The Proclamation of 1763
As an effort to prevent an escalation of the fighting in the Ohio Valley that might threaten western trade, the British government issued the Proclamation of 1763 which forbid settlers to advance beyond a line drawn along the Appalachian Mountains. This allowed London to control the westward movement of the white population. This would slow the population exodus from the coastal colonies where England's most important markets and investments were and would reserve opportunities for land speculation and fur trading the English.