In 1763 the British Parliament issued the Proclamation Line as a means to deter further colonial settlements beyond the Appalachians. The measure was bitterly resented by certain groups of colonists, notably land speculators tied to enterprises like the Ohio Company and the Indiana Company. Harvard historian Frederick Merk refers to the Parliamentary action as “off the cuff” while most scholars see the measure as an emergency response to the recently concluded French and Indian War and the on-going Indian uprising the British called Pontiac’s Conspiracy.
The Proclamation Line and Westward Movement
Colonial westward movement immediately after the French and Indian War represented a number of groups eager to seize new land. Ordinary farmers, particularly in the back country areas of Virginia and Pennsylvania, saw new opportunities for their families. Using established routes like Braddock’s Trail, hundreds migrated beyond colonial boundaries into lands contested by competing colonial governments. By 1773 an estimated 30,000 farmers had moved west.
These intrepid settlers held their newly acquired lands by sheer will and force, developing a keen sense of individualism without loyalties to eastern colonial administrations. Although confronted by occasional hostile natives, the bulk of the Indian nations were embroiled in inter-tribal skirmishes and distracted by traditional disagreements. Existing garrison outposts were poorly staffed leaving British troops without the ability to force eviction on the basis of the Proclamation.
Land Speculation among Wealthy Investors
Wealthy and powerful eastern investors formed companies that would eventually sell land to farmers. The Ohio Company was formed by Thomas Lee of Virginia, grand uncle of Robert E. Lee. George Washington’s half-brother Lawrence served as president of the company. Washington was also an investor. Benjamin Franklin, one of the wealthiest men following the Revolution, invested in the Illinois Company and advocated on behalf of other land companies in London.
At the 1768 Fort Stanwix Indian conference, the Iroquois ceded a huge tract to the British, opening up the possibility of controlled settlement in the future. Unfortunately, the Iroquois Cession was land claimed by their traditional enemy, the Cherokee, as well as the Shawnee of Ohio. Former Indian Agent George Croghan was also the recipient of 300,000 acres in the Upper Ohio, making him a key player in land speculation. Despite these claims, however, “no single grant west of the mountains was ever legalized,” according to Historian Every, and the Proclamation Line was never rescinded. In the years following Pontiac’s War, westward expansion was view by Parliament and the British Board of Trade as a matter of imperial security.
The Quebec Act of 1774
The Quebec Act is frequently discussed in the context of the Intolerable or “Coercive” Acts passed by Parliament following the Boston Tea Party. Yet it was precisely the growing rebelliousness of the colonies that prompted measures like the Quebec Act. The act reorganized the Northeast, giving control to the Governor General of Canada whose authority included an orderly and regulated return to the fur trade. The Act, however, also undercut competing land claims by Massachusetts, New York, and Pennsylvania.
Seldom mentioned was the new colony of Vandalia, a fourteenth colony that might have received Parliamentary blessing had events in New England not taken a turn for the worse. Vandalia, named in honor of the English queen, represented the amalgamation of various land companies and appeared to be the best solution to rampant speculation in violation of the Proclamation.
The Westward Movement Continues
With or without British approval, eastern farmers continued their trek down the great rivers of the Northeast, settling the Ohio River valley, parts of Kentucky, and Indiana. By 1811, the Indians mounted their last significant attempt to drive back white settlements under the Shawnee chief, Tecumseh. These efforts failed at Tippecanoe. The trans-Appalachian region would yield new states and serve as a springboard in conquering the lands beyond the Mississippi.
Resources:
- Dale Van Every, Forth to the Wilderness: The First American Frontier 1754-1774 (New American Library, 1961)
- Christopher Hibbert, Redcoats and Rebels: The American Revolution Through British Eyes (Avon Books, 1990)
- Frederick Merk, History of the Westward Movement (Alfred A. Knopf, 1978)
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