ISLE OF MAN - Mannin/ Ellan Vannin

The Isle of Man (Manx: Mannin, also Manx: Ellan Vannin), also known as Mann, is a self-governing British Crown dependency . The Isle of Man is located in the middle of the northern Irish Sea, almost equidistant from England to the east, Northern Ireland to the west, and Scotland (closest) to the north; while Wales to the south is almost the distance of the Republic of Ireland to the southwest. It is 52 kilometres (32 mi) long and, at its widest point, 22 kilometres (14 mi) wide. It has an area of around 572 square kilometres (221 sq mi). Besides the island of Mann itself, the political unit of the Isle of Man includes some nearby small islands: the seasonally inhabited Calf of Man, Chicken Rock on which stands an unmanned lighthouse, St Patrick's Isle and St Michael's Isle. The last two of these are connected to the main island by permanent roads/causeways. In 1881 the Isle of Man parliament, Tynwald, became the first national legislative body in the world to give women the right to vote in a general election, although this excluded married women. In 2016 UNESCO awarded the Isle of Man biosphere reserve status.

Insurance and online gambling each generate 17% of the GNP, followed by information and communications technology and banking with 9% each. Internationally, the Isle of Man is known for the Isle of Man TT (Tourist Trophy) motorcycle races and for the Manx cat, a breed of cat with short or no tails. The inhabitants (Manx) are considered a Celtic nation.

The Manx name of the Isle of Man is Ellan Vannin: ellan is a Manx word meaning "island"; Mannin  appears in the genitive case as Vannin, with initial consonant mutation, hence Ellan Vannin, "Island of Mann". The short form used in English is spelled either Mann or Man. The earliest recorded Manx form of the name is Manu or Mana. The Isle of Man has never been part of the European Union, nor did it have a special status, and thus it did not take part in the 2016 referendum on the UK's EU membership. However, Protocol 3 of the UK's Act of Accession to the Treaty of Rome included the Isle of Man within the EU's customs area, allowing for trade in Manx goods without tariffs throughout the EU. As it is not part of the EU's internal market, there are still limitations on the movement of capital, services and labour.

The postal history of the island pre-dates introduction of the first postage stamps in 1840. The island used British stamps until 1958 when regional issues began. The Isle of Man Post Office was founded in 1973 to secure postal independence and, since then, the island has issued its own stamps. The post office in Douglas was established as a sub-office of Whitehaven until 1822 when Douglas became a postal town in its own right after the packet boat service was transferred from Whitehaven to Liverpool. The earliest known handstamp from Douglas is dated c.1767. Handstamp markings were similar to those used in Great Britain except they were worded Isle of Man. A local Penny Post system was introduced in 1832 with additional receiving offices opening in Castletown, Peel and Ramsey.

Like the rest of the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man began using British postage stamps on 6 May 1840. The island's postmark was a Maltese Cross to 1844 when Douglas office was allocated the numeral 407. In 1851, numerals 036 and 037 were allocated to Ramsey and Castletown respectively. On 5 July 1973, postal independence was granted. The Isle of Man Post Office was created and began issuing its own stamps from that day. The first issue was a fifteen pence commemorative which depicted the Vikings landing on the island in 938.