Prince Edward Island land question

The land question was the major issue in Prince Edward Island in the early 1840s. In 1767 the Island had been divided into 67 lots, of approximately 20,000 acres each, which were parcelled out to various persons with claims upon the generosity of the crown. By the beginning of the 19th century there had been much consolidation of holdings, with the result that a few magnates, mostly absentees, came to own huge tracts. The owners often refused to sell their lands, and instead leased them, creating a neo-feudal system of tenure. In 1841, for example, fewer than one-third of the occupiers of land were freeholders.