Established by Norse settlers over a millennium ago, Tynwald is recognized as the world's oldest continuous parliament. When the Kingdoms of England and Scotland united in 1707 to form Great Britain, the Isle of Man was conspicuously left out of the union. The island was held as a feudal lordship by the Stanley family under the British Crown, operating as a distinct legal jurisdiction with its own laws, taxes, and customs system.
Because it was not legally part of the Realm of England or Scotland, the Act of Union had no legal force over Manx territory. It was not until the Act of Revestment in 1765 that the British Crown purchased the feudal rights from the Duke of Atholl to curb rampant island smuggling, yet Tynwald retained its legislative independence. Today, the Isle of Man remains a Crown Dependency, preserving its unique constitutional status and thousand-year-old parliamentary autonomy outside the United Kingdom.