The Isle of Man 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 ll, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Crown is represented by a Lieutenant Govenor. 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.
The island was a Celtic community which came under the rule of the Norse in 1079. This has left a legacy from the Tynwald government to many place names. After a period of alternating rule by the Kings of England and Scotland, the Manx came under the feudal overlordship of the English Crown. The lordship revested to the British Crown in 1764 but the island never became part of the United Kingdom. This accounts for its current position as a Crown dependency.
The Isle of Man is not a part of the European Union, but because of Protocol 3 of the Treaty of Accession in 1972, there does exist the free movement of goods between the two entities.
The Island has over a dozen known windmill sites. The majority of the mills were small farm threshing mills, although two large corn mills were built.
The island has a total of 688 miles (1107 km) of public roads, all of which are paved. Many of the roads on the island have no speed limit, although measured travel speeds are often relatively low.
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