The MacDonald Family Letters, 1779-1801: Articles

Pigot, F. L. "MacDonald of Glenaladale, John," Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online.

A detailed biography of John MacDonald in the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online.

Bumsted, J. M. "MacDonald of Glenaladale, Helen," Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online.

A detailed biography of Helen MacDonald in the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online.

Bittermann, Rusty. "Rural Protest on Prince Edward Island in Transatlantic Context: From the Aftermath of the Seven Years' War to the 1840s." In Transatlantic Rebels: Agrarian Radicalism in Comparative Context, ed. Scott, James and Thomas Summerhill: 21-54. Lansing: Michigan State University Press, 2004.

This article places the protests surrounding the land system on Prince Edward Island within the panorama of revolutions and reform movements that shook the Atlantic world in the late-eighteenth and early-nineteenth centuries. Bittermann argues that Islanders were conscious of the events and ideas that fed other protest movements. Reformers, consequently, used the same rhetoric and tactics to pursue their goals, while conservatives pointed to the violent excesses of foreign events to condemn reform politics.

Download the article, or purchase the book from Michigan State University Press.

Bumsted, J.M. "Captain John MacDonald and the Island." The Island Magazine 6 (spring/summer 1979): 15-20.

This article explores John MacDonald's early life in Scotland, his immigration to Prince Edward Island, his military career, his life on the Island, and the political battles he fought to secure his land.

Bumsted, J.M. "The Land Question of Prince Edward Island and the Quitrent Controversy of 1802-1806." Acadiensis XXIX(2) (spring/printemps 2000): 3-26.

This article argues that the early-nineteenth century was the best time for resolving Prince Edward Island's land question. Efforts were hampered, however, by the difficulties the Colonial Office in London had in administrating colonies and the struggles among Island politicians over the land question.

Bumsted, J.M. "The Origins of the Land Question on Prince Edward Island, 1767-1805." Acadiensis XI(1) (autumn/automne 1981): 3-22.

This article explores the emergence of the contentious political issues surrounding land ownership in the late-eighteenth century. Bumsted argues that these political battles were not popular movements bent on the destruction of the land tenure system, but rather a struggle among elites jockeying for the largest land grants on the Island.

Bumsted, J.M. "Scottish Emigration to the Maritimes, 1770-1815: A New Look at an Old Theme." Acadiensis X(2) (spring/printemps 1981): 65-85.

This article examines the pattern of Highland emigration to the Maritimes in the early-nineteenth century. Bumsted argues that those who settled in the region prior to 1815 came voluntarily in the hopes of pursuing new economic opportunities denied them in their homeland.

Gillis, Roger. "The Life and Letters of Prince Edward Island Proprietor Captain John MacDonald of Glenaladale: An Exercise in Humanities Computing." University of New Brunswick Fredericton, M.A., 2007.

This thesis explores the potential of Humanities Computing as it pertains to the presentation of primary documents on the Web by using the correspondence of eighteenth-century Prince Edward Island land proprietor John MacDonald as a case study. Gillis argues that many historians have approached the Web with reluctance, hesitant to use it to conduct their traditional scholarly activities. He posits, however, that the possibilities of Humanities Computing for the discipline of history are great.