British Royal Proclamation of 1763 |
The Royal Proclamation of 1763 was issued by the British 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/Seven Years' War and to end exploitative purchases of aboriginal land. It established requirements that
had to be met before aboriginal land could be purchased, including one that the purchase must be approved by a meeting of all
members of the people selling the land. 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.
After the American Revolutionary War, the
Royal Proclamation of 1763 became a dead letter in the United States, but
continued in force in Rupert's Land, which later became part of
Canada. The proclamation forms the basis of land claims of aboriginal peoples in Canada
– First Nations, Inuit, and
Métis. The Royal Proclamation of 1763 is mentioned in the Canadian Charter of Rights and
Freedoms.
Besides restricting colonial expansion, however (colonial land grants were generally accepted to stretch in an unbroken strip
along the continent), the Proclamation dealt with the management of newly ceded French colonies. It established government for
four areas: Quebec, West Florida,
East Florida, and Grenada. All
of these were granted the ability to elect general assemblies under a royally appointed governor and high council, which could
then create laws and ordinances specific to the area in agreement with British and colonial laws. In the meantime, the new
colonies enjoyed the same rights as native-born Englishmen, something that British colonists had been fighting over for years. An
even bigger affront to the British colonies was the establishment of both civil and criminal courts complete with the right to
appeal; those being tried for breaking the Stamp or Sugar Act were tried instead in admiralty
court, where the defendant was considered guilty until he or she could prove their innocence.
A reform that would have benefited the British colonists was the opening of Indian trade to all. With a free license in hand,
a colonist could trade at will- of course, they would have to acknowledge British authority on Indian trade regulation, something
many were happy to ignore.
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