| The Channel Islands |
Situated just off the coast of France on the edge of the English Channel, the beautiful Channel Islands, a British Crown dependency since 1066, are fiercely independent and justifiably proud of their history and traditions.
This popular tourist destination is also an attractive offshore tax haven (for many companies), and as a result the islands have a thriving financial industry.
In addition, they're known worldwide for locally grown flowers and for their prized purebred Guernsey cows.
The local language and pubs may be English, but the islands were once a part of Normandy, so many of the place names and roads, as well as the food are decidedly French.
Jersey and Guernsey have their own independent state governments but Guernsey also accommodates the islands of Alderney, Sark and Herm, despite Sark's feudal system.
While Jersey and Guernsey make their own laws, they have continued to pledge allegiance to the English Crown since 1066, when William Duke of Normandy became King William I of England.
Tourism is the major industry in the smaller islands (with some agriculture). Jersey and Guernsey have, since the 1960s, relied on financial services. Guernsey's horticultural and glasshouse activities have been more significant than in Jersey, and Guernsey has maintained light industry as a higher proportion of its economy than Jersey. Jersey's economy since the 1980s has been substantially more reliant on finance.
Both Bailiwicks issue their own banknotes and coins, which circulate freely in all the islands alongside UK coinage and Bank of England and Scottish banknotes.
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| History |
The Islands were annexed to the Duchy of Normandy in 933. In 1066 the Duke William the Conqueror invaded and conquered England, becoming the English monarch. Since 1204, the loss of the rest of the monarch's lands in mainland Normandy has meant that the Channel Islands have been governed as separate possessions of the Crown.
The Bailiwicks have been administered separately from each other since the late 13th century, and although those unacquainted with the Islands often assume they form one political unit, common institutions are the exception rather than the rule. The two Bailiwicks have no common laws, no common elections, and no common representative body (although their politicians consult regularly).
There is no common newspaper or radio station, however two common television stations, Channel Television (ITV) and BBC One Channel Islands, broadcast to all the islands.
The Islands acquired commercial and political interests in the North American colonies. Islanders became involved wIn recognition for all the help given to him during his exile in Jersey in the 1640s, Charles II gave George Carteret, Bailiff and governor, a large grant of land in the American colonies, which he promptly named New Jersey, now part of the United States of America. |
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| Edmund Andros of Guernsey was an early colonial governor in North America, and head of the short-lived Dominion of New England. |
| During the Second World War, the Islands were the only British soil occupied by Germany (excepting that part of Egypt occupied by the Afrika Korps at the time of the Second Battle of El Alamein). The Nazi occupation 1940–1945 was harsh, with some island residents being taken for slave labour on the Continent; native Jews sent to concentration camps; partisan resistance and retribution; accusations of collaboration; and slave labour (primarily Russians and eastern Europeans) being brought to the islands to build fortifications. The Royal Navy blockaded the islands from time to time, particularly following the liberation of mainland Normandy in 1944. Intense negotiations resulted in some Red Cross humanitarian aid, but there was considerable hunger and privation during the five years of German occupation. |
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| Politics |
| The Channel Islands fall into two separate self-governing Bailiwicks. Both the Bailiwick of Guernsey and the Bailiwick of Jersey are British crown dependencies, though neither is part of the United Kingdom. They have been part of the Duchy of Normandy since the 10th century and Queen Elizabeth II is often referred to by her traditional and conventional title of Duke of Normandy. However, pursuant to the Treaty of Paris (1259) she is not the Duke in a constitutional capacity and instead governs in her right as Queen. This notwithstanding, it is a matter of local pride by monarchists to treat the situation otherwise; the Loyal Toast at formal dinners is to "The Queen, our Duke" rather than to "Her Majesty, the Queen" as in the UK. |
The Channel Islands are not represented in the UK Parliament and each Island has its own primary legislature, known as the States of Guernsey and the States of Jersey, with Chief Pleas in Sark and the States of Alderney. Laws passed by the States are given Royal Sanction by the Queen in Council, to which the Islands' governments are responsible.
The systems of government date from Norman times, which accounts for the names of the legislatures, the States, derived from the Norman États or estates (i.e. the Crown, the Church, and the people). The States have evolved over the centuries into democratic parliaments.
In 2001 responsibility for links between the Channel Islands (together with the Isle of Man) and the Crown passed from the Home Secretary to the Lord Chancellor's Department, replaced in 2003 by the Department of Constitutional Affairs.
In addition, Acts of the UK Parliament may be extended to any of the Channel Islands by Order-in-Council (thus giving the UK Government the ultimate responsibility for good government in the Islands). |
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La Seigneurie & Gardens - Sark |
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By constitutional convention this is only done at the request of the Insular Authorities, and has become a rare option, the Islands usually preferring nowadays to pass localised versions of laws giving effect to international treaties.
Matters reserved to the Crown (i.e. the United Kingdom government) are limited to defence, citizenship, and diplomatic representation. The Islands are not bound by treaties concluded by the United Kingdom (unless they so request) and may separately conclude treaties with foreign governments (except concerning matters reserved to the Crown). The United Kingdom conceded at the end of the 20th century that the Islands may establish direct political (non-diplomatic) contacts with foreign governments to avoid the situation whereby British Embassies were obliged to pass on communications from the governments of the Bailiwicks that were in conflict with United Kingdom government policy.
The Islands are not part of the European Union but are part of the Customs Territory of the European Community by virtue of Protocol 3 to the Treaty on European Union. |
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| Islanders are full British Citizens, though not all are European Citizens. Any British citizen who applies for a passport in Jersey or Guernsey receives a passport bearing the words 'British Islands, Bailiwick of Jersey' or 'British Islands, Bailiwick of Guernsey'. Under the provisions of Protocol 3, Channel Islanders who do not have a close connection with the UK (no parent or grandparent from the UK, and have never been resident in Great Britain or Northern Ireland for any 5 year period) do not automatically benefit from the EU provisions on free movement within the EU and consequently their passports receive an endorsement to that effect. This only affects a minority of Islanders. |
| Under the Interpretation Act 1978, the Channel Islands are deemed to be part of the British Islands, not to be confused with the British Isles, of which they are also historically considered a part. |
| Both Bailiwicks are members of the British-Irish Council, and Jèrriais and Dgèrnésiais are recognised regional languages of the Isles. |
| The legal courts are separate (separate courts of appeal have been in place since 1961). Among the legal heritage from Norman law is the Clameur de Haro. |
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| What is a Bailiwick? |
A bailiwick is the area of jurisdiction of a bailiff. The term was also applied to a territory in which the sheriff's functions were exercised by a privately appointed bailiff under a Crown grant. The word is now more generally used in a metaphorical sense, to indicate a sphere of activity, experience, study, or interest
Jersey coins bear the inscription Bailiwick of Jersey. The term originated in France (bailie being the Old French term for a bailiff), Under the ancien régime in France, the bailli was the king's representative in a bailliage, charged with the application of justice and control of the administration. In southern France, the term generally used was sénéchal (cf seneschal) who held office in the sénéchaussée. The administrative network of baillages were established in the 13th century, based on the earlier medieval fiscal and tax divisions (the "baillie") which had been used by earlier soverein princes (such as the Duke of Normandy). (For more on this French judicial system, see bailli, prévôt and Early Modern France).
In English, the original French bailie was combined with "-wic", the Anglo-Saxon suffix meaning a village, to produce a term meaning literally "bailiff's village" - the original geographic scope of a bailiwick. In the 19th century, it was absorbed into American English as a metaphor for one's sphere of knowledge or activity. |
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| The term survives in administrative usage in the Channel Islands, which for administrative purposes are grouped into the two bailiwicks of Jersey (comprising the island of Jersey and the islets known as the Minquiers and Ecréhous) and Guernsey (comprising the islands of Guernsey, Sark, Alderney, Brecqhou, Herm, Jethou and Lihou). Each Channel Island bailiwick is headed by a Bailiff. |
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| Geography |
The inhabited islands of the Channel Isles are Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, Sark, Herm (the main islands); Jethou, Brecqhou (Brechou), and Lihou. All of these except Jersey are in the Bailiwick of Guernsey, but the Minquiers and Les Ecréhous, uninhabited groups of islets, are part of the Bailiwick of Jersey. Burhou lies off Alderney.
As a general rule, the larger islands have the -ey suffix, and the smaller ones have the -hou suffix; this is believed to be from the Old Norse ey and holmr respectively.
In official Channel Island French, the Islands are called Îles de la Manche, while in France, the term Îles anglo-normandes (Anglo-Norman isles) is used to refer to the British Channel Islands in contrast to other islands in the channel.
Chausey is referred to as an Île normande (as opposed to anglo-normande). Îles Normandes and Archipel Normand have also historically been used in Channel Island French to refer to the islands as a whole. |
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