On August 23, 1775, King George III issued a proclamation from St. James's Palace that would fundamentally alter the trajectory of British-American relations and help seal the fate of the American colonies. The "Proclamation for Suppressing Rebellion and Sedition" formally declared that parts of the American colonies were in "open and avowed rebellion" against the Crown, marking a decisive escalation in what had been mounting tensions between Britain and its North American territories.