Causes of the American Revolution

After winning the French and Indian war, Great Britain had control of a large territory in North America. To limit the settlement of this territory, Britian issued the Proclamation of 1763. The Proclamation of 1763 said that colonists were not allowed to move west of the Appalacian Mountains. England originally meant this as a measure to calm the fears of the Indians, who felt that the colonists would drive them from their lands as they expanded westward. It forbid land-grants East of the Appalachian mountains and people who already had land there had to give it up. Private transactions with Indians involving land were also forbidden. Even though the English meant well, the colonists thought that the object if this proclamation wasto pen them along the Atlantic seaboard, where they would be easier to regulate. Many people ignored it and settled there anyway. The proclamation also encouraged land-grants in Quebec, East Florida, West Florida, and Grenada to be given to veterans of the French and Indian War. The areas in which this land was, were given to Britain in the Treaty of Paris. To give colonists another option Parliament acquired land from the Iroquois Confederacy in present-day western New York, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Kentucky as part of the Treaty of Fort Stanwix. These were all to be used for settlement.