| Background: |
Île St-Jean, as the island was called under French rule, was ceded to Britain under the terms of the Treaty of Paris in 1763 and the name was changed to Prince Edward Island. The British government immediately ordered a survey of the island which had been carried out by Surveyor General Samuel Holland by 1785. The island was divided into 67 townships of 20,000 acres, which, with few exceptions, were granted to proprietors who were military officers or others to whom the British government owed favours. The proprietors, most of whom were absentee landowners, were required to settle their lands and fulfil certain specified terms and conditions of their grants. With this arrangement, the stage was set for years of hardship and insecurity for the tenants and conflict between tenants and proprietors who were invariably supported by the British government. The 'LAND QUESTION' dominated PEI politics and life until Confederation with Canada in 1873.
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| Contents: |
The Rent Books have been arranged alphabetically by name of proprietor for the purpose of microfilming. The proprietors kept a record book for each lot, or small group of lots, covering a specific time period. Each book provides a detailed written record of the amount paid by individual tenants, usually on an annual fee basis, for the privilege of cultivating a plot of land.Each tenant's record was kept on a seperate page or pages and the date and amount of each rent payment recorded. When the death of a tenant occured, the date was often noted. In addition to individuals, companies were frequently tenants and their records are preserved as well.Each Rent Book contains an alphabetical index by name of tenant, giving the page number for that tenant's account. |
