In Manx, Illiam Dhone literally translates to Brown William—an epithet he received due to his dark hair—and in English he was called Brown-haired William.

[6] Ewan Christian was an important political figure in the Isle of Man, holding the offices of deputy-governor of Peel Castle and deemster, a position he held for 51 years.

[10] Edward Christian, a distant cousin of Dhone's and the Governor of the Isle of Man, was imprisoned for plotting against the Stanley family in 1643.

Fearing that the terms of the surrender would leave the Island at a great disadvantage, Dhone negotiated independently with the Parliamentarians, agreeing that they would not resist their invasion fleet on the condition that the "ancient rights and laws" that Stanley had attempted to reform were restored.

The countess' attempt to barter freedom for her husband in return for the surrender of the Isle of Man led to a revolt headed by Dhone, the Manx Rebellion of 1651.

When the parliamentary fleet under Colonel Robert Duckenfield landed in the Isle of Man in late October 1651, the Manx militia cooperated.

[12] Dhone's position as both Governor and Receiver General of the Isle of Man gave him unequalled control of the island's finances.

At his trial, Dhone refused to plead, and the House of Keys declared that his life and property were at the mercy of the Lord of Mann.

[12] The Deemsters then passed sentence, and Dhone was executed by shooting at Hango Hill (near what is now Janet's Corner, Castletown), on 2 January 1663 on charges of high treason.

Dhone is chiefly celebrated through the Manx ballad Baase Illiam Dhône, which was translated into English by John Crellin in 1774[1]: 107–110  (and separately by George Borrow[citation needed]), and through the references to him in Sir Walter Scott's Peveril of the Peak.