What was the name of the British proclamation declaring the American colonies in rebellion?

The British proclamation declaring the American colonies in rebellion was the Proclamation of Rebellion.

Issued by King George III on August 23, 1775, it officially described parts of the American colonies as being in “open and avowed rebellion.” Its formal title was A Proclamation for Suppressing Rebellion and Sedition. The measure followed news of the Battle of Bunker Hill and called on imperial officials to suppress the uprising.

The proclamation also urged people throughout the British Empire to report anyone maintaining “traitorous correspondence” with the rebels. George III issued it before he received the Second Continental Congress’s Olive Branch Petition, which sought reconciliation while affirming colonial grievances.

A common mix-up is confusing this document with the Declaration of Independence, issued nearly a year later on July 4, 1776. The proclamation treated the colonists as rebellious British subjects; the Declaration asserted that the colonies had become independent states.