflects the period's focus on political and economic elites, it captures the essential tension of the human story: the desire of a small community to define itself against the weight of distant, disinterested power. It feels like an authentic artifact of 1875, offering a clear-eyed look at the labor and debate that built a province. The book remains a testament to the fact that the history of a place is written as much in its dusty archives and school reports as it is in its grand political decisions.