The
History of Mann
The name of the Island, Man, has long been a puzzle to philologists, and
it cannot be said with confidence that the right solution has been
found. The present local name is Ellan Vannin, or, more affectionately,
Ellan Vannin Veg Veen, "The Dear Little Isle of Man" Caesar in 54 B.C.
called it Mona. Nennius in A.D. 858 referred to it by the name of
Eubonia, while the Welsh Annals of A.D. 1154 call it Manaw and the
Scandinavian Sagas use Mon or Maon.
Broadly speaking all of these appear to be derived from a root meaning
mountainous or hilly land.
It has been suggested that the Island took its name from Mannanan, the
Celtic Neptune, but the reverse is more probably the case.
The Islands story could almost be guessed from its situation. The lot of
the grain between the millstones is rarely a happy one. Overrun from
time to time by its powerful neighbours, the Island has been
successively Irish, Scandinavian, Scottish and English, and yet today is
politically independent of them all. Quocunque jeceris stabit is its
motto: Whichever way you throw me I shall stand.
Up to the fifth century all accounts agree that the Island was the abode
of a necromancer with the holy name of Mannanan-Beg-Mac-y-Leir who kept
strangers away by covering the Island with mist. People who approached
closely were made by his magic to see a hundred times the number
actually opposing their landing.
Upon the arrival of missionaries from Ireland in the fifth or sixth
century, the Island was gradually Christianized. Although his name
survives in several places, it is doubtful if St Patrick ever set foot
in Man. He is said to have established the Bishopric, and to have
cleared the Island of venomous reptiles and toads, a task he had already
accomplished for the sister Isles. The old Manx Keills, or cells, were
of a similar type to the Irish oratories of the sixth and seventh
centuries.
The Celtic Period lasted until the first part of the ninth century. The
came the Norsemen, riding and plundering at first, and later settling
and making the Island an important base in connection with their
settlements in Dublin, North West England and the Western Isles.
Of the many Viking leaders of whom the sagas speak, the one most
frequently mentioned in Man is the famous King Orry. It is said that on
his landing on a clear starlit night the astonished natives asked him
"where is your country?" where upon Orry drew himself up to his full
height and pointed to the Milky Way: "That," he said "is the road to my
country." In the Manx language it is still called King Orry's Road.
The King Orry of whom the legends tell was in fact Godred Crovan who
ruled from 1079 to 1095. The Gaelic form of Godred was Gorry, and this,
losing its initial 'G' after the title, King, produced the familiar Orry.
He is said to have got his nickname of Crovan from the fact that he
always wore white gauntlets when going to war.
The Norse Vikings who had carved out for themselves a kingdom in Man and
the surrounding districts owed nominal allegiance to the King of Norway,
but in practice they paid him but slight regard.
The descendants of Godred ruled in Man and the Western Isles with
varying fortunes until 1252 when Magnus, the younger son of King Olaf II
came to the throne. In 1263 King Alexander III of Scotland having
decided that it was time the Western Isles became part of his kingdom
and having tried in vain to obtain them by bargaining, made an attack
upon the Hebrides. King Haakon of Norway arrived off the Scottish coast
with a large fleet to defend them and was joined by Magnus with the Manx
ships. The Norwegians were defeated at the battle of Largs and Magnus
was allowed to retain Man only on the condition of doing homage to King
Alexander. In 1265 Magnus died, and a year later a treaty was signed
between Norway and Scotland which handed the Isle of Man over to the
Scots.
This marked the beginning of a troubled era in Manx history since it
then became a pawn in the long struggle between Scotland and England,
being alternately held and raided by both nations as well as by the
Irish.
In 1313 Robert the Bruce, being King of Scotland, landed at Ramsey, and,
marching via Douglas, laid siege to Castle Rushen. In due course Castle
Rushen was captured.
In 1334 Edward III of England granted the Island to William de Montacute,
Earl of Salisbury, who enlarged Castle Rushen. In 1392 Montacute's son
sold the Island to Sir William le Scrope (who later became the Earl of
Wiltshire) but who eventually lost his head for treason a few years
later. Then the Earl of Northumberland had a short innings of four
years. In 1405 Henry IV bestowed the Island upon his staunch adherent,
Sir John Stanley, and his heirs forever, "with all the regalities,
franchises and rights belonging thereto, with the patronage of the
bishopric, under the title of King of Man". The only acknowledgement of
the suzerainty of England consisted in the presentation of a cast of
falcons every coronation day. The line of the Stanleys lasted for three
and a half centuries, long after the decay of the feudal power in
England, but few fembers of the house of Stanley seem to have considered
it worth while to reside in, or even to visit their domain. They were
generally represented by governors responsible only to them. The second,
Sir John Stanley (1414-32) caused the ancient laws and constitutions to
be committed to writing and succeeded in subordinating the
ecclesiastical power to the civil. His grandson, Sir Thomas Stanley, who
placed the crown on Richmonds head after the battle of Bosworth, was
created Earl of Derby in 1485. This accession of family dignity seems to
have made the second Earl somewhat nervous of sooner or later exciting
in the jealousy of his leige lord, and, in 1505 he diplomatically
dropped his regal title, on the ground that he would rather be a great
Lord than a petty King. Nine Earls of Derby succeeded in the direct
line, the most important being the seventh, or great Earl (1627 - 51),
whose espoused the Royal cause during the Civil War and was beheaded at
Bolton in 1651. His Countess, Charlotte de la Tremouille, tried to
defend the Isle of Man, as she had defended Latham House in 1644, but
her intentions were frustrated by the surrender of William Christian,
Illiam Dhone, the commander of the Manx militia.
With the tenth Earl the direct line failed, and the Lordship of Man
passed in 1736 to James Murray, second Duke of Athol, a descendant on
the female side of the seventh Earl of Derby. At this period the Island
was not very popular with the British Government on account of the
facilities its position and virtual independence afforded for the
prosecution of smugglers. The trade was openly connived at by the
authorities, indeed, it was said that two thirds of the population lived
on the proceeds of smuggling. Furthermore, the Island had become a place
of refuge for the worst sort of debtors, a local law meant that debts in
England and Ireland could not be recovered in the Isle of Man. This
meant that for nearly one hundred years the Isle of Man provided
sanctuary for the unfortunate and profligate of the surrounding nations
who flocked here in great numbers. After much haggling the third Duke
was induced in 1765 to surrender the regality and customs duties to the
Crown for £70,000 and an annuity of £2,000. A verse well expresses the
disgust of Manxmen at the bargain -
The babes unborn will rue the day
That the Isle of Man was sold away;
For there's ne'er an old wife that loves a dram
But what will lament for the Isle of Man
The fourth Duke was made Governor General of the Island in 1793, and
held the dignity for a third of a century. He and his nephew, the then
Bishop of Sodor and Man, incurred great unpopularity by asserting
certain claims to manorial rights and tithes. The Duke also contended
that the compensation accepted by his predecessors had been inadequate.
Eventually, in 1829, the British Government acquired his remaining
privileges by a lump sum payment of £417,114. This may seem like a large
sum, but the British Government made what ultimately turned out to be a
good bargain, as they gained from the surplus revenues of the Island
before 1866 more than they paid to the Duke. Since that date a
Lieutenant Governor has been appointed by the Crown.
During the twentieth century the Island has achieved a large measure of
self-government as a Crown dependency. The Crown retains responsibility
for ensuring the good government of the Island and for its external
affairs, but the Island's democratically elected government exercises
full control of its internal affairs and territorial waters
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