The dates chosen for the thesis encompass the development\ud
of Lundy from an isolated subsistence economy, reliant on\ud
the harvesting of sea birds and rabbits, to a small village\ud
community with increasing economic dependence on seasonal\ud
visitors.\ud
This change is considered in the context of a\ud
comparative study of small islands, and in relation to the\ud
broader context of regional and national economic and\ud
social background. These, with new researches and the\ud
re-examination of existing texts, have enabled a fuller\ud
and more accurate account of Lundy's history than has\ud
hitherto been offered. This study concludes that while many\ud
factors have shaped. Lundy's development, the most\ud
illuminating have been the geography, the nature of the\ud
ownership in its response to the island and the dynamics of\ud
change, and the effect of external factors in the last two\ud
centuries. It is also suggested that the island has been\ud
more consistently populated than was previously thought.\ud
Claims to extra-ordinary legal status for Lundy are\ud
examined, and considered to be without substance. It is\ud
found that Lundy's extra-parochial status, and exclusion\ud
from administrative processes until the mid-twentieth\ud
century, rested on its isolation and lack of importance in\ud
terms of size or the value of its resources. This lack of importance has also contributed to the present\ud
re-interpretation of island resources.\ud
The study exemplifies the proposition that\ud
understanding of local history does not rest on a sequence\ud
of documented events in one place, but upon the integration\ud
of documentary, archaeological, cartographic, photographic\ud
and artistic resources taken in the broader context of\ud
comparative studies, and a wider understanding of external\ud
historical, economic and social circumstances.\ud
The systematic cross reference of the gazetteer of the\ud
sites and monuments to the main text serves both to\ud
illuminate some parts of the history, and to provide a firm\ud
base from which future work may proceed