What law did Britain enact that restricted colonists from settling west of the Appalachian Mountains?

Answer 1

Prior to the 1700s, people believed the entire land of the USA ended just beyond the Appalachian Mountains, and they settled to the east. But before 1744, explorers singly or in pairs began to cross the mountains into SW Pennsylvania. Explorers increasingly encountered more Indians. Around the same time, young George Washington at 16 years old had moved in with his older brother in Virginia after their father died. There, George W. met Lord Fairfax, who lived on the next farm. George Washington taught himself to do land surveys while living with his brother. He also studied under Lord Fairfax, who had a library of books and maps at his house. Lord Fairfax owned "all land west of the Blue Ridge Mountains (the part of the Appalachian Mountains in Virginia). He asked young George W. to go survey Fairfax's lands. This was how Lord Fairfax later appointed George Washington to go attack the French in Ohio. George lost that battle and declared he would never go to war again. But his explorations greatly increased the knowlege about the Indians and lands west of the Blue Ridge Mts.

It is important to note that The Native Americans in eastern North American did not formally give up their claims to their lands to the government. As more explorers and some settlers moved into those areas, the Indians and Settlers encountered each other even more. After the French and Indian War, the British signed The Proclamation of 1763 which all colonial settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains, due to Indians uprising against the settlers. It was an attempt to keep better relations with the Native Americans.

The British believed that by keeping the Indians and the colonists apart, they could reduce the likelihood of war and the costs of defense. The British may also have thought the colonists confined to the seaboard would be easier to control. The proclamation also set aside some territory for the Indians, thus recognizing limited Indian rights to land.

The Indians accepted the proclamation, but many colonists were dismayed. Some people had western claims. The colonists felt entitled to those lands because they (the colonists) sustained more casualties during the French and Indian War than the British soldiers did. George the Third who issued the proclamation also added other taxes which angreed the colonists. The colonists were fighting for the Ohio River Valley, just west of the Appalachians. In Pennsylvania, this land was west of the PA border, beyond the Pittsburgh Plateau. In Virginia, the lands were west of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Virginians especially had western holdings, stemming from the Ohio Company grant of 1749. Among these landholders was George Washington. The proclamation was no cause for open rebellion, but it was a sore point. One of many, it soon appeared.

By the late 1790s, The Ohio Land Company had been placing ads in newspapers throughout New England and eastern States. But at least 4 separate groups claimed ownership to sections of Ohio. Settlers were afraid to buy land, only to have the title rejected later in land disputes. But by late 1790s, settlers were beginning to buy Ohio lands. Many families continued West into Indiana, Illinois, and westward, southwest, into Kansas, Colorado, and on to California.

Answer 2

• 1763 - Proclamation of 1763
  This prohibited settlement beyond the Appalachian Mountains. While Britain did not intend to harm the colonists, many colonists took offense at this order.
  
  

Answer 3

The British government passed the Proclamation of 1763. However, the colonists pretty much ignored it and kept moving west anyway.

Answer 4

The Proclamation of 1763.

Answer 5

proclamation of 1763