[From "That Island", 1965]

PREFACE

This short description of the causes and effects of the Revestment Act of 1765, is designed to give an insight into the events that culminated in this Act being passed and the effects it was to have on the lives of the Manx people.

It is not intended to be a complete history of the subject, for in order to achieve that end, much more information would need to be included, and the finished work would be a very lengthy document. The legal aspects of the Constitution alone, have been made the subject of a single work, by Sir James Gell ; and no doubt the legal battles waged by the 2nd and 3rd Dukes of Atholl could quite easily make up another. In fact these legal battles were directed to obtain greater compensation and were to go on for more than twenty-five years. In the final count the Atholls had received a sum which approached half a million pounds! Whereas in this account these matters are dealt with in the section on the Constitution in a few pages.

The other sections are devoted to, the smuggling trade, the conditions which brought about the Act, and the manner in which the Act was enforced, The information has been obtained from newspaper articles and documents of the time and every attempt has been made to present these facts in a balanced and unbiased manner. Many incidents have unfortunately been left out, in order that this description did not become too lengthy, but the more important and amusing have been included.

The references to "that island", in most of the English newspapers and also in many of the official documents at the time, seemed to suggest an apt title, and, after consideration was given to alternative titling, was finally chosen as the most appropriate one to head this account.

Two hundred years ago this whole question was much in the minds of the British and Manx alike and it is hoped that this story will prove to be of as much interest today. |

Finally the authors would like to acknowledge their indebtedness to those generous people who have assisted in preparing and financing this work, and the kind assistance of Mr. Marshall Cubbon the Director of the Manx Museum and his staff; to Mr. E. F. Ladds and Miss V. Fielding a special word of thanks is necessary, as without their skill, experience and encouragement this work could not have been completed.

Any comments, errors or omissions gratefully received The Editor HTML Transcription © F.Coakley , 2021