Physical Anthropology of the Isle of Man Author(S): A
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Physical Anthropology of the Isle of Man Author(s): A. W. Moore and John Beddoe Source: The Journal of the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, Vol. 27 (1898), pp. 104-130 Published by: Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2842856 . Accessed: 16/06/2014 02:46 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp . JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to The Journal of the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland. http://www.jstor.org This content downloaded from 195.78.109.162 on Mon, 16 Jun 2014 02:46:22 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 104 PHYSICALANTHROPOLOGY of the ISLE OF MAN. By A. W. MOORE,M.A., and JOHNBEDDOE, M.D., F.R.S. THE fortunatecircumstance of a "Description Book" of the "Royal Manx Feiicibles"having been preservedby Mr. Edwarcd Gelliingof Douglas, enables us to give what we hope will be considereda useful contributiontowards the elucidationof the racial characteristicsof the Manx people. As many of our readers may not be acquainted with the origin of the above- named corps,we will give a briefdescription of it: In the year 1779, Great Britainwas so hard pressedby its enemieson all sides that it became desirable that the Isle of Man should contributeits mite to the general defence. A battalion of 333 men was thereforeenrolled for the defenceof the island only. It was disbanded in October,1783, after the Peace of Versailles,but was re-embodiedon February 20th, 1793. In 1795, a second battalion,containing about the same numberof men,called the " Second Royal Manx Fencibles,"was formed forservice in Great Britainand Ireland. At the breakingout of the Irish Rebellionin 1798, these numberswere doubledand the regimentwas sent to Ireland, where it was stationed at Coleraine,Omagh and otherplaces in the northof that country. Nothingis knownof what it did there. On the conclusionof the Peace of Amiensin 1802, both it and the firstbattalion, then called the " First Royal Manx Fencibles,"were disbanded. On the renewalof the war in 1803, a single regimentof eight companies,containing about 800 men,was formedfor service in Great Britain and Ireland. This regiment,also called the " Royal Manx Fencibles,"appears to have been sometimesin Eligland-for the most part in Scarboroug,h-sometimesin Ireland, and sometimesin the Isle of Man, till it was dis- banded in 1810. It is with it that our "Description Book'> has to do. This book, which contains the names of about 1,300 men who passed throughthe ranks between 1803 and 1810, has headings lettered " English," " Scotch," " Irish," " Foreigners," the Fencibles being all under the last designiation.From this numberof 1,300 we have subtractedall those under eighteen years of age (chieflydrummers), and those niotborn in the island,also all those whose names are either not Manx, or are not known in the island for a generatiolnbefore 1800, even thoughthey were bornin the island. This leaves 1,112 names This content downloaded from 195.78.109.162 on Mon, 16 Jun 2014 02:46:22 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions A. W. MOORE & J. BEDDOE.-Anthropology of Isle of afcn. 105 whaichwe have every reason to believe are those of men of native origin. The book containingthem describestheir com- plexion, eyes, hair, and stature,and it mentionsthe parish where each man was born and the trade he was broughtup to. Unfortunatelyit does not give their chest measurement or their weight,so that we caninottell whetherthe popular tradition,that the Manx Fencibles coveredmore groundthan the same numberof men in any otherregiment in the British army,is corrector not. There is, however,quite enoughinfor- mationto show that theywere a veryfine body of men. Let us brieflyconsider whetherthe results we propose to give froma comparisonof the statisticsindicated are likely to approximateclosely to the true averaae physical characteristics of nativeManxmen oT not. To do this we will firstexamine in what proportionthe various parishes have contributedto the total niumber,and what is likely to be the effectupon the average of these various proportions. A glance at Table A will show that the proportionsvary from1P49 per cent. of the total population in Lonan to 5-91 per cent. in Malew. The seven parisheswhich have the smallest proportionof Fencibles are Lonan,Rushen, Jurby, Maughold (with the townof iRamsey), Braddan (with the townof Douglas), Patrick,and German(with the townof Peel). As regardsLonan this sniall proportionis partlyaccounted for by the fact that a portionof the popula- tion consistsof miners,none of whomserved. The Manx minersare forthe mnostpart tall,rather dark men, Dr. Beddoe,in 1886, giving their average heightas 5 feet 10-3 inches,1and so some reductionin the average height of the Lonan men probablyresults fromtheir exclusion. It is from the other parishes just mentionedthat mostof the fishermuen come; and it is well knownthat the majorityof Manx fishermen and sailors are tall, fair men. Their averageheight in 1886 is given as 5 feet8-2 inches.2 They were exemptfrom serving in the Fencibles,but hundredsof them joined the Royal Navy, bothvolulntarily and involuntarily.Another cause whichwould tend to decreasethe average statureof the Fenciblesis that the farmers,who are undoubtedlya tall class, 5 feet 11-3 inches3in 1886, were not recruited. On the otherhand some men below 1 " The Physical Anthropologyof the Isle of Man, Manx Note Book," vol. iii, p. 33. 2 "The Physical Anthropologyof the Isle of Man, Manx Note Book," vol. iii, p. 33, i.e., porters,5 ft. 9 ins., fishermen,5 ft. 8,4 ins. = 5 ft. 8-7 ins. and deductfor boots 05 ins. The portersare almost all of the same class as the fishermen. 3 Ibid.; but boththis and the heightof the minersis undoubtedlyhligher than the trueaverage. This content downloaded from 195.78.109.162 on Mon, 16 Jun 2014 02:46:22 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 106 A. W. MOOREAND J. BEDDOE.-Physical 5 feet 3 incheswere certainlyexcluded.t - But it is notoriotns that thereare veryfew full grownmien in the island below that height.2 The considerationsgiven above then tend to showthat if it had inotbeen forthe exemptionsmentioned, there would have been moretall men,and moreblue and greyeyes withfair complexions,and, perhaps,even allowing for the exclusion of men under 5 feet 3 inches,a slightlyhigher average stature. That the 1,112 names given mostlybelongY to men of native origin there can be but little doubt,and on the whole we are inclinedto thinkthey give averageswhich very closely represent the physicalcharacteristics of Manxmenat the presentday, if we bear in mindsome inherentdefects in the methodof obtaining the colour of the hair,and, to a less extent,of obtaininagthe colour of the eyes,which we will now point out. As regards hair,it would appear that the observer(or observers)was apt to call people dark-haired,where most English observerswould have used the term " brown" simply,and most Frenchmen would have said "chatain": also that the recruitingobservers called shades "black" which most English people would have called dark or dark brown,and most Frenchmen"brun" or " brunfonce." Similarly,it seems probable that theyapplied the word brownto some shades,which most of us would have called lightor fair. In short,their personal equationleaned too much to the dark side. In the eyes,it seems probable that theygave a verylimited meaningto the term" blue,"and assignedall the greyishshades of blue to "grey." Blue, however,is probablyreally less common than grey. It seems probable also that a larger proportionof "cgrey " eyes should be classed with " light" than,from the par- ticularsgiven, we have been able to do. Hazel eyes have been classed as "dlark,"though there is a conisiderablenuimber of them, and perhaps some may really have been of a neutral lhazel grey.3 On the whole, then, the results as regardshair and eyes taken between1803 alid 1810, which for convenience 1 Amongthe regulationswith referenceto enlistinagrecruits for the Royal Manx Fenciblesare the following: (1) No m-lanto be eilisted who is above 30 years of age or less than 5 ft. 5 inls. higlh,except that growing lads from17 to 19 maaybe takenat 5 ft.4 in. (2) The greatestcare to be takenithat no mianbe enlisted who is not stout anidwell made, i.e., perfectlywell limbed,open eliested,and what is called long ill tlhefork. 2 Only tlhreeout of 200 wereunder 5 ft. 4 ins.,in 1886; see " Manx Note lBook,"vol. iii, p. 32. HHazel is a termiifrequently as, I tbinlk,misapplied. It is properlythe colouirof the shell of the hazel-nut,the trie nut-brown;biit some people, as, forexample, Mlr. Fralncis Galton, apply it to the e3es whllichI call hazel grey, in wllichornly the ininerradiating fibres are hazel or oranige,alnd the outer part of the iris greyor bluislh. This content downloaded from 195.78.109.162 on Mon, 16 Jun 2014 02:46:22 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions Anthropologyof theIsle of Afarn. 107 we may call those of 1806, cannot be regardedas nearly so accurateas'those gottenby Dr. Beddoe in 1886, notwithstanding the fact that the materialin the fornmercase is not o'nlymore copious,but doubtlessof morepurely native composition.