Royal Proclamation of 1763
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The Royal Proclamation of 1763 was issued October 7, 1763 by King George III following the assumption of certain French colonial territories under the terms of the Treaty of Paris (1763) that ended the French and Indian War/Seven Years' War.
Image:Map of territorial growth 1775.jpg Amongst its terms, the Proclamation restricted settlement by colonists beyond the Appalachian Mountains, in order to end exploitative purchases of American Indian land. The proclamation 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. Thus, the boundary line established by the proclamation (often called the proclamation line) was not intended to be a permanent boundary between white and Indian lands (as is sometimes believed), but rather a temporary boundary which could be extended further west in an orderly, lawful manner. The proclamation line was adjusted in 1768 in the Treaty of Fort Stanwix and the Treaty of Hard Labor.
The British government issued the proclamation in hopes of avoiding the expense of frontier warfare. (The proclamation was issued after the outbreak of Pontiac's War, though it had been in the works before that conflict.) The proclamation was largely ignored on the ground (in particular, in settlements already established in the prohibited area), but its very existence was viewed by colonists as yet another instance of the British government subordinating colonial interests to that of others, and, thus, only helped to feed the growing resentment that would eventualy lead to the American Revolutionary War.
After the American Revolutionary War, the Royal Proclamation of 1763 became inoperative in the United States, but continued to govern the cession of aboriginal land in British North America, especially Upper Canada and Rupert's Land. The proclamation forms the basis of land claims of aboriginal peoples in Canada – First Nations, Inuit, and Métis. The Royal Proclamation of 1763 is thus mentioned in section 25 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Besides restricting colonial expansion (colonial land grants were generally accepted to stretch in an unbroken strip across 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 or a 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--but those charged with violating the Stamp or Sugar Act were to be tried in admiralty court, where the defendant was considered guilty until he or she could prove his or her innocence.