Land Policies Of Upper Canada

From 1763 to 1867 the land system of Upper Canada was one of the most important questions in the development of the new country. This detailed study of the subject examines Great Britain's plans for Canada after the conquest, the problems created by the royal "promise" of land to the loyalists, Lord Durham's Report, and the failure of the land policies to reach their economic and political objectives. In addition it covers the land problems in Canada after responsible government was achieved: Clergy Reserves, untenanted and abandoned land, settlement duties, speculation, wild land tax and assessment, and the activities of squatters. Based on Colonial Office depsatches, legislative records, the Crown Land Papers, newspapers and various private collections of documents, this work offers an accurate account of the social, economic and political aspects related to land policy in nineteenth-century Upper Canada.

The distribution of land was one of the largest tasks of the colonial government in Upper Canada. This dissertation reviews that monumental distribution of resources from the perspective of those government agents, Crown land agents and surveyors, who gave practical effect to an array of policies, including the distribution of land to individuals, within the period when land sales, rather than free grants, dominated the land policy beginning in 1837 until 1870, by which time arable land was in short supply. While the land policies of Upper Canada have been examined in detail, little research exists to shed light on the application of those policies with regards to actual settlers. Notably, the place of cultural and social values with regards to settlers and land allocation has been disregarded, especially in terms of the ideas of worth and worthiness. Most research in this field has focussed on politics, political development, state formation, and the role of the elite. Yet, the concern of government agents was not centred solely on maintaining strict government control, but also on acting as advocates for those settlers who were seen as making a contribution to the growth of a successful colony. In mediating between the government and the people, agents expressed their own ideas about the meaning of land ownership and who would make the best settlers, especially with regards to squatters. The presence of an active pre-patent market in land claims further expanded the role of agents into one of adjudicators. Evidence shows that surveyors and land agents seemed more concerned with applying what they saw as the spirit, rather than the letter of the official land policy. They sought to encourage settlement and improvement in order to create a stable and prosperous society which had as its foundation successful family farms.

Land, Power, and Economics on the Frontier of Upper Canada examines Ontario's formative years, focusing on Essex County in Ontario from 1788 to 1850. Upper Canadian attitudes to land and society are shown to have been built on contemporary visions of the cosmos. John Clarke examines the actions of individuals from the perspective of the political culture and its manifestations, doing so within the constraints of geography and the cultural baggage of the settlers. Placing human action in the context of economics and laissez-faire capitalism, Clarke shows how almost unbridled acquisitiveness, and its concomitant land speculation, could promote or hinder development.

"In these two volumes, which replace the Reader's Guide to Canadian History, experts provide a select and critical guide to historical writing about pre- and post-Confederation Canada, with an emphasis on the most recent scholarship" -- Cover.