A numbered list of instructions or guidelines for estimating the value of various properties, rights, and revenues that were surrendered by the Duke of Atholl to the British Crown. The document addresses the valuation of quays, ports, forts, fisheries, offices, jurisdictions, coinage, and other feudal rights, with particular attention to lost merchant trade opportunities and the strategic position of the Isle of Man.
Official correspondence from revenue authorities to their lordships regarding instructions for Lieutenant Mathews of the Lurcher Cutter concerning seizure powers in Isle of Man ports. References an incident involving a vessel suspected of carrying tea for illegal landing, and discusses legal opinions on seizure authority and procedures.
Formal instructions from the Commissioners of Customs to Charles Lutwidge, Surveyor General, detailing his appointment to the Isle of Man effective 1 June 1765 to enforce customs law and suppress smuggling. Covers revenue protection, coast surveillance, officer deployment, population assessment, and coordination with military and civil authorities. A key administrative document implementing the 1765 Revestment Act.
Official instructions from the Commissioners of Customs to Charles Lutwidge, directing him to travel to the Isle of Man by 1 June 1765 to establish customs enforcement and suppress smuggling following the 1765 Revestment. The document outlines his authority, duties (revenue assessment, port inspection, officer deployment), expectations regarding population decline, and military support arrangements.
Royal instructions from King James I (15 Jas I) establishing William Lord Compton as President of the Council of Wales and Marches, dated November 1617. Lists prominent councillors including bishops, earls, and chief officers of state. Notable for inclusion of the Bishop of Mann among the royal commissioners, demonstrating early Stuart administrative integration of the Island with English governance structures.
Royal instructions from King James I (15 Jac. I) establishing governance procedures for the Lord President and Council of Wales and the Marches. Notably includes John, Bishop of Mann, among the named counsellors, illustrating the Isle of Man's constitutional position within English royal authority and the participation of Manx ecclesiastical figures in Westminster-level governance structures during the early 17th century.
Illiam Dhone chose the Island over the Earl. The surrender, the Parliamentarian occupation, the Restoration, the trial, the execution at Hango Hill — and the parish register that recorded his death as a martyrdom. The Privy Council Orders and Derby correspondence revealed London's hand. Bishop Wilson arrived in 1698 and began the episcopate that would transform Manx education and church life. The Act of Settlement of 1704 codified the relationship between lord and people, defining the custodianship that Parliament would later purchase without understanding.
The Isle of Man's nearest large neighbour. Irish trade was central to the running trade, and Irish revenue concerns drove much of the pressure for Revestment.
A 2020 progress report to the Isle of Man Council of Ministers on the implementation of the National Development Strategy for Culture and the Arts. Documents achievements and ongoing projects in arts funding, cultural engagement, digital innovation, and creative sector support during the COVID-19 pandemic. While contemporary rather than historical, it reflects current Manx cultural institutions and governance structures relevant to understanding the modern administrative context.
The Isle of Man Purchase Act (5 Geo. III, c. 26) received Royal Assent. Parliament purchased the Duke of Atholl's sovereignty and revenue rights for £70,000. The Act was titled 'for the more effectual preventing of the mischiefs arising to the Revenue and Commerce of Great Britain and Ireland, from the illicit and clandestine Trade to and from the Isle of Man.' Parliament bought a feudal title. It did not acquire the Manx nation. It did not assume the duty of governance.
5 Geo. III, c. 26 — 'An Act for more effectually preventing the mischiefs arising to the Revenue and Commerce of Great Britain and Ireland, from the illicit and clandestine Trade to and from the Isle of Mann.' Parliament purchased the Duke of Atholl's sovereignty and revenue rights for £70,000. The Act purchased a feudal title. It did not acquire the Manx nation. It did not assume the duty of governance that came with the title. The justification was revenue protection — the East India Company's commercial interests dressed as fiscal necessity.
A financial abstract presenting annual revenue figures for the Isle of Man across a ten-year period (1754-1763), with totals calculated in Manks currency and converted to British money. The document shows various revenue categories organized in columns with amounts in pounds, shillings, and pence.
A financial abstract showing the revenue charges and discharges for the Isle of Man for the year 1757, including land revenue, casualties, impropriations, abbey revenue, and steward accounts. The document concludes with an audit certification dated July 21, 1758, signed by three auditors confirming the accounts have been examined and passed.
A financial account for the Isle of Man covering the year 1758, detailing charges and discharges of revenue from land, casualties, impropriations, and abbey revenues. The document records receipts, disbursements, and balances, with a final balance due to the Comptroller of £5,277.17.6. It was audited and passed by Basil Cochrane and John Quayle on 23 July 1759.
A financial table recording annual revenue data for the Isle of Man spanning from 1736 to 1756. The document presents multiple columns of numerical values in pounds, shillings, and pence, likely representing different categories of revenue or taxation. Several entries contain uncertain or partially legible readings indicated by question marks.
A revenue abstract document detailing the financial accounts and charges for the Isle of Man spanning the period from 1742 to 1750 inclusive. This document appears to be an official administrative record of governmental revenues and expenditures for the island during this eight-year period.
The Isle of Man granted property-owning women the right to vote, decades before Westminster. The Island that had been treated as constitutionally insignificant led the British Isles in democratic reform. A measure of the constitutional vitality that survived the Revestment.
An extract from a medieval Issue Roll (Royal Exchequer record) documenting a payment of £66 13s. 4d. to the Bishop of Man in 1393, issued via the Bishop of Salisbury and Treasurer of England. The payment compensated the Bishop for charges and labour in prosecuting affairs for the Crown in the Islands. This is a primary administrative/revenue document from the Manx Society's published collection of medieval Manx records.
A medieval Issue Roll entry (A.D. 1393, 16 Ric. II) recording a payment of £66 13s. 4d. to the Bishop of Man from royal funds, in discharge of 100 marks commanded by the King for charges and labour in prosecuting affairs for the Crown in the Islands. This document provides early evidence of Crown financial administration of the Isle of Man and episcopal roles in royal service.
An extract from the 1399 English Exchequer Issue Roll recording a payment to William le Scroop, Earl of Wiltshire, for expenses incurred in securing and maintaining Thomas, late Earl of Warwick, on the Isle of Man following parliamentary judgment in 1398. The document demonstrates early evidence of the Isle of Man as a place of royal custody and exile, and the financial mechanisms of English royal administration.
An extract from the 1399 Issue Roll (22 Ric. II) recording a payment of £1074 14s. 5d. to William le Scroop, Earl of Wiltshire (Treasurer of England) for expenses related to the custody and support of Thomas, late Earl of Warwick, on the Isle of Man following his condemnation in Parliament (21st year). This document evidences early English Crown involvement in Isle of Man administration and the island's use as a place of exile/imprisonment.
Member of Parliament for Carlisle who presented the Manx petition in the House of Commons in 1790. He reported that in the years since the Revestment, 'the doubts started whether the rights belonged to the Crown, or the noble family' had meant those rights 'were wholly unexercised, to the great inconvenience and annoyance of the inhabitants.' The harbours had decayed. Fifty persons had lost their lives. Curwen told Parliament this. Parliament noted it. Commissioners were appointed the following year.
A Jewish merchant of Douglas. In July 1761, was walking in company with an eminent merchant from Amsterdam when he was assaulted by a man 'who cracked a whip and held it above your petitioner's head, with dreadful curses and imprecations, swearing he would kill your petitioner and all the Jews.' Davids fled to Mr Yerbury's house but was pursued on horseback by Francis Moore. Davids petitioned that he could not attend to his necessary business on the quay, 'being very apprehensive that constant attempts will be made to take away his life.' Moore was fined eight shillings and fourpence. The harbour towns drew traders from across Europe because the commercial opportunity was real enough to be worth the risk.
