Name

Abraham de la Pryme

Biography

Built a cotton mill on the Isle of Man in 1779, employed Manx workers for ten years, and exported freely to Liverpool. Then his goods were detained and taxed at the English port. He warned the 1792 Commissioners that he would 'be under the Necessity of giving up his Manufactory, and quitting the Island.' The customs regime could not distinguish between smuggled goods and legitimate manufacture. The one industrial enterprise the Island had attracted in a quarter-century of Crown rule was preparing to leave.

Active Period

fl. 1779–1792

Place

Isle of Man

Liverpool

Period

Crown Administration

Role / Office

Manufacturer

Industrialist

Book Chapter

Chapter 12