King George proclamation of rebellion, 1775

King’s George proclamation of rebellion is a political text published on the 23rd

of August 1775, and could be written the same week of the publication. It was
given to the Court at St. James’s. George III (also known as King George) was
the person who wrote and published the text, being King of Britain and Ireland
and, on 1st January 1801, with the union of both countries, King of United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. He was also Duke of Brunswick-
Lunenburg and prince-elector of Hanover in the Holy Roman Empire until his
promotion to King of Hanover on 12 October 1814. He was the third British
monarch of the House of Hanover. The reign of King George III was very
important, due to his long reign (from 1760 to 1820) and was marked by a
series of military conflicts.

The text, that was an official document was addressed to the American
colonies, also called as The colonies, whose territory ranged from what is
now Maine (then part of the Province of Massachusetts Bay) to the north
and Georgia to the south, were Delaware, Pennsylvania, New
Jersey, Georgia, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, South Carolina, New
Hampshire, Virginia, New York, North Carolina, and Rhode Island. The
American representatives Richard Penn and Arthur Lee presented the petition
to the Secretary of State, Lord Dartmouth. It was two days later that the King
George issued his proclamation.

The Proclamation called the American colonies out to be in rebellion and to hold
on in hostility against the traitors and the attempts to their crown and dignity.
King George’s intention was to bring traitors to justice, and he wanted their
officers (military or civil) to execute the law to end with the rebellion as quick as
possible. George blamed traitorous correspondence and different disloyal
happenings for acting against the King’s government and wanted punishment
for them. He mentioned the Council, who was advised not to neglect or violate
subject’s duty through ignorance.

This text is situated in the 15th year of the King’s reign, in the American War of
Independence’s period. However, it was a very surprising official text, just
because Americans had just sent him a petition of peace, known as the Olive
Branch Petition. This petitions assured King George that Americans remained
his loyal subjects and had no desire for independence. John Dickinson argued
that the King would find a way to solve the differences between the colonies
and the Parliament. However, when it was clear that King George was not
interested in acting as a conciliator, colonial attachment to the Empire was
weakened and so, movements towards declaring independence became a
reality. A year later, in July 1776, the colonies declared their independence from
the crown as free and independent states. From the colonies, King George was
very criticized for destroying their people and towns. Even they pull an
equestrian statue of King George down. King George tried to invade those
colonies entering from Canada, but he did not succeed due to the Battle of
Saratoga, managed by John Burgoyne.
George was often accused of trying to keep Britain at war with the
revolutionaries from America, despite his minister’s opinions. The opinion of
many historians to clear King George’s image succeed when, having finished
the Battle of Saratoga, both Parliament and British people were in favour of the
war. Historians defended him and compared King George’s conduct with the
rest of European monarchs. Then, France signed a treaty of friendship with the
American States, what made Britain to be in war against France and Spain too.