MAN, ISLE OF, is situated in the Irish Sea, 16 miles S. of Burrow Head in Wigtownshire, 27 miles SW. of St Bees Head, and 27 E. of Strangford Lough. The length of the island is 33½ miles, breadth 12½ miles, and area 145,325 acres (227 sq. m.), of which nearly 100,000 are cultivated. At the south-western extremity is an islet called the Calf of Man, containing 800 acres, a large portion of which is under cultivation. A chain of mountains extends from north-east to south-west, the highest of which is Snaefell (2024 feet). In some of the streams trout abound, though in many the fish have been destroyed by the washings from the lead-mines. The coast-scenery from Maughold Head on the east, passing south to Peel on the west, is bold and picturesque, especially in the neighbourhood of the Calf, where Spanish Head, the southern extremity of the island, presents a sea-front of extreme grandeur.
The greater part of the island consists of clay-slate under various modifications. Through the clay-schist granite has burst in two localities, in the vicinity of which mineral veins have been discovered, and are extensively worked. Nearly 5000 tons of lead are extracted annually, considerable quantities of zinc, and smaller quantities of copper and iron; the lead ore is very rich in quality. The principal mines are at Laxey on the east coast, and Foxdale near the west. The Great Laxey Mine is one of the most important in the United Kingdom.
The climate is remarkable for the limited range of temperature, both annual and diurnal; westerly and south-westerly winds greatly predominate, easterly and north-easterly winds occurring chiefly in the autumn quarter. Myrtles, fuehsias, and other tender exotics flourish throughout the year. The flora of the island is almost identical with that of Cumberland. The Manx cat is tailless (see CAT).
The fisheries afford employment to nearly 4000 men and boys. More than 700 boats are employed in the herring and cod fisheries, the average annual produce being above £60,000. Large numbers of fat cattle are shipped to the English markets, as well as about 20,000 quarters of wheat annually. The manufactures are inconsiderable. The revenue derived from the island amounts to about £50,000 per annum; of this the greater part is received from customs duties, and the whole, except £10,000 a year payable to the imperial treasury, is used for insular purposes.
The Isle of Man possesses much to interest the antiquary. Castle Rushen (see CASTLETOWN), probably the most perfect building of its date extant, was founded by Guthred, son of King Orry, in 947. The ruins of Rushen Abbey (1154) are picturesquely situated at Ballasalla. Peel Castle, with the cathedral of St German, is a very beautiful ruin, dating from the 12th century (see PEEL). There are numerous so-called Druidical remains and Runic monuments throughout the island; the Runic crosses, of which there are some forty in all, are especially numerous at Kirk Michael. The Tynwald Hill at St John's, near the centre of the island, is a perfect relic of Scandinavian antiquity. Once a year new Acts of Tynwald are here proclaimed. The hill is artificial, circular, and arranged in four platforms. Both institution and use should be compared with the Icelandic Tingvalla. The island is divided into six sheadings; these into seventeen parishes; these, again, were divided into treens (now obsolete), and, lastly, into quarter-lands. The towns, noticed separately, are Castletown, Douglas, the modern capital, Peel, and Ramsey.
The principal line of communication with the United Kingdom is between Douglas and Liverpool, by means of a fine fleet of swift steamers. There is a submarine telegraphic cable between Maughold Head and St Bees Head. In 1873 a line of railway was opened between Douglas and Peel; in 1874 to Castletown and the south; and in 1879 to Ramsey—all on the single narrow-gauge system. Extensive improvements in the way of harbour-works, piers, and promenades have been carried out at Douglas, Ramsey, and Peel. Pop. (1821) 40,081; (1841) 47,986; (1871) 54,042; (1881) 54,089; (1891) 55,598, the smallness of the increase being attributable to emigration. Visitors number about 130,000 annually.
The Roman Mona was not Man, but Anglesey. Previous to the 6th century the history of the Isle of Man is involved in obscurity; from that period it was ruled by a line of Welsh kings, until near the end of the 9th century, when the Norwegian, Harald Haarfager, invaded and took possession of the island. A line of Scandinavian kings succeeded, until Magnus, king of Norway, ceded his right in the island and the Hebrides to Alexander III. of Scotland (1266); this transference of claim being the direct result of the disastrous failure of the expedition of Haco of Norway against the Scots in 1263. On Alexander's death the Manx placed themselves under the protection of Edward I. of England by a formal instrument dated 1290; on the strength of this document the kings of England granted the island to various royal favourites from time to time until 1406, when it was granted to Sir John Stanley in perpetuity, to be held of the crown of England, by rendering to the king, his heirs, and successors, a cast of falcons at their coronation. The Stanley family continued to rule the island under the title of Kings of Man, until 1651, when the style of Lord was adopted. In the same year the island was surrendered to a parliamentary force by Receiver-general Christian, who had raised an armed body against the government, then in the hands of the Countess of Derby. Parliament granted the island to Lord Fairfax; but on the Restoration the Derby family were again put in possession. On the death of James, tenth Earl of Derby, without issue in 1735, James, second Duke of Athol, descended from the youngest daughter of James, seventh Earl of Derby, became Lord of Man. The Isle of Man having been for a long period the seat of an extensive smuggling trade, to the detriment of the imperial revenue, the sovereignty of it was purchased by the British government, in 1765, for £70,000 and an annuity of £2000 a year, the duke still retaining certain manorial rights, church patronage, &c. The last remaining interest of the Athol family in the island was transferred to the British crown in 1829; the amount paid for the island having amounted in the aggregate to £493,000.
The Isle of Man forms a separate bishopric under the title of Sodor and Man. The bishopric of the Sudoreys—Scandinavian for ‘Southern Isles’—was for a time annexed to Man; hence the title of Sodor, which is still retained, the name having been applied to the islet of Holm Peel, on which the cathedral church of the diocese stands. This bishopric is said to have been founded by St Patrick in 447. Among the bishops the most famous was Thomas Wilson (q.v.), the author of Saera Privata. The Manx Church has its own canons, and an independent convocation. The see is, for certain purposes, attached to the province of York; the bishop sits in the House of Lords, but does not vote.
The Isle of Man has a constitution and government of its own, to a certain extent independent of the imperial parliament. It has its own laws, law-officers, and courts of law. The legislative body is styled the Court of Tynwald, consisting of the Lieutenant-governor and Council—the latter being composed of the bishop, attorney-general, two deemsters (or judges), clerk of the rolls, water bailiff, archdeacon, and vicar-general—and the House of twenty-four Keys, or representatives. A bill is separately considered by both branches, and on being passed by them is transmitted for the royal assent; it does not, however, become law until it is promulgated in the English and Manx languages on the Tynwald Hill. The House of Keys was formerly self-elective; but in 1866 an act was passed establishing an election by the people every seven years; and a bill passed in 1880 to amend this act abolished the property qualification for members, granted household suffrage in towns, £4 owner and £6 tenant franchise in the country, and conferred the suffrage on women. The armorial bearings of Man are three legs in armour conjoined at the thighs. The Manx people are of Celtic origin, with a strong dash of the Scandinavian. The language belongs to the Goidelic group of the Celtic languages (see CELTS). It is now but little spoken. Church service in the Manx language has been discontinued since the middle of the 19th century. There is no literature beyond a few songs and carols. The Prayer-book was translated into Manx in 1765, the Bible in 1772. A dictionary was compiled in 1835. Some account of the native superstitions will be found in the notes to Peveril of the Peak.
Down to the middle of the 19th century the island was almost exempt from taxation, and consequently looked upon as a cheap place of residence, while its laws were available for the protection of English debtors. All this has long ceased. Taxation, locally imposed, has been introduced for various purposes; and, though there is no poor-law, rates in aid are not unknown. The influx of visitors, and the facilities for exporting native produce, have equalised prices with those obtaining in the surrounding countries, and the social condition has been much modified.
See The Isle of Man, by the Rev. J. G. Cumming; History of the Isle of Man, by Joseph Train; Brown's Popular Guide; Chronica Regum Mannice, edited by Munch (Christiania, 1860); Surnames and Place Names of Man, by A. W. Moore, preface by Prof. Rhys (1890); Hall Caine, The Little Manx Nation (1891); and the publications of the Manx Society (19 vols. 1858-68).