Proclamation of 1763

The Proclamation of 1763 was issued by the United Kingdom government in the name of King George III to prohibit settlement by British colonists beyond the Appalachian Mountains in the lands captured by Britain from France in the French and Indian War. The motivation for the proclamation was a desire to avoid the expense of further wars with Native Americans. The proclamation was largely ignored on the ground (in particular in settlements already established in the prohibited area) but its very existence created a large amount of resentment among the British colonists (especially in Virginia) and was one of the factors leading to the American Revolutionary War.