Final answer:
After the French and Indian War, the British government issued the Proclamation of 1763 to prevent colonial expansion beyond the Appalachians, aiming to maintain peace with Native American tribes and keep administrative control over the colonies.
Step-by-step explanation:
At the end of the French and Indian War, the colonies maintained their original borders instead of expanding westward beyond the Appalachian Mountains due to the Royal Proclamation of 1763. The British government wished to maintain peace and avoid further costly conflicts with Native American tribes in the Ohio Valley who inhabited this region. Moreover, the British were also interested in maintaining administrative control over their colonies, fearing that extended settlement could result in increased independence and difficulty in tax collection and law enforcement.
The interest of the colonists in expanding westward was strong; many families needed the new land for farming, and southern colonies required new, fertile land due to the demands of tobacco farming. There was a fundamental disagreement between the expectations of the colonists, who believed they would gain access to these new lands after victory in the war, and the British government, which had different priorities including managing the empire's ballooning debt.