Isle of Man

The earliest reference to the Isle of Man occurs in Pliny's Natural History, which mentions an island named Monapia (likely an error for *Manavia) lying between Britain and Ireland. This has been traced to the Brittonic *Manaua, meaning "mountain island" or "high island". The same root may appear in Môn, the Welsh name for Anglesey. The island is known in Welsh as Manaw and in Manx as Mannin, or in full, Ellan Vannin (i.e. "island of Man", with lenition of the first consonant). Mannin was originally a dative form, the nominative being Mana.

Man was associated in legend with Manannán mac Lir, the Gaelic god of the sea, and was sometimes said to have taken its name from him. It is more likely, however, that the reverse is true.

In the later part of the Mesolithic Period c.8000 BC, the Isle of Man was cut off from the surrounding islands as sea levels rose following the end of the last ice age. Humans colonised it by travelling by sea some time before 6500 BC. The first occupants were hunter-gatherers and fishermen. Examples of their tools are kept at the Manx Museum.

The Neolithic Period marked the beginning of farming, and the people began to build megalithic monuments, such as Cashtal yn Ard, King Orry's Grave and Mull Hill. There was also the local Ronaldsway culture, unique to the Isle of Man, and the Bann culture.

During the Bronze Age, burial mounds became smaller. The people put bodies into stone-lined graves with ornamental containers. The Bronze Age burial mounds survived as long-lasting markers around the countryside.

The ancient Romans knew of the island and called it Insula Manavia. During the four centuries when Rome ruled the province of Britannia, the Roman military controlled the Irish Sea, providing safe passage of agricultural goods from the productive farms of Anglesey to Roman settlements at the English – Scottish frontier. Only a few Roman artefacts have been found on Man, suggesting a lack of strategic value. No Roman lighthouses or signal towers have yet been found on Man.

In the late Roman period, there was strong Irish (Gaelic) influence throughout the Irish Sea. Roman historian Orosius wrote in the 5th century that the Isle of Man was inhabited by the Irish. The first recorded language on the island was Archaic Irish, which is found on stone inscriptions in the Ogham alphabet, dating to around the 5th century. Ogham stones found in the south of Man are monolingual Irish (like Ballaqueeney Ogham Stone), while those in the north are bilingual Irish and Latin (like Knock y Doonee Ogham Stone). The Ballaqueeney stone seems to commemorate one of the Conailli, an Irish tribe. The Manx language is a Goidelic language that developed from Archaic Irish.

According to Manx tradition, Saint Patrick was responsible for converting the island to Christianity. He is said to have sent missionaries Maughold (Macc Cuill) and Germanus to the island in the 5th century. Muirchú's 7th century Life of Patrick says that when they arrived, there was already a Christian community led by Conindrus and Rumilus, which seem to be Romano-British names. There are more than 200 small chapels called keeills (from Irish cill) on the island, which were built in the first few centuries after Christianization.

From the 7th century, there is evidence of Celtic Britons on the Isle of Man, and possible Brittonic control over the island.

The island came under the control of Anglo-Saxon Northumbria during the reign of king Edwin of Northumbria. He then launched raids from Man into Ireland. How much influence the Northumbrians exerted on Man is unknown, but very few place names on Man are of Old English origin.

Vikings began raiding the island in the late 8th century and later settled there. In around 914, Man came under the rule of a series of Norse-Gaelic kings, beginning with Ragnall ua Ímair of the Uí Ímair or Ivar dynasty. It became part of the Kingdom of the Isles, also known as the "Kingdom of Mann and the Isles" (Old Norse: Suðreyjar, 'Southern Isles', anglicized 'Sodor').

There was a mint producing coins on Man between c. 1025 and c. 1065. These Manx coins were minted from an imported Hiberno-Norse penny die from Dublin. From 1079 onwards, Man was held (with some interruptions) by the Crovan dynasty, founded by Godred Crovan. In 1154 the Diocese of Sodor and Man was formed. The kingdom's capital was on St Patrick's Isle, where Peel Castle was built. The Norse-Gaelic rulers established Tynwald and introduced many land divisions that still exist.

During the whole of the Scandinavian period, Man was a dependency of Norway, but the Kings of Norway rarely asserted their control. A notable exception was Magnus Barefoot. In 1266 Magnus VI of Norway ceded Man to Alexander III, King of Scots, in the Treaty of Perth. But Scottish rule over Man did not become firmly established until 1275, when a Manx revolt was defeated in the Battle of Ronaldsway.

In 1290, King Edward I of England sent Walter de Huntercombe to take possession of Man. It remained in English hands until 1313, when Robert the Bruce of Scotland took it after besieging Castle Rushen for five weeks. In 1314, it was retaken for the English by John Bacach of Argyll. In 1317, it was retaken for the Scots by Thomas Randolph, 1st Earl of Moray and Lord of the Isle of Man. It was held by the Scots until 1333. For some years thereafter control passed back and forth between the two kingdoms until the English took it for the last time in 1346. The English Crown delegated its rule of the island to a series of lords and magnates. Tynwald passed laws concerning the government of the island in all respects and had control over its finances, but was subject to the approval of the Lord of Mann.

In 1765, the Act of Revestment was passed, whereby the feudal rights of the Dukes of Atholl as Lords of Mann were purchased and revested into the British Crown.

During the Napoleonic Wars, the Isle of Man served as a strategically important, but often neglected naval outpost.

In 1866, the Isle of Man obtained limited home rule, with partly democratic elections to the House of Keys, but the Legislative Council was appointed by the Crown. Since then, democratic government has been gradually extended. (The vote was extended to women on equal terms with men, and most of the Legislative Council is now elected by the House of Keys.)

During both World Wars, the island was used for the internment of people originating from enemy countries.

In recent times, the economy of the island has benefited from regulatory arbitrage in various contexts, such as low taxes. These have attracted wealthy individuals and, together with relatively low government interference, industries such as offshore financial services and more recently gambling.

The Isle of Man has designated more than 250 historic sites as registered buildings.

The Isle of Man is an island located in the middle of the northern Irish Sea, almost equidistant from England to the east, Northern Ireland to the west and Scotland (closest) to the north, while Wales to the south is almost the distance of the Republic of Ireland to the southwest. It is 52 kilometres (32 mi) long and, at its widest point, 22 kilometres (14 mi) wide. It has an area of around 572 square kilometres (221 sq mi). Besides the island of Man itself, the political unit of the Isle of Man includes some nearby small islands: the seasonally inhabited Calf of Man, Chicken Rock (on which stands an unstaffed lighthouse), St Patrick's Isle and St Michael's Isle. The last two of these are connected to the main island by permanent roads/causeways.

Ranges of hills in the north and south are separated by a central valley. The northern plain, by contrast, is relatively flat, consisting mainly of deposits from glacial advances from western Scotland during colder times. There are more recently deposited shingle beaches at the northernmost point, the Point of Ayre. The island has one mountain higher than 600 metres (2,000 ft), Snaefell, with a height of 620 metres (2,034 ft). According to an old saying, from the summit one can see six kingdoms: those of Man, Scotland, England, Ireland, Wales and Heaven. Some versions add a seventh kingdom, that of the sea, or Neptune.

The Isle of Man has a temperate oceanic climate (Köppen Cfb). Average rainfall is higher than that of the British Isles as a whole because the Isle of Man is far enough from Ireland for the prevailing south-westerly winds to accumulate moisture. Average rainfall is highest at Snaefell, where it is around 1,900 millimetres (75 in) a year. At lower levels it can be around 800 millimetres (31 in) a year. In drier spots, the Isle of Man is sunnier than either Ireland or the majority of England at 1,651 hours per year at the official Ronaldsway station. The highest recorded temperature was 28.9 °C (84.0 °F) in Ronaldsway on 12 July 1983. Due to the moderate surface temperatures of the Irish Sea, the island does not receive bursts of heat that sometimes can hit Northern England. The stable water temperature also means that air frost is rare, averaging just ten occasions per year.

The United Kingdom is responsible for the island's defence and ultimately for good governance, and for representing the island in international forums, while the island's own parliament and government have competence over all domestic matters.

The island's parliament, Tynwald, is the oldest continuously governing body in the world, and claimed to have been in continuous existence since 979 or earlier, though evidence supports a later date. Tynwald is a bicameral or tricameral legislature, comprising the House of Keys (directly elected by universal suffrage with a voting age of 16 years) and the Legislative Council (consisting of indirectly elected and ex-officio members). These two bodies also meet together in joint session as Tynwald Court.

The executive branch of government is the Council of Ministers, which is composed of Members of Tynwald (usually Members of the House of Keys, though Members of the Legislative Council may also be appointed as Ministers). It is headed by the Chief Minister.

Vice-regal functions of the head of state are performed by a lieutenant governor.

In various laws of the United Kingdom, "the United Kingdom" is defined to exclude the Isle of Man. Historically, the UK has taken care of its external and defence affairs and retains paramount power to legislate for the Island. However, in 2007, the Isle of Man and the UK signed an agreement that established frameworks for the development of the international identity of the Isle of Man. There is no separate Manx citizenship. Citizenship is covered by UK law, and Manx people are classed as British citizens. There is a long history of relations and cultural exchange between the Isle of Man and Ireland. The Isle of Man's historic Manx language and its modern revived variant are closely related to both Scottish Gaelic and the Irish language and, in 1947, Éamon de Valera, the Taoiseach of Ireland, spearheaded efforts to save the dying Manx language.

The Isle of Man is not part of the United Kingdom; however, the UK is responsible for its defence and external affairs. There are no independent military forces on the Isle of Man, although HMS Ramsey was affiliated with the town of the same name. From 1938 to 1955, there existed the Manx Regiment of the British Territorial Army (TA), which saw extensive action during the Second World War. During the English Civil War, the 7th Earl of Derby, who was also the Lord of Mann, conscripted 10 men from each parish (170 in total) to fight for the Royalist cause; the majority were killed at the Battle of Wigan Lane in 1651. In 1779, the Manx Fencible Corps, a fencible regiment of three companies, was raised; it was disbanded in 1783 at the end of the American War of Independence. Later, the Royal Manx Fencibles was raised at the time of the French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic Wars. The 1st Battalion (of 3 companies) was raised in 1793. A 2nd Battalion (of 10 companies) was raised in 1795, and it saw action during the Irish Rebellion of 1798. The regiment was disbanded in 1802. A third body of Manx Fencibles was raised in 1803 to defend the island during the Napoleonic Wars and to assist the Revenue. It was disbanded in 1811. The Isle of Man Home Guard was raised during the Second World War for home defence. In 2015 a multi-capability recruiting and training unit of the British Army Reserve was established in Douglas.

There is no citizenship of the Isle of Man as such; Isle of Man residents are entitled to British citizenship and can obtain a full UK British passport or British Isle of Man passport.

The Passport Office, Isle of Man, Douglas, accepts and processes applications for the Lieutenant Governor of the Isle of Man, who is formally responsible for issuing Isle of Man-issued British passports, titled "British passport – Isle of Man". The powers conferred on the UK Secretary of State by the British Nationality Act 1981 extend to and are exercised in the Isle of Man by the Lieutenant Governor.

Isle of Man-issued British passports can presently be issued to any British citizen resident in the Isle of Man and to British citizens who have a qualifying close personal connection to the Isle of Man but are now resident either in the UK or in either one of the two other Crown Dependencies, the Bailiwick of Jersey or the Bailiwick of Guernsey.

The Isle of Man was never part of either the EEC or the European Union (EU), nor did it have a special status, and thus it did not take part in the 2016 (Brexit) referendum on the UK's EU membership. However, it was included within the EU's customs area, as part of Protocol 3 of the UK's Act of Accession to the Treaty of Rome, allowing Manx goods to be traded throughout the EU without tariffs.

It was not part of the EU's internal market and there were still limitations on the movement of capital, services and labour.

EU citizens were entitled to travel and reside, but not work, in the island without restriction.

In 2017, the UK confirmed that the Crown Dependencies' positions were included in the Brexit negotiations. The Brexit withdrawal agreement explicitly included the Isle of Man in its territorial scope, but makes no other mention of it.

The Isle of Man is not a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. By virtue of its relationship with the United Kingdom, it takes part in several Commonwealth institutions, including the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association and the Commonwealth Games. The Government of the Isle of Man has made calls for a more integrated relationship with the Commonwealth, including more direct representation and enhanced participation in Commonwealth organisations and meetings, including Commonwealth Heads of Government Meetings. The Chief Minister of the Isle of Man has said: "A closer connection with the Commonwealth itself would be a welcome further development of the island's international relationships."

Most Manx politicians stand for election as independents rather than as representatives of political parties. Although political parties do exist, their influence is not as strong as in the United Kingdom.

There are three political parties in the Isle of Man:

The Liberal Vannin Party (established 2006) has one seat in the House of Keys; it promotes greater Manx autonomy and more accountability in government.

The Manx Labour Party is active and for much of the 20th century had several MHKs. Since the 2021 general election there are two MLP members in the House of Keys, both of whom are women.

The Isle of Man Green Party was established in 2016, but only has representation at local government level.

There are also a number of pressure groups on the island. Mec Vannin advocate the establishment of a sovereign republic. The Positive Action Group campaign for three key elements to be introduced into the governance of the island: open accountable government, rigorous control of public finances and a fairer society.

Local government on the Isle of Man is based partly on the island's 17 ancient parishes. There are four types of local authorities:

a corporation for the City of Douglas and bodies of commissioners for the town districts of Castletown, Peel and Ramsey

the districts of Kirk Michael and Onchan

the village districts of Port Erin and Port St Mary

the 13 parish districts (those historic parishes, or combinations or parts of them, which do not fall within the districts previously mentioned).

Each of these districts has its own body of commissioners.

Same-sex sexual activity was legalised on the island in 1992. In January 2020, the Isle of Man's former Chief Minister Howard Quayle issued an "unqualified apology" to gay men convicted of same-sex offences under previous Manx laws.

=== Education ===

Public education is overseen by the Department of Education, Sport & Culture. Thirty-two primary schools, five secondary schools and the University College Isle of Man function under the department.