Royal Proclamation of 1763

The Royal Proclamation of 1763 was issued by King George III on 7 October 1763. It followed the Treaty of Paris (1763), which formally ended the Seven Years' War and transferred French territory in North America to Great Britain. The Proclamation forbade all settlements west of a line drawn along the Appalachian Mountains, which was delineated as an Indian Reserve. Exclusion from the vast region of Trans-Appalachia created discontent between Britain and colonial land speculators and potential settlers. The proclamation and access to western lands was one of the first significant areas of dispute between Britain and the colonies and would become a contributing factor leading to the American Revolution. The 1763 proclamation line is situated similar to the Eastern Continental Divide, extending from Georgia to the divide's northern terminus near the middle of the northern border of Pennsylvania, where it intersects the northeasterly St. Lawrence Divide, and extends further through New England.

The Royal Proclamation continues to be of legal importance to First Nations in Canada, being the first legal recognition of aboriginal title, rights and freedoms, and is recognized in the Canadian Constitution of 1982.

Royal Proclamation of 1763 in The Two Georges

As the Governor-General of the North American Union, George Washington enforced the Royal Proclamation of 1763, preventing the expansion of White settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains. While the proclamation was ultimately rescinded 35 years later, Washington's enforcement of the proclamation gave certain Red Indian tribes, such as the Iroquois and the Cherokees, the chance to modernise and consolidate ownership of much of their lands. For that reason, Washington was greatly revered by the Indians, and the Iroquois believed him to be the only white person admitted to their religion's version of Heaven.