Final answer:
The Proclamation of 1763, established after the Seven Years' War, created the Proclamation Line along the Appalachian Mountains, prohibiting British colonists from settling west of it in an effort to prevent conflict with Native Americans and manage frontier defense costs.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Proclamation of 1763 was issued by the British government following the Seven Years' War, specifically to prevent conflict between colonists and Native American tribes in the Ohio Valley. The Proclamation established a boundary along the Appalachian Mountains, known as the Proclamation Line, which forbid colonists from purchasing land or settling west of it. This territory was reserved for Native Americans, and although white traders could apply for licenses to trade with Native tribes, colonial expansion was strictly prohibited. The British military enforced this boundary, which intended to mitigate the cost of defending the frontier and to avoid further conflict with Native Americans and the French.
Many colonists who had participated in the war were anticipating the opportunity to settle on the western lands and felt betrayed by this unexpected restriction. As a result, the Proclamation exacerbated tensions between the colonies and the British Crown, eventually contributing to the American Revolutionary War.