Editing History of the Isle of Man (section)

===Revestment===
James died in 1736, and the [[suzerainty]] of the isle passed to [[James Murray, 2nd Duke of Atholl]], his first cousin and heir general. In 1764 he was succeeded by his only surviving child [[Charlotte Murray, Duchess of Atholl|Charlotte, Baroness Strange]], and her husband, [[John Murray, 3rd Duke of Atholl|John Murray]], who ([[Jure uxoris|in right of]] his wife) became [[Lord of Mann]]. In about 1720 the [[smuggling|contraband trade]] had greatly increased. In 1726 [[Parliament of the United Kingdom|Parliament]] had checked it somewhat for a time, but during the last ten years of the Atholl regime (1756–1765) it assumed such proportions that, in the interests of the Imperial revenue, it became necessary to suppress it. With a view to so doing, Parliament passed the [[Isle of Man Purchase Act 1765]] (commonly called the ''Revestment Act'' by the Manx), under which it purchased the rights of the Atholls as [[Lord of Mann|Lords of Mann]], including the customs revenues of the island, for the sum of £70,000 [[pound sterling|sterling]], and granted an [[annuity (financial contracts)|annuity]] to the Duke and Duchess. The Atholls still retained their [[manorialism|manorial]] rights, the patronage of the [[Bishop of Sodor and Man|bishopric]], and certain other [[wikt:perquisites|perquisites]], until they sold them for the sum of £417,144 in 1828.{{sfnp|Moore|1911|p=538}}
[[File:Iom mnh 1954 7451 large.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.8|The scene in Ramsey Bay after the [[Battle of Bishops Court]] between the English and French squadrons, enacted off the Manx coast in 1760]]

Up to the time of the revestment{{ill|revestment|lt=‌|wikt|preserve=y}}, [[Tynwald]] had passed laws concerning the government of the island in all respects and had control over its finances, subject to the approval of the Lord of Mann. After the revestment, or rather after the passage of the [[Smuggling Act 1765]] (commonly called the'' Mischief Act'' by the Manx), the [[Parliament of the United Kingdom|Parliament]] at Westminster legislated with respect to customs, harbours and merchant shipping, and, in measures of a general character, it occasionally inserted clauses permitting the enforcement in the island of penalties in contravention of the Acts of which they formed part. It also assumed the control of the insular customs duties. Such changes, rather than the transference of the full [[suzerainty]] to the King of Great Britain and Ireland, modified the (unwritten) constitution of the Isle of Man. Its ancient laws and tenures remained untouched, but in many ways the revestment affected it adversely. The hereditary [[Lord of Mann|Lords of Mann]] had seldom, if ever, functioned as model rulers, but most of them had taken some personal share in its government, and had interested themselves in the well-being of the inhabitants. But now the whole direction of its affairs became the work of officials who regarded the island as a pestilent nest of smugglers, from which it seemed their duty to extract as much revenue as possible.{{sfnp|Moore|1911|p=538}}

There was some alleviation of this state of things between 1793 and 1826, when [[John Murray, 4th Duke of Atholl]] served as [[Governor of the Isle of Man|governor]], since, though he quarrelled with the [[House of Keys]] and unduly cared for his own pecuniary interests, he did occasionally exert himself to promote the welfare of the island. After his departure the English officials resumed their sway, but they showed more consideration than before. Moreover, since smuggling, which the [[Isle of Man Purchase Act 1765|Isle of Man Purchase Act]] had only checked – not suppressed – had by that time almost disappeared, and since the Manx revenue had started to produce a large and increasing surplus, the authorities looked more favourably on the Isle of Man, and, thanks to this fact and to the representations of the Manx people to British ministers in 1837, 1844 and 1853, it obtained a somewhat less stringent customs [[tariff]] and an occasional [[wikt:dole|dole]] towards erecting its much neglected public works.{{sfnp|Moore|1911|p=538}}