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a man whom he had appointed king over it: that Alexander should defend the country from all foreign enemies, and that Regulus should furnish Scotland, when required, with ten ships.

1304.]-John Waldebeof, a great-grandson of king Reginald, thinking himself entitled to the Isle of Man, preferred his claim before Edward the First of England, as lord-paramount over the king of Scotland. But he received no other answer than that he might prosecute his claim before the justices of the king's bench, and have justice done him.

What Waldebeof could not effect by right, William de Montacute, another descendant of Reginald, accomplished by arms. With a body of English troops, hastily collected, he drove all the Scots out of the island: but having contracted a considerable debt for this war, and being unable to discharge it, he mortgaged the island and its revenues for seven years to Anthony Bec, bishop of Durham and patriarch of Jerusalem, to whom the king afterwards gave it for life.

1307.]-King Edward the Second bestowed this island upon Piers Gaveston, when he created him Earl of Cornwall: and, on his death, upon

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Henry Beaumont, "with all the demesnes and royal jurisdiction."

The Scots, under Robert Bruce, afterwards recovered it, and retained it in their possession till the year 1340, when William de Montacute, the younger, earl of Salisbury, under the sanction of Edward the Third wrested it from that nation, and according to Walshingham, sold it to William Scroop. This nobleman being executed for high treason, and his estates being confiscated, the Isle of Man reverted to the crown of England, and was granted by Henry the Fourth to Henry Percy, earl of Northumberland, on condition that he and his posterity, at the coronation of the kings of England, should bear the sword, worn by that monarch on his return from France in 1399.

1403.]-Henry Percy was attainted four years afterwards, and though subsequently restored in blood, and to his estates in England, the Isle of Man was permanently forfeited, and given, with the patronage of the Bishopric and all other ecclesiastical benefices, to William Stanley and his heirs, afterwards earl of Derby, to be held by liege homage, and the service of rendering to the English monarchs two falcons on their coronation.

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If at this time the dependence of the Manks. nation was confirmed, the inhabitants became more secure in their possessions and less apprehensive of contending factions at home, or enemies abroad.

The royalties and revenues of Man descended regularly, and without molestation, from ancestor to heir till the time of William, the sixth earl of Derby, against whose title some objections were started and legally removed. To put the matter beyond all doubt, William obtained from James I. a new grant of the Isle of Man which was confirmed by act of parliament.

This island was one of the last places which yielded to the authority of Cromwell. General Ireton proposed to James, earl of Derby, on the part of the parliament, the repossession of his estates in England provided he would surrender the Isle of Man: but this proposal the earl treated with the greatest indignation, and declared his determination to hang any future messenger from that quarter. The earl, being taken prisoner in England, was executed at Bolton, October 15, 1651, and the defence of the Isle of Man was undertaken by his lady. The countess possessed enthusiasm equal to her husband's, and

determined to defend Castle Rushen, to which she had retired, to the last extremity: but Christian, in whom she confided, and who had the command of the Manks forces, deeming hers a hopeless cause, capitulated to Colonels Birch and Duckenfield, who with ten armed vessels, had invaded the island. The Isle of Man was granted by the parliament to lord Fairfax; but on the accession of Charles the Second was restored to the earl of Derby, son of him who had been beheaded. Christian was found guilty of treason, and executed in Man.

In this family it continued till 1735, at which time James, earl of Derby, died without issue, and the inheritance devolved upon James, second duke of Athol, who was descended from Lady Amelia Sophia, the youngest daughter of the seventh earl of Derby.

John, the last of this family who enjoyed the royalties of Man, inherited by descent the dukedom of Athol; and obtained by his marriage with the daughter of the late duke the kingdom of Man.

This duke and his duchess, as we have already seen, sold to the king of England, in 1765, the regalities and revenues of Man,

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