The Isle of Man and Manx Links

The Isle of Man geographically occupies a central position both in the Irish Sea and in the British Isles, being about equidistant, 50 kilometres, from Ireland and Britain. Its 572 square km supports a population of 76,310, almost half of whom are Manx-born, and a diverse cultural heritage.

Man is composed of an ancient solid rock core that forms the range of hills that stretches obliquely across the island, rising to Snaefell at 621m and, where it meets the coastline, forms steep cliffs. The lowlands are infilled with glacial tills, which erode to form terraces and there are many steep-sided valleys with woodland glens towards the sea. The low-lying northern plain has a variety of soft, late glacial deposits, from gravels to sands and clays, which at the coastline form soft cliffs with quite rapid erosion over much of the length and only a little accretion. Although the soils are generally acid there is much diversity and a good range of semi-natural habitats occur across the island. The fertile agricultural soils are found around the coastal plains flanking the hills and in the northern plain, where the largest area of higher-grade class soils are found.

Manx history reflects its geographical position, being in turn either influenced or coming under the direct rule of the early Christians, the Norse and Scots during the medieval period, followed by the English Kings and then the Lords of Man until the revestment in 1736. The country is now an internally self-governing dependent territory of the British Crown. The Isle of Man has its own parliament, Tynwald, which dates back to the tenth century. It has a special relationship with the European Union by virtue of Protocol 3 of the Act of Accession of the United Kingdom and is a member of the British Commonwealth. It has its own Gaelic language, one of the Goidelic group of Celtic languages.

Although 90% of the island is strongly rural, the economy today is largely based on the expanding financial sectors. The important traditional industries of agriculture and tourism are well established alongside new areas such as ecommerce and the film industry which makes for good diversity. The population density is 133 people per square km, concentrated in the urban areas of Douglas, Castletown, Port Erin, Peel, Ramsey and Onchan, all situated in coastal areas.

Links to other web sites about the Isle of Man and Manx people:

Please contact Philippa  if you would like a link added to any web sites relevant to the Isle of Man or if you find any of these links are out of date, thank you. Page updated 29th April 2005.

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