Why did King George lIl forbid colonists from setting in the Ohio River Valley atter it was gained by Britain from France?
1 Answer
Money. The British wanted to protect the profitable fur trade that the British now controlled in the Ohio River Valley.
Explanation:
The French had established a very profitable fur trade with the tribes of the Ohio River Valley and beyond. The French supplied the tribes with manufactured goods, rifles, and support against the encroaching American settlers. In return the tribes traded furs and food with the French and fought against the British and American settlers.
When the English and American colonist defeated the French, the British found themselves in control of Canada and the fur trade. The Indians did not want the American settlers coming into the Ohio River Valley Kentucky, and taking their land and hunting grounds. To keep the tribes happy and continuing to trade their furs with the British in Canada the British government issued a ban on any settlements west of the mountains.
The initial cause of the French and Indian wars was control of the confluence of the Ohio River Valley, three rivers at what is now Pittsburgh. The colonies of Virginia and Pennsylvania claimed the land as did the French. The first battle of the war was fought between the French and Virginia militia under the command of George Washington.
The colonist felt that after helping to win the war against the French and the Indians that they had the right to settle in the Ohio River Valley. The British felt that the crown had the right to the profits of the fur trade and the colonist had no right to interfere. This was the reason for the proclamation of 1763 forbidding settlements west of the mountains in tribal lands.
