Even that is a simplification (no offence meant Brian) - the Act of Revestment of 1765 revested many of the rights of the Lord of Mann given to the Stanley family in 1405 and reconfirmed by James in c 1605 back to the English Monarch (by then a constitutional monarch thus effectively to UK Parliament) - the aim of this act was to regain those powers needed to prevent the running trade (smuggling as seen by the UK). Not all rights were transferred - the 1798 inquiriry (see manxnotebook) had many arguments over which rights had been transferred - many of the remaining rights were actually bought out for some £400,000 pounds in 1828. Since that time there has been a slow but steady movement of power back to the Island - see www.gov.im for the present constitutional setup.