| The Bailiwick of Jersey |
The Bailiwick of Jersey (Jèrriais: Jèrri) is a British Crown dependency off the coast of Normandy, France.
As well as the island of Jersey itself, it also includes the uninhabited islands of Minquiers and Ecréhous.
Along with the Bailiwick of Guernsey it forms the grouping known as the Channel Islands.
The defence of all these islands is the responsibility of the United Kingdom.
However, Jersey is not part of the United Kingdom, nor the European Union, the Bailiwick is a separate possession of the Crown, comparable to Guernsey and to the Isle of Man.
Jersey is an island with its own laws and currency - an island of traditional agriculture and modern finance.
Saint Helier (Jèrriais: St Hélyi) is one of the twelve parishes, and the largest town in Jersey,.
It has a population of about 28,000, and is the capital of the Island (although Government House is situated in St. Saviour). |
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| Flag of Jersey |
The flag of Jersey was adopted by the States of Jersey on June 12, 1979, proclaimed by the Queen on December 10, 1980 and first officially hoisted on April 1, 1981.
It is white with a diagonal red cross extending to the corners of the flag and in the upper quadrant, surmounted by a yellow Plantagenet crown, the badge of Jersey (a red shield holding the three leopards of Normandy in yellow). The new flag used officially since 1981 has the arms of Jersey surmounted by a Plantagenet crown. Prior to this, the flag was a plain red saltire on a white field. Historical research has failed to ascertain the origin of this flag. Among the legends are a story that a mistranslation from Dutch of the word Erse ("Irish") in a Dutch chart endowed Ierse (Jersey) with a cross of St. Patrick by mistake.
Historical research has failed to ascertain the origin of this flag. Among the legends are a story that a mistranslation from Dutch of the word Erse ("Irish") in a Dutch chart endowed Ierse (Jersey) with a cross of St. Patrick by mistake. However, French Admiralty charts show that Jersey was using the red saltire before the adoption of that symbol for the Order of St. Patrick and its incorporation into the modern Union Flag. |
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| Some claim that the red saltire has a Norman origin. The red saltire of the Order of St. Patrick was derived at the end of the 18th century from the heraldry of the Hiberno-Norman Fitzgerald family. If it is an old Norman symbol, then Jersey's saltire may derive from the same origin. Little evidence can be adduced to support this theory. |
| A traditional belief is as follows: Jersey, along with the other Channel Islands, was granted neutrality by Papal Bull during periods of warfare between England and France. Since they were able to trade freely with both sides, Jersey ships required a way of differentiating themselves from English ships. They therefore rotated the St. George's Cross of the English Crown to form a saltire. |
| The coat of arms of Jersey is a red shield with three gold lions passant guardant (les trois léopards in French). It was granted to the island as a seal by Edward I in 1279. |
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| History of Jersey |
Formerly under the control of Brittany and named Angia, also spelled Agna, Jersey became subject to Viking influence and settlement and was eventually annexed to the Duchy of Normandy by William Longsword, Duke of Normandy in 933. His descendant, William the Conqueror, conquered England in 1066, which led to the Duchy of Normandy and the kingdom of England being governed under one monarch.
King John lost all his territories in mainland Normandy in 1204 to the King of France, but retained possession of Jersey, along with Guernsey and the other Channel Islands which have been internally self-governing since.
Islanders became involved with the Newfoundland fisheries in the 17th century.
In 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.
Trade, aided by neutrality between England and France, laid the foundations of prosperity. The Jersey way of life involved agriculture, fishing, shipbuilding, and production of woollen goods until 19th century improvements in transport links brought tourism to the Island. Jersey was occupied by Nazi Germany from 1 July 1940, and was held until 9 May 1945. |
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| Politics |
Jersey's legislature is the States of Jersey. It includes 53 elected members - 12 senators (elected for 6-year terms), 12 constables (heads of parishes elected for 3-year terms), 29 deputies (elected for 3-year terms); the Bailiff and the Deputy Bailiff (appointed to preside over the assembly and having a casting vote in favour of the status quo when presiding); and 3 non-voting members - the Dean of Jersey, the Attorney General, and the Solicitor General all appointed by the Crown.
Government departments are run by a cabinet of ministers under a Chief Minister. The civil head of the Island is the Bailiff.
All current States Members have been elected as independents. Formally constituted political parties are unfashionable, although groups of "like-minded members" act in concert.
The Centre Party (Jersey) claims to be the largest political party in Jersey.
The Centre Party has committed to only proposing candidates for Senatorial elections, though members are free to, and have, stood for Deputy as independents.
They remain independent in the Chamber.
The only political party currently having representation in the States is the Jersey Democratic Alliance, although their members similarly stood for election as independents.
The legal system is based on Norman customary law (including the Clameur de Haro), statute and English law; justice is administered by the Royal Court.
Elizabeth II's traditional title as head of state is that of Duke of Normandy, but she does not hold that title formally.
She reigns by her position as Queen over a crown dependency. Her representative on the island is the Lieutenant Governor, The Lieutenant General has little but a token involvement in island politics.
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| Parishes |
| Administratively, Jersey is divided into 12 parishes, all having access to the sea and named after the dedications of their ancient parish churches: |
Saint Helier, Saint Saviour, Saint Clement, Grouville (Saint Martin de Grouville), Saint Martin, Trinity, Saint John, Saint Mary, Saint Ouen, Saint Peter, Saint Brelade and Saint Lawrence.
The parishes of Jersey are further divided into vingtaines (or, in St. Ouen, cueillettes), divisions which are historic and nowadays mostly used for purposes of local administration and electoral constituency.
The Constable (or Connétable) is the head of each parish, elected at a public election for a three year term to run the parish and to represent the municipality in the States. The Procureur du Bien Public (two in each parish) is the legal and financial representative of the parish, elected at a public election (since 2003 in accordance with the Public Elections (Amendment) (Jersey) Law 2003; prior to that an Assembly of Electors of each parish elected the Procureurs in accordance with the Loi (1804) au sujet des assemblées paroissiales). A Procureur du Bien Public is elected for a mandate of three years as a public trustee for the funds and property of the parish and to be empowered to pass contract on behalf of the parish if so authorised by a Parish Assembly.
Centeniers are elected at a public election within each parish for a term of three years to undertake policing within the parish. The Centenier is the only officer authorised to charge and bail offenders.
Formerly, the senior Centenier of each parish (known as the Chef de Police) deputised for the Constable in the States of Jersey when the Constable was unable to attend a sitting of the States - this function has been abolished. |
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| Capital of Jersey- Saint Helier |
Jersey is the biggest island of the five included in the Channel Islands, its capital being Saint Helier, a point of maximum attraction to tourists, a very complex town, full of history and modernity at the same time. Saint Helier is one of the twelve parishes in Jersey, it unfolds in the South of the island, along Saint Aubin’s Bay, also known as L’Islet and it represents the transportation, the governmental, the cultural and commercial heart of Jersey.
This town has almost twenty eight thousand inhabitants, its urban region occupying the biggest part of Jersey, the rest part being completed by St. Saviour, with St. Lawrence or St. Clement. 9% of the total surface of Jersey is covered by the parish, its crest having as symbol two crossed golden axes on blue, representing the sea and the martyrdom of the saint it was named after.
Saint Helier is named after Helier, the ascetic missionary, also known as Helerius, who died there back in 555. Despite this established date, this martyr is celebrated on July 16th, when people take a pilgrimage to the Hermitage and also, his memory is kept in the Abbey of Saint Helier, a construction built in the middle of the XIIth century by Robert FitzHamon of Gloucester.
At its origins, this town was a fishing village surrounding the parish, the place where courts gathered and markets were held beginning with the XIII-th century. After Elisabeth’s Castle was built in 1551-1590, Saint Helier turned into the seat of government, the castle being the place where Lord Clarendon, known for the History of the Rebellion, and Charles II, as fugitive, sought their refuge. The harbour was initially built in 1700, the current one having its origins back in 1841. Victoria College, dating form 1852.
The famous Royal Square in the capital of Jersey was the place where the Battle of Jersey took place, in 1781, a battle aiming for the French to conquer the island.
Saint Helier is administrated in vigtaines, there being six such divisions: La Vingtaine de la Ville, with Le Canton de Bas and Le Canton de Haut, La Vingtaine du Rouge Bouillon, de Bas et du Haut du Mont au Prêtre, La Vingtaine du Mont à l’Abbé and La Vingtaine du Mont Cochon. |
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| As for political aspects, Saint Helier is made up of four districts, named St. Helier 1, 2, 3 and 4, the first two with three deputies and the last two making up a constituency with four deputies. Therefore, based on this principle, there are eleven representatives of Jersey in the States of Jersey, together with the Constable. |
| There are many sites in the town twinned with Avranches in France, Bad Wurzach in Germany and Gunchal in Madeira which the Planning and Environment department of Jersey has entitled Sites of Special Interest, one of the most pertinent being the Central Market in Beresford Street, the indoor market which started its activity in 1882. This Victorian style site is only one of these sites for which Saint Helier is also popular all around the world. |
| Courtesy of Tea at Saint Helier |
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| Geography |
Jersey is an island measuring 118.2 square kilometres (65,569 vergee / 46 sq. mi.), including reclaimed land and intertidal zone. It lies in the English Channel, approximately 22.5 kilometres (12 mi) from the Cotentin Peninsula in Normandy, France, and approximately 161 kilometres (100 mi) south of Great Britain. It is the largest and southernmost of the Channel Islands.
The climate is temperate with mild winters and cool summers, it also averages the most sunshine per year in the British Isles. The terrain consists of a plateau sloping from long sandy bays in the south to rugged cliffs in the north. The plateau is cut by valleys running generally north-south. |
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| Economy |
Jersey's economy is based on financial services, tourism, electronic commerce and agriculture. Financial services contribute approximately half of the Island's economy. Major agricultural products are potatoes and dairy produce. The source of milk is Jersey cattle, a small breed of cow that has also been acknowledged (though not widely so) for the quality of its meat. Small-scale organic beef production has been reintroduced in an effort to diversify the industry. Farmers and growers often sell surplus food and flowers in boxes on the roadside, relying on the honesty of those who pass to drop the correct change into the money box and take what they want.On February 18, 2005, Jersey was granted Fairtrade Island status.
The absence of VAT has led to the recent growth of the 'fulfilment' industry, whereby low-value luxury items, such as videos, lingerie and contact lenses are exported to the UK, avoiding VAT on arrival and thus undercutting UK prices on the same products. The States of Jersey announced in 2005 limits on licences granted to non-resident companies trading in this way. |
| Taxation |
Until the 20th century, the States relied on indirect taxation to finance the administration of Jersey. The levying of impôts (duties) was in the hands of the Assembly of Governor, Bailiff and Jurats until 1921 when that body's tax raising powers were transferred to the Assembly of the States, leaving the Assembly of Governor, Bailiff and Jurats to serve simply as licensing bench for the sale of alcohol (this fiscal reform also stripped the Lieutenant-Governor of most of his effective remaining administrative functions). The Income Tax Law of 1928 introducing income tax was the first law drafted entirely in English. Income tax has been levied at a flat rate of 20% for decades.
As VAT has not been levied in the Island, luxury goods have often been cheaper than in the UK or in France providing an incentive for tourism from neighbouring countries. On 13 May 2005 the States of Jersey approved the introduction of a goods and services tax, scheduled for 2008. |
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| Currency |
The pound is the currency of Jersey. It is equivalent to the Pound Sterling and is legal tender in Jersey alongside Bank of England notes, and also circulates with the Guernsey pound and Scottish banknotes.
The livre tournois had been used as the legal currency in Jersey for centuries. However, it was abolished during the French Revolutionary period. Although the coins were no longer minted, it remained the legal currency in Jersey until 1837 when dwindling supplies of livres tournois and consequent difficulties in trade and payment obliged the adoption of the pound sterling as legal tender.
The livre tournois circulated officially alongside British currency in Jersey until 1834 and unofficially thereafter. The rate of exchange between the two currencies was 1 livre 4 sous = 1 shilling (i.e., 1 sou = ½ penny) during the 18th century but changed to 1 livre 6 sous = 1 shilling in the early 19th century.
Because French sous remained the chief small-change coins, when a new copper coinage was issued for Jersey in 1841, it was based on a penny worth 1/13 of a shilling, the equivalent of 2 sous. Coins were issued in denominations (as written on the coins) of 1/13, 1/26 and 1/52 shilling. |
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In 1877, a penny of 1/12 of a shilling was introduced. However, denominations continued to be written as fractions of a shilling, with threepence coins issued in 1957 carrying the denomination "one fourth of a shilling".
During the German occupation in the Second World War, a series of banknotes was issued by the States of Jersey. The States have issued a regular series of banknotes since 1963.
Along with the rest of the British Isles, Jersey decimalized in 1971 and began issuing a full series of circulating coins from ½p to 50p. £1 and £2 denominations followed later. |
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| Demographics |
The Island plays host to large amount of people born outside Jersey; roughly 50% of the population are not originally from the island. 30% of the population is concentrated in Saint Helier, site of the only town. Of the roughly 87,000 people in Jersey, around two fifths are of Jersey/Norman descent and two fifths of British descent. The largest minority groups in the island are British (N. Ireland, Scotland, England and Wales), Portuguese (especially Madeiran), Irish and Polish. The French community is also always present. The people of Jersey are often called Islanders, or in individual terms Jerseyman or Jerseywoman. Most Jersey-born people consider themselves British and value the special relationship between the British Crown and the Island.
The Church of England is the established church, but Methodism is traditionally strong in the countryside and there is a large Roman Catholic minority. See Religion in Jersey. Jersey, like most places in the western world, has an ageing population. Reasons for this change particular to Jersey are the emigration of young people seeking opportunities the Island cannot provide. |
| For immigration and nationality purposes the United Kingdom generally treats Jersey as though it were part of the UK, however Jersey is constitutionally entitled to restrict immigration by non-Jersey people and maintains its own immigration and border controls. Population is currently controlled by restrictions on those without residential status purchasing or renting property in the Island. Although Jersey's citizens are full British citizens, an endorsement restricting the right of establishment in European Union states other than the UK is placed in the Jersey passport of British citizens connected solely with the Channel Islands and Isle of Man. Those who have a parent or grandparent born in the United Kingdom, or who have lived in the United Kingdom for 5 years, are not subject to this restriction. |
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| Culture |
Jèrriais, the island's indigenous language is a variety of Norman. It is spoken by a minority of the population, although it was the majority language in the 19th century.
Though there are efforts to revive the language in schools, it is still spoken mostly by older people (most commonly in the country parishes, although the capital has the highest number of declared Jèrriais speakers).
The dialects of Jèrriais differ in phonology and, to a lesser extent, lexis between parishes, with the most marked differences to be heard between those of the west and east.
Many place names are in Jèrriais, and French and English place names are also to be found. Anglicisation of the toponymy increased apace with the migration of English people into the island.
Some Neolithic carvings are the earliest works of artistic character to be found in Jersey.
Only fragmentary wall-paintings remain from the rich mediaeval artistic heritage, after the wholesale iconoclasm of the Calvinist reformation of the 16th century.
Printing only arrived in Jersey in the 1780s, but the Island supported a multitude of regular publications in French (and Jèrriais) and English throughout the 19th century, in which poetry, most usually topical and satirical, flourished John Everett Millais, Elinor Glyn, and Wace are among Jersey's artistic figures. |
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| Lillie Langtry, the Jersey Lily, is the Island's most widely recognised cultural icon. The famous French writer, Victor Hugo, lived in exile in Jersey 1852-1855. The Island is particularly famous for the Battle of Flowers, a carnival held annually since 1902. The Island's patron saint is Saint Helier. |
| Jersey's only newspaper, the Jersey Evening Post, is widely read, being the main printed source of local news and official notices. BBC Radio Jersey provides a radio service, and television news on BBC One Channel Islands. Channel Television is a regional ITV franchise shared with the Bailiwick of Guernsey though its headquarters are in Jersey. Channel 103 is a popular local radio station. |
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| International Relations |
Although diplomatic representation is reserved to the Crown, Jersey negotiates directly with foreign governments on matters within the competence of the States of Jersey. Jersey maintains a permanent non-diplomatic representation in Caen, the Maison de Jersey. A similar office in St. Helier represents the Conseil général of Manche and the Conseil régional of Basse-Normandie and hosts the Consulate of France.
Jersey is a member of the British-Irish Council, the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association and the Assemblée parlementaire de la Francophonie.
The Federal Court of Justice of Germany ruled on 1 July 2002 (case: II ZR 380/00), that under German law, for the purposes of § 110 of the German Civil Procedures Act (ZPO), Jersey is to be deemed part of the UK and part of the EU as well. Jersey is currently considering its stance on the signing of European treaties. Should the UK sign up to the single-currency treaty, Jersey may decline and choose to maintain the Pound on its own, endowed as it is with its own mint and vast economic prosperity as a result of its status as one of the world's largest offshore financial centres.
In a survey carried out in the summer of 2000, 700 people were questioned, with 68% supporting independence from the United Kingdom. Senator (now Deputy) Paul le Claire lodged a projet calling for Jersey's independence shortly thereafter. |
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