Manx Rebellion of 1651

The Earl was taken prisoner at the Battle of Worcester in September 1651 and in his final letter to his wife in October he instructed his wife to broker his release and for his family's safety by negotiating with the victorious Parliamentarians for the surrender of the island:

The governor of this place, Colonel Duckenfield, is general of the forces which are going now against the Isle of Man, and however you might do for the present, in time it would be grievous and troublesome to resist, especially those that at this hour command three nations; wherefore my advice, notwithstanding my great affection to that place is, that you would make conditions for yourself, children, servants, and people there, and such as came over with me, to the end you may go to some place of rest where you may not be concerned in war; and taking thought of your poor children, you may in some sort provide for them[13]

The Governor of the Isle of Man, Sir Philip Musgrave, drew up the proposals with the assistance of several members of the House of Keys.[14] The Countess entrusted the proposals to her servant and sent them to Colonel Robert Duckenfield.[13]

Ultimately, the attempts failed and Stanley was executed on 15 October.[15]

While the Countess brokered with the Parliamentarians, Dhone himself negotiated independently with the Parliamentarian forces.

As the House of Keys was involved in the drawing up of the proposals for surrender, many influential Manxmen would have been aware of the Countess' actions and felt that "Countess intended to save herself by sacrificing them"[14] Following the power vacuum left by the Earl's capture and fearing that the Countess of Derby's surrender of the island would be on terms that would be less than favourable to the Manx people, as well as long-standing grievances about agrarian and land ownership reform, a revolt against Stanley rule on the Isle of Man was planned.[16]

Dhone and Musgrave agreed to defend the island from invasion until satisfactory terms were met. In reality, the Parliamentarians were gathering troops to capture the island and the agreement was a "mere pretence for the sake of gaining time" for Dhone and the Manx militia.[14] On the same night that the proposal for surrender was sent off the island, a rebellion led by Dhone against Stanley rule occurred. Dhone as Commander of the Militia, summoned the Captains of the Parishes of the Isle of Man to rise up and take control of the strategic coastal forts. Some 800 men were assembled and the Manx militia were successful in their attempts to take the smaller forts, but failed to take the largest castles at Peel and Rushen.[11]

The Stanley family residence at Castle Rushen.

Despite a delay due to a storm, when Colonel Robert Duckenfield and his invasion fleet landed on the island at the end of October, Dhone and the militia cooperated and allowed the Parliamentarian forces to take control of the island, on the condition that the "ancient rights and laws" that James Stanley had attempted to reform were restored.[11]

The Countess did not learn of the death of her husband until late October at the earliest. In a letter she received from Colonel Duckenfield dated 29 October 1651, she refused the Colonel's request for her to surrender, explaining that "I will not give it up without orders from him, being obliged by my duty to obey the instructions of my husband".[13]

On 3 November, the Countess realizing that her soldiers could not be trusted to hold the forts, surrendered on the condition that herself, her children, and servants would have safe passage to travel to England, and then on to another safe location, thus yielding control of the Isle of Man to the Parliamentary forces, in a bloodless coup.[16][3][13]