George Stanley, Thomas Stanley's son and heir. Taken hostage by Richard III at Bosworth to compel his father's loyalty. The gamble failed — Stanley chose Henry Tudor despite the threat to his son's life.
Eldest son of Henry VII. Thomas Stanley stood as his godfather — a mark of the intimate connection between the Tudor monarchy and the Lord of Mann after Bosworth.
King of England restored to the throne in 1660. His Restoration returned the Derby lordship of Mann after the Parliamentarian interregnum. The Act of General Pardon 1660 was supposed to settle the Illiam Dhone affair — but the Countess found a way around it.
Lord Protector of the Commonwealth. His forces seized the Isle of Man from the Stanley lordship during the Civil War. James Chaloner served as his governor. The Parliamentarian period brought the first external military occupation of the Island.
The Duke who sold the lordship of Mann to the Crown in 1765. Distinct from the 2nd Duke (who held the lordship through most of the mid-century period) and the 4th Duke (who pursued further compensation). He inherited a lordship under siege from Westminster and accepted the forced purchase rather than face confiscation.
King of the United Kingdom and Lord of Mann. He never visited the Isle of Man. His reign continued the pattern of Crown indifference that followed Revestment — the lord ruled but did not come.
American revolutionary and orator, brother-in-law of William Christian of Milntown. The Virginia connection — the Christians of Lezayre had cousins in the American colonies who became founding figures of the Republic. His famous 'Give me liberty, or give me death' speech came from a family that understood what it meant to lose sovereignty.
King of Norway, killed at the Battle of Stamford Bridge in 1066. Godred Crovan fought on his side before escaping to establish his own dynasty on the Isle of Man.
Saxon king of Mercia. His silver coins are conspicuously absent from Manx archaeology — evidence that the Island's trading networks looked west and north, not towards Saxon England.
Norse carver whose cross-slab at Kirk Andreas depicts Odin devoured by Fenrir at Ragnarok on one side and Christ triumphant on the other. The most famous visual evidence of the Norse-Christian transition on the Isle of Man.
Transferred the diocese of Sodor and Man from the Norwegian province of Trondheim to the English province of York in 1458, severing the last formal Norse connection.
Issued a rescript in 1459 acknowledging the Stanley lordship of Mann and threatening excommunication for anyone who molested the Island. A direct papal recognition of the Isle of Man's distinct political status.
Derby's spy, sent to the Three Anchors tavern in Milk Street, London, to infiltrate the Christian family's appeal against the execution of Illiam Dhone.
The Duke of Atholl's London agent. He was surprised to learn that no one on the Isle of Man had been told about the sale negotiations — the people whose sovereignty was being sold had not been consulted.
Navigator and explorer. William Bligh served as sailing master on Cook's third and fatal voyage aboard HMS Resolution. The Bligh-Cook connection links the Isle of Man to the great Pacific voyages.
The vicar who married William Bligh and Elizabeth Betham at St Catherine's Church, Onchan, on 4 February 1781. The marriage is recorded in the parish register.
Argued Scottish naturalisation before Parliament in 1606, using the Isle of Man's settled position as an example. His citation confirms that Mann's distinct constitutional status was recognised at the highest levels of English law.
Son of Philip Yorke, the Lord Chancellor whose legal ruling on the Isle of Man's status was central to the Revestment case. Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. Present in the political world that engineered the purchase.
Prime Minister for whom the 'Impartial Enquiry' into Manx affairs was written. The Duke of Newcastle's predecessor as PM. The enquiry built the intelligence case for Revestment.
