Why did the Proclamation of 1763 prohibit colonists from settling west of the Appalachian Mountains?
The Seven Years War in Europe was between France and England and some others. That war spread to north America when Washington, a British officer at the time, took soldiers over the Appalachians into the Ohio Valley an encountered French and their Indian allies. We call our little part of that the French and Indian War. The Seven Years War cost the Brits a lot of money to win. They got the French out of the Ohio Valley and Canada. But they really didn't want to spend more money on defending colonies again. Also, the Iroquois and some other tribes were allies during F and I war. So the King wanted to keep colonist out of their areas. So he drew a line and said Stay on your own side.
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