George Coles And The Land Problem Of Prince Edward Island

In a time before confederation and the country’s founding fathers were glorified as heroes and cultural figures of influence, there was George Coles. All though George did not support Confederation because of its failure of solving the land problem of Prince Edward Island. Nonetheless George Cole personified the islander mentality and spirit and was eager to improve the living quality, education and franchise. In the pre-Confederation period of Prince Edward Island, George was the island’s first premier and served a second term until his death in 1869. Coles embarked on numerous significant reforms, however the Free Education Act and the Land Purchase Act solidified his position as the most influential person in the pre-confederation history

This education became an embodied experience in George's life and it developed his notion on the education of common islanders and how it would benefit the island in return. After a quick travel to England in 1833, he married a British subject, Mercy Haine, whom he had twelve children. George Coles was an entrepreneur and he used the formal education he had acquired at a young age to establish a business in Charlottetown. In effect through George’s hard work and dedication, he illustrated himself as a self-made man. George became best known on the island as a brewer and a distiller. However in 1842 George entered public life by successfully contesting a rural constituency. Being a son of a farmer, George acknowledged that the land and status of owning land had a significant core to the island way of life. Therefore he allied himself with the Liberals in the hOuse of Assembly. The biggest question around this period in the history of PEI was the land question. The division of the island into 67 townships in the 18trh century by Samuel Holland and the distribution to favourites. For example the landlords were often military officers that had fought under the british Crown. The most famous of these were the Fraser

Therefore Coles and his administration enacted The Franchise Act (TFA) in 1853. It initiated the virtually right to human suffrage for all legally mature men. In effect this legislation was an attempt by Coles to allow the common people of the island to present their problems and vote as a unanimous voice against landlords and their system of exploitation and high rents. It also allowed men who did not own property to vote in colonial elections. This legislation allowed Coles to have absolute power in the executive assembly and gave him the necessary political powers to enact land