The
Isle of Man (
/'mæn/;
Manx Ellan Vannin,
[1] pronounced
['?l??n 'van?n]), or
Mann (
Manx Mannin,
['man?n]), is a self-governing
Crown dependency, located in the
Irish Sea at the geographical centre of the
British Isles. The
head of state is
Queen Elizabeth II , who holds the title of
Lord of Mann. The Crown is represented by a
Lieutenant Governor. The island is not part of the
United Kingdom but foreign relations, defence, and ultimate
good-governance of the Isle of Man are the responsibility of the government of the United Kingdom.
Inhabited for millennia, the island gradually became a Celtic-Norse community as the Norse settled there, starting about AD 850. This has left a legacy ranging from the Tynwald parliament to many local place names. After a period of alternating rule by the kings of England and Scotland, the Manx came under the feudal over-lordship of the English Crown. The lordship revested into the British Crown in 1764 but the island never became part of the United Kingdom and retained its status as an internally self-governing jurisdiction.
The Isle of Man is not a part of the European Union, but has a limited relationship concerning the free movement of goods.
The earliest traces of people on the Isle of Man can be found as far back as the Mesolithic Period, also known as the Middle Stone Age. The first residents lived in small natural shelters, hunting, fishing and gathering for their food. They used small tools made of flint or bone, which have been found near the coast. Representatives of these artifacts are kept at the Manx Museum.
