Read the Proclamation of 1763 text, which was declared in order to separate British settlers and Indians into separate areas after the French and Indian
War. The proclamation established the Proclamation Line down the Appalachian
mountain chain as a dividing line. The act was intended to prevent
further war
with the Indians, but it also inflamed colonists who wanted the new
Indian territory for themselves, adding fuel to the resentment that led
to the
American Revolutionary War.
You can read the Proclamation of 1763 text below or learn more about the history and effects of the Proclamation of 1763
here.
BY THE KING. A PROCLAMATION
Whereas We have taken into Our Royal Consideration the extensive and
valuable Acquisitions in America, secured to our Crown by the late
Definitive
Treaty of Peace, concluded at Paris. the 10th Day of February last; and
being desirous that all Our loving Subjects, as well of our Kingdom as
of
our Colonies in America, may avail themselves with all convenient Speed,
of the great Benefits and Advantages which must accrue therefrom to
their
Commerce, Manufactures, and Navigation, We have thought fit, with the
Advice of our Privy Council. to issue this our Royal Proclamation,
hereby to
publish and declare to all our loving Subjects, that we have, with the
Advice of our Said Privy Council, granted our Letters Patent, under our
Great
Seal of Great Britain, to erect, within the Countries and Islands ceded
and confirmed to Us by the said Treaty, Four distinct and separate
Governments,
styled and called by the names of Quebec, East Florida, West Florida and
Grenada, and limited and bounded as follows, viz.
First--The Government of Quebec bounded on the Labrador Coast by the
River St. John, and from thence by a Line drawn from the Head of that
River through
the Lake St. John, to the South end of the Lake Nipissim; from whence
the said Line, crossing the River St. Lawrence, and the Lake Champlain,
in 45.
Degrees of North Latitude, passes along the High Lands which divide the
Rivers that empty themselves into the said River St. Lawrence from those
which
fall into the Sea; and also along the North Coast of the Baye des
Chaleurs, and the Coast of the Gulph of St. Lawrence to Cape Rosieres,
and from thence
crossing the Mouth of the River St. Lawrence by the West End of the
Island of Anticosti, terminates at the aforesaid River of St. John.
Secondly--The Government of East Florida. bounded to the Westward by the
Gulph of Mexico and the Apalachicola River; to the Northward by a Line
drawn
from that part of the said River where the Chatahouchee and Flint Rivers
meet, to the source of St. Mary's River. and by the course of the said
River
to the Atlantic Ocean; and to the Eastward and Southward by the Atlantic
Ocean and the Gulph of Florida, including all Islands within Six
Leagues of the
Sea Coast.
Thirdly--The Government of West Florida. bounded to the Southward by the
Gulph of Mexico. including all Islands within Six Leagues of the Coast.
from
the River Apalachicola to Lake Pontchartrain; to the Westward by the
said Lake, the Lake Maurepas, and the River Mississippi; to the
Northward by a Line
drawn due East from that part of the River Mississippi which lies in 31
Degrees North Latitude. to the River Apalachicola or Chatahouchee; and
to the
Eastward by the said River.
Fourthly--The Government of Grenada, comprehending the Island of that
name, together with the Grenadines, and the Islands of Dominico, St.
Vincent's
and Tobago. And to the end that the open and free Fishery of our
Subjects may be extended to and carried on upon the Coast of Labrador,
and the adjacent
Islands. We have thought fit. with the advice of our said Privy Council
to put all that Coast, from the River St. John's to Hudson's Streights,
together
with the Islands of Anticosti and Madelaine, and all other smaller
Islands lying upon the said Coast, under the care and Inspection of our
Governor of
Newfoundland.
We have also, with the advice of our Privy Council. thought fit to annex
the Islands of St. John's and Cape Breton, or Isle Royale, with the
lesser Islands
adjacent thereto, to our Government of Nova Scotia.
We have also, with the advice of our Privy Council aforesaid, annexed to
our Province of Georgia all the Lands lying between the Rivers
Alatamaha and St. Mary's.
And whereas it will greatly contribute to the speedy settling of our
said new Governments, that our loving Subjects should be informed of our
Paternal care,
for the security of the Liberties and Properties of those who are and
shall become Inhabitants thereof, We have thought fit to publish and
declare, by this
Our Proclamation, that We have, in the Letters Patent under our Great
Seal of Great Britain, by which the said Governments are constituted.
given express
Power and Direction to our Governors of our Said Colonies respectively,
that so soon as the state and circumstances of the said Colonies will
admit thereof,
they shall, with the Advice and Consent of the Members of our Council,
summon and call General Assemblies within the said Governments
respectively, in such
Manner and Form as is used and directed in those Colonies and Provinces
in America which are under our immediate Government: And We have also
given Power to
the said Governors, with the consent of our Said Councils, and the
Representatives of the People so to be summoned as aforesaid, to make,
constitute, and
ordain Laws. Statutes, and Ordinances for the Public Peace, Welfare, and
good Government of our said Colonies, and of the People and Inhabitants
thereof, as
near as may be agreeable to the Laws of England, and under such
Regulations and Restrictions as are used in other Colonies; and in the
mean Time, and until
such Assemblies can be called as aforesaid, all Persons Inhabiting in or
resorting to our Said Colonies may confide in our Royal Protection for
the Enjoyment
of the Benefit of the Laws of our Realm of England; for which Purpose We
have given Power under our Great Seal to the Governors of our said
Colonies respectively
to erect and constitute, with the Advice of our said Councils
respectively, Courts of Judicature and public Justice within our Said
Colonies for hearing and
determining all Causes, as well Criminal as Civil, according to Law and
Equity, and as near as may be agreeable to the Laws of England, with
Liberty to all
Persons who may think themselves aggrieved by the Sentences of such
Courts, in all Civil Cases, to appeal, under the usual Limitations and
Restrictions, to Us
in our Privy Council.
We have also thought fit, with the advice of our Privy Council as
aforesaid, to give unto the Governors and Councils of our said Three new
Colonies, upon the
Continent full Power and Authority to settle and agree with the
Inhabitants of our said new Colonies or with any other Persons who shall
resort thereto, for
such Lands. Tenements and Hereditaments, as are now or hereafter shall
be in our Power to dispose of; and them to grant to any such Person or
Persons upon such
Terms, and under such moderate Quit-Rents, Services and Acknowledgments,
as have been appointed and settled in our other Colonies, and under
such other Conditions
as shall appear to us to be necessary and expedient for the Advantage of
the Grantees, and the Improvement and settlement of our said Colonies.
And Whereas, We are desirous, upon all occasions, to testify our Royal
Sense and Approbation of the Conduct and bravery of the Officers and
Soldiers of our
Armies, and to reward the same, We do hereby command and impower our
Governors of our said Three new Colonies, and all other our Governors of
our several
Provinces on the Continent of North America, to grant without Fee or
Reward, to such reduced Officers as have served in North America during
the late War,
and to such Private Soldiers as have been or shall be disbanded in
America, and are actually residing there, and shall personally apply for
the same, the
following Quantities of Lands, subject, at the Expiration of Ten Years,
to the same Quit-Rents as other Lands are subject to in the Province
within which
they are granted, as also subject to the same Conditions of Cultivation
and Improvement; viz.
To every Person having the Rank of a Field Officer--5,000 Acres.
To every Captain--3,000 Acres.
To every Subaltern or Staff Officer,--2,000 Acres.
To every Non-Commission Officer,--200 Acres.
To every Private Man--50 Acres.
We do likewise authorize and require the Governors and Commanders in
Chief of all our said Colonies upon the Continent of North America to
grant the like
Quantities of Land, and upon the same conditions, to such reduced
Officers of our Navy of like Rank as served on board our Ships of War in
North America
at the times of the Reduction of Louisbourg and Quebec in the late War,
and who shall personally apply to our respective Governors for such
Grants.
And whereas it is just and reasonable, and essential to our Interest,
and the Security of our Colonies, that the several Nations or Tribes of
Indians with
whom We are connected, and who live under our Protection, should not be
molested or disturbed in the Possession of such Parts of Our Dominions
and Territories
as, not having been ceded to or purchased by Us, are reserved to them.
or any of them, as their Hunting Grounds.--We do therefore, with the
Advice of our
Privy Council, declare it to be our Royal Will and Pleasure that no
Governor or Commander in Chief in any of our Colonies of Quebec, East
Florida or West
Florida, do presume, upon any Pretence whatever, to grant Warrants of
Survey, or pass any Patents for Lands beyond the Bounds of their
respective Governments
as described in their Commissions: as also that no Governor or Commander
in Chief in any of our other Colonies or Plantations in America do
presume for the
present, and until our further Pleasure be known, to grant Warrants of
Survey, or pass Patents for any Lands beyond the Heads or Sources of any
of the Rivers
which fall into the Atlantic Ocean from the West and North West, or upon
any Lands whatever, which, not having been ceded to or purchased by Us
as aforesaid,
are reserved to the said Indians, or any of them.
And We do further declare it to be Our Royal Will and Pleasure, for the
present as aforesaid, to reserve under our Sovereignty, Protection, and
Dominion, for
the use of the said Indians, all the Lands and Territories not included
within the Limits of Our said Three new Governments, or within the
Limits of the Territory
granted to the Hudson's Bay Company, as also all the Lands and
Territories lying to the Westward of the Sources of the Rivers which
fall into the Sea from the
West and North West as aforesaid.
And We do hereby strictly forbid, on Pain of our Displeasure, all our
loving Subjects from making any Purchases or Settlements whatever, or
taking Possession
of any of the Lands above reserved without our especial leave and
Licence for that Purpose first obtained.
And We do further strictly enjoin and require all Persons whatever who
have either wilfully or inadvertently seated themselves upon any Lands
within the
Countries above described. or upon any other Lands which, not having
been ceded to or purchased by Us, are still reserved to the said Indians
as aforesaid,
forthwith to remove themselves from such Settlements.
And whereas great Frauds and Abuses have been committed in purchasing
Lands of the Indians, to the great Prejudice of our Interests and to the
great
Dissatisfaction of the said Indians: In order, therefore, to prevent
such Irregularities for the future, and to the end that the Indians may
be convinced
of our Justice and determined Resolution to remove all reasonable Cause
of Discontent, We do with the Advice of our Privy Council strictly
enjoin and require
that no private Person do presume to make any purchase from the said
Indians of any Lands reserved to the said Indians, within those parts of
our Colonies where,
We have thought proper to allow Settlement: but that if at any Time any
of the Said Indians should be inclined to dispose of the said Lands,
the same shall
be Purchased only for Us, in our Name, at some public Meeting or
Assembly of the said Indians, to be held for that Purpose by the
Governor or Commander in
Chief of our Colony respectively within which they shall lie: and in
case they shall lie within the limits of any Proprietary Government,
they shall be purchased
only for the Use and in the name of such Proprietaries, conformable to
such Directions and Instructions as We or they shall think proper to
give for that Purpose:
And we do, by the Advice of our Privy Council, declare and enjoin, that
the Trade with the said Indians shall be free and open to all our
Subjects whatever,
provided that every Person who may incline to Trade with the said
Indians do take out a Licence for carrying on such Trade from the
Governor or Commander in
Chief of any of our Colonies respectively where such Person shall
reside, and also give Security to observe such Regulations as We shall
at any Time think
fit, by ourselves or by our Commissaries to be appointed for this
Purpose, to direct and appoint for the Benefit of the said Trade:
And we do hereby authorize, enjoin, and require the Governors and
Commanders in Chief of all our Colonies respectively, as well those
under Our immediate
Government as those under the Government and Direction of Proprietaries,
to grant such Licences without Fee or Reward, taking especial Care to
insert therein
a Condition, that such Licence shall be void, and the Security forfeited
in case the Person to whom the same is granted shall refuse or neglect
to observe such
Regulations as We shall think proper to prescribe as aforesaid.
And we do further expressly conjoin and require all Officers whatever,
as well Military as those Employed in the Management and Direction of
Indian Affairs,
within the Territories reserved as aforesaid for the use of the said
Indians, to seize and apprehend all Persons whatever, who standing
charged with Treason,
Misprisions of Treason, Murders, or other Felonies or Misdemeanors,
shall fly from Justice and take Refuge in the said Territory. and to
send them under a proper
guard to the Colony where the Crime was committed of which they, stand
accused, in order to take their Trial for the same. Given at our Court
at St. James's
the 7th Day of October 1763, in the Third Year of our Reign.
GOD SAVE THE KING
Published 12/10/16
You can learn more about the history and effects of the Proclamation of 1763 here.
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