George Coles (September 20, 1810 – August 21, 1875) was a Canadian politician, being the first

premier of Prince Edward Island The premier of Prince Edward Island is the first minister and head of government for the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Prince Edward Island. The current premier of Prince Edward Island is Dennis King (politician), Den ...

, and a Father of

Canadian Confederation Canadian Confederation (french: Confédération canadienne, link=no) was the process by which three British North American provinces, the Province of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, were united into one federation called the Canada, Dom ...

. Coles was born in Queens Royalty, Prince Edward Island, the son of James Coles, a farmer, and Sarah Tally. Although he had little formal education he became a farmer and a businessman at an early age. He travelled to England at age 19. There he learned about the brewing industry. While in England he married Mercy Haine on August 14, 1833, and they returned to Prince Edward Island before the end of that year. He soon became a prosperous brewer and merchant. He first entered politics in 1841 representing the New London-DeSable district in the Assembly. Coles was always a colourful political figure. He is said to have duelled with

Edward Palmer Edward Palmer may refer to: * Edward Palmer (d.1624) (1555–1624), antiquary and projector of a university in Virginia * Edward Palmer (socialist) (1802–1886), American religious socialist * Edward Palmer (Canadian politician) (1809–1889), Pri ...

and to have challenged James C. Pope to a duel as well. As a member of the provincial government in 1846, he spent 31 days in the custody of the

sergeant-at-arms A serjeant-at-arms, or sergeant-at-arms, is an officer appointed by a deliberative body, usually a legislature, to keep order during its meetings. The word "serjeant" is derived from the Latin ''serviens'', which means "servant". Historically, s ...

for refusing to retract a statement made in the assembly. He was convicted of assault in the 1850s. His administration embarked on a number of significant reforms the most important being the Free Education Act and the Land Purchase Act. The former provided better educational opportunities than in any of the other colonies and the latter was a positive step toward a solution to the land ownership question. He and Edward Whelan had laid the foundations of the

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and in doing so created the political balances which dominated Prince Edward Island politics during the middle years of the nineteenth century. Despite being an early supporter of union he turned against

Confederation A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a union of sovereign groups or states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

when it became apparent that the project would not solve the land tenure question. Just before Confederation all his properties burned down. He abandoned his public life and went into seclusion. For a time he was thought to be insane and was placed under care by his family, though modern historians have been divided over whether he actually was insane or was merely suffering from depression. Coles died in 1875 at his home in Charlottetown Royalty.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Coles, George 1810 births 1875 deaths People from Queens County, Prince Edward Island Fathers of Confederation Premiers of Prince Edward Island Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada) Prince Edward Island Liberal Party MLAs Prince Edward Island Liberal Party leaders Colony of Prince Edward Island people