Royal Proclamation Line of 1763

October 7, 1763

London forbade colonial settlement west of the Appalachian crest, trying to keep the peace with Indians and save money on garrisons. Virginia land speculators - Washington among them - read the proclamation and immediately began figuring out how to ignore it. A grievance was filed in colonial memory. The line was unenforceable from the start, and settlers poured across it within months of its proclamation.