When Parliamentary forces arrived in 1651, Illiam Dhone — William Christian, Brown William — chose the island. His negotiations spared it from siege. He kept the Countess and her children alive. He ensured the island survived intact.

The Stanleys did not forgive him. After the Restoration, a Lancashire garrison jury inside Castle Rushen returned an indictment of treason. The House of Keys was packed with seven members replaced. Christian refused to come to the bar. No trial jury was ever empanelled. No evidence was heard. He was shot at Hango Hill on the second of January 1663.

A piece of white paper was given him at his request. He pinned it to his breast to direct them where to aim. The parish register of Kirk Malew recorded his death — and called his dying speech excellent. That is the island speaking.

The constitutional consequences rippled forward for a century — and the Privy Council’s intervention afterwards set a precedent that nobody intended and nobody would examine until it was too late.

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