The Isle of Man: Geographical Factors in the Evolution of a Political Enclave

THE ISLE OF MAN Geographical Factors in the Evolution of a Political Enclave G. Philip Curtí University of California, Los Angeles Written in the eighteenth century, Boswell's Life of Johnson contains this passage: I mentioned a scheme which I had of making a tour to the Isle of Man, and giving a full account of it; and that Mr. Burke had playfully suggested as a motto, 'the proper study of Mankind is Man'. There is some foundation for Mr. Burke's thought: on this unique isle, located at the hub of the wheel of the British Isles, yet not strictly a part of 18 the United Kingdom, there is practically no crime, little tax—and insular independence and governmental autonomy make this an island of peace in the turbulent sea of world political turmoil. Physical Features Of meagre natural resources, the enclave of the Isle of Man has evolved through periods of Druidical fanaticism, Norse piracy, and Manx smuggling. The Isle of Man is 33 miles long and 12 miles wide with a lenticular outline of north north east—west south west trend. Its major physical feature is the slaty highland mass that occupies two-thirds of the area and which culminates in glacially rounded Snaefell, from whose summit on clear days, may be seen the coasts of England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales. The Isle of Man's central location in the Irish Sea and the poverty of its natural resources have been the major geographical influences in shaping the destiny of the Manx people. Except for the flat northern portion, Man is a small upland, deeply dissected by streams and worn on the coasts to wavecut ragged cliffs. Cutting transversely across the central highlands is the deeply incised Greeba Valley. Southwards from Snaefell flows the river Glass, which before reaching the sea is joined by the Dhoo: the Dhoo and the Glass give their joint name to Douglas, the capital on the east coast. Of 19 the 50,000 inhabitants of Man, Douglas boasts almost one half, Castletown, Peel and Ramsey, on the south, west, and north coasts, respectively, muster another quarter, and the remainder is a scattered rural population of about thirty persons per square mile. Political History The Insular Government is autonomous in domestic affairs; acknowledges the Queen of England as titular head through the resident LieutenantGovernor ; and Parliamentary Acts do not apply to the Isle of Man unless specifically mentioned and then only subject to acceptance by the Tynwald Court which is the collective name for the bicameral legislature consisting of the Legislative Council and the House of Keys. In the ninth century, the Keys were the elected representatives from the islands of the Norse Kingdom of the Isles. Eight Keys came from the arcuate group of islands off the western Scottish coast and 16 were elected from Man, which was the seat of the government. The Norse divided the island into sheadings, each of which was obliged to provide and equip a Viking longship, and these divisions, with their subdivisions , treens and quarterlands, are in existence today. All 24 Keys, however, are now elected from the Isle of Man. 20 The island's proximity to its neighboring islands of Ireland and Britain, and its isolation by virtue of its insularity, made it a refuge for migrant peoples from the earliest times. Neolithic relicts abound, and Goidels from Ireland and Druids from Angelsey preceded the Norse, whose 300-year occupance had a tremendous cultural impact. Rounding Cape Wrath, the fjord coast of Scotland beckoned the Vikings southward to penetrate the Irish Sea where, directly in their course, the Isle of Man offered perfect beaching facilities in the Curragh Lake zone. Here were lakes of glacial meltwater origin: their shallowness presented no problem to the flat-bottomed vessels: the gently shelving lake shore permitted easy beaching for loading, disembarking, and repairs: the reedy vegetation, some shelter and concealment, and the slopes of Snaefell offered timber for shipwrights. As a pirate base for forays to the nearby coasts, the central location and the admirable site were unexcelled. The first group of Norsemen was purely militant in character, but the second, numbering women amongst its members, came to...