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How did the Proclamation of 1763 limit colonial settlement in the West?

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American Revolution *The Surrender of Lord Cornwallis* (at Yorktown, Virginia, on October 19, 1781), oil on canvas by John Trumbull, completed in 1820; in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda, Washington, D.C. The painting captures the moment when major fighting during the American Revolution ended and the colonies achieved independence.

The Proclamation of 1763 was a British policy issued at the end of the French and Indian War to manage colonial expansion and address Native American grievances. It limited colonial settlement by establishing a vast, British-administered reservation for Native American tribes in the territory between the crest of the Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi River.12

The proclamation enforced these limits through several key measures:
* Prohibition of Settlement: It forbade colonial settlement in the designated reservation and ordered those already residing there to withdraw.12
* Restriction on Land Grants: Colonial governors were strictly prohibited from issuing warrants of survey or land patents for territories beyond the established boundaries.1
* Regulation of Land Purchases: It formalized the concept of Native American land titles, declaring that private individuals could no longer purchase land directly from tribes. Any future land sales had to be conducted publicly through official British representatives.12

While intended to prevent conflict, the policy was widely viewed by colonists as an overreach of royal power, fueling tensions that contributed to the American Revolution.12