The Proclamation of 1763

The Proclamation of 1763
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Abstract
The term proclamation is used to refer to any formal announcement or declaration. Thus, the declaration of 1763 refers to a declaration made by King George III of the British empire. The statement was effected following the end of the French and the Italian wars and the British territory. The proclamation of 1763 was meant to conciliate the Indian populations by keeping in check the advancement of settlers on their land. This essay focuses on the declaration of 1763 and its effects as well as the purposes set to be achieved under this declaration. It is worth noting that this announcement aroused a lot of dissatisfaction among the colonial territories who had settled there. The moment the British empire began the forceful take- over of the newly gained land from the French colonies, the native Americans tried as much as possible to resist this move. The proclamation prohibited the colonists’ empire from settling to the west of the Appalachia.
Keywords: colonists, British authorities/empire, settlers, land
In October 1763, a Proclamation was made by King George III following the coming to an end of the war between the British territories and both the Indian and the French. The 1763 proclamation served to keep in check the encroachment of the settlers on their pieces of land. The conclusion of the war enabled the British colonies to establish governance under their newly acquired territories as well as a way to promulgate peaceful existence between the remaining Indian tribes and the colonialists (Walters, 2015).

This essay endeavors to focus more on the Proclamation of 1763.
The primary challenge that was experienced by Great Britain was how to govern a vast new territory that belonged to Northern America following the loss of war of the French and the Indian lands (Hutchings & Patricia, 2010). The challenges experienced include the fact that the new region and the existing government were quite distant from each other. This could be attributed to the massive Indian population that was left behind. Besides, the Indians developed a warm relationship towards the French. The majority of the Indians later abandoned North America save for some islands in the Carribean. There were many reasons behind the Proclamation of 1763.
The establishment of the boundaries of the new colonies as well as their governments was one reason for this declaration. This led to the distinction of the British ruled territory between the Indian settlers and the British. This meant that the British could live on one side whereas the Indians occupied the other remaining part. The Appalachian Mountains was used to create a demarcation crest. It was expected of the British settlers to observe the proclamation line regarding the settlement (Otis, 2013).
The British proclaimed to fulfill their financial reasons. It is important to note that if the colonists had taken an interior move, they would solely carry out their trade with the residents and not the British empire. The local produce would be meant for domestic consumption. This would lead to slim chances of importing other products from England (Reich, 2011). Therefore, the locating of the colonists along the coastal tradelines was a way of the British maintaining a broader market for its produce, thus making it easier to conduct export activities of their local produce whereas importing other goods.
The British had a mission of carrying out fur trade activities with the Indian people (Finkelman & Thomson, 2006). In a bid to accomplish this goal, peace was a crucial requirement. It is worth noting that the Indians had and habit of staging attacks against the colonists who had settled in the west after the war. Along the proclamation, line were military forces who protected it. According to the government, these troops offered protection to the colonist, and thus, the colonists had to pay for such services in the form of taxes and the Quartering Act law. Besides, the line of the proclamation was manned through the setting up of posts along the line. According to the British, the construction of the boundary was costly, and therefore the need to pay for the service was inevitable.
It is essential to appreciate the fact that the Proclamation could be attributed to the greedy appetite of more land by the British settlers. A significant portion of the coastal area was already settled; consequently, high birth rates registered in the region facilitated the high population growth. This, therefore, meant that more land was needed to cater to the rising population growth. On the other hand, the settlers had utilized many resources during the war. The need of the war ushered an era of settling by claiming back their prize, the land towards the rich frontier over the Mississippi (Calloway, 2006). Whereas the Indians were forced out of their area, hence, they began to resist the British settlers by harassing and scaring the settlers out of the region. Therefore, the proclamation was made to fetch more land to settle the growing population.
The acquisition of land was also meant to benefit the soldiers who had tirelessly participated in both the French and Indian wars. The government was the only entity that was permitted to purchase land from the Indians. Such restrictions aimed to cut own the interactions that could grow to be contentious.
The Proclamation line confined the colonists along the coastal areas. This was an advantage to the British in that the coastal area was not only easy to govern but also to control and tax (Fenge, Aldrige, 2015). Had the colonists moved in large troops into the continent, the government would be forced to utilize a massive sum of money in a bid to establish other governing offices. Also, this construction of new offices implied that more judges, tax collectors, and other officials would be hired. This would take a considerably long time to settle. Thus, the proclamation line made the governance easy. On the other side, the movement of the settlers into the interior continent would have given a rough time to the British authorities in trying to locate them. A lot of revenue which was gained from tax collection would be lost. Therefore, the proclamation line positioned the colonists along reachable lines.
The establishment of the proclamation line of 1763 had a lot of significance for the British empire as well as the colonists. Some colonists due to the intense desire of owning good farmland ignored the line and trespassed by moving across the mountains. The proclamation line of 1763 worked to some degree (Narvey & University of Saskatchewan 1974).  A good number of settlers moved to the east whereas others did not move to the west. The trade restrictions kept both the Indians and the settlers physically away from one another. Conflicts arose as well (Schmidt, 2014). Some of the immigrants remained adamant by not moving into the Indian territory. The settlers and soldiers were also assaulted. However, the proclamation line significantly reduced such conflicts.
The British empire never had any intention of allowing the Indians to control not only such a vast amount of land but also a fertile, productive soil. With time, there were exceptional pressures in treaties that were established with the Indian populations to cede parts of the colonies to the British authorities. In the long run, the whole territory was ceded by Britain to the United States in the year 1783 (Stagg &Canada, 1981). This was accomplished after the conclusion of the revolutionary war. In a nutshell, the proclamation of 1763 was considered to be a beneficial move not only to Great Britain but also to the native American Indians. This, on the other hand, was unfavorable to the colonialists. The proclamation as well marked the end of the war in the European continent as well as the French Indian war that lasted for seven years.
References
Calloway, C. G. (2006). The scratch of a pen: 1763 and the transformation of North America. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press.
Fenge, T., & Aldrige, J. (2015). Keeping promises: The royal proclamation of 1763, aboriginal rights, and treaties in Canada. Montreal: McGill Queens University Press.
Finkelman, P., & Thomson Gale (Firm). (2006). Encyclopedia of the new American nation: The emergence of the United States, 1754-1829. Detroit, MI: Charles Scribner’s Sons.
Hutchings, & Patricia Margaret. (2010). The argument for the application of the royal proclamation of 1763 to British Columbia, its force, and effect. The University of British Columbia.
Narvey, K. M., & the University of Saskatchewan. (1974). The Royal Proclamation of 7 October 1763: The common law and native rights to land within the territory granted to the Hudson’s Bay Company. Saskatoon: the University of Saskatchewan, College of Law.
Otis, G. (2013). The Impact of the Royal Proclamation of 1763 on Quebec: Then and Now. SSRN Electronic Journal.
Reich, J. R. (2011). Colonial America. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
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Schmidt, E. A. (2014). Native Americans in the American Revolution: How the war divided, devastated, and transformed the early American Indian world.
Walters, M. C. (2015). The Aboriginal Charter of Rights: The Royal Proclamation of 1763 and the Constitution of Canada. SSRN Electronic Journal.