The Isle of Man has always exploited its status as an independent territory to bring in business. In the 18th century it took advantage of the ability to set its own customs duties to build a thriving smuggling trade with the UK. The Crown became so frustrated it bought the island from the Duke of Atholl in 1765 to tie it into a single customs area.

The Manx continued to innovate. In the late 1960s Radio Caroline, the UK’s first commercial radio station, broadcast from a ship off the island. London was forced to change its restrictive broadcasting laws – but also obliged Douglas to outlaw the station in 1967. The ship itself was tugged off forcibly to the Netherlands the following year.