Introduction
The Channel Islands consist of 8 islands:
- Jersey
- Guernsey
- Alderney
- Sark
- Herm
- Jethou
- Brecqhou (Brechou)
- Lihou
History
Pre-history
The earliest evidence of human occupation of the Channel Islands has been dated to 250,000 years ago when they were attached to the landmass of continental Europe. The islands became detached by rising sea levels in the Neolithic period. The numerous dolmens and other archaeological sites extant and recorded in history demonstrate the existence of a population large enough and organised enough to undertake constructions of considerable size and sophistication, such as the burial mound at La Hougue Bie in Jersey or the statue menhirs of Guernsey.
From the Iron Age
Hoards of Armorican coins have been excavated, providing evidence of trade and contact in the Iron Age period. Evidence for Roman settlement is sparse, although evidently the islands were visited by Roman officials and traders. The traditional Latin names of the islands (Caesarea for Jersey, Sarnia for Guernsey, Riduna for Alderney) derive (possibly mistakenly) from the Antonine Itinerary. Gallo-Roman culture was adopted to an unknown extent in the islands.
In the 6th century Christian missionaries visited the islands. Samson of Dol, Helier, Marculf and Magloire are among saints associated with the islands. Although originally included within the diocese of Dol, in the 6th century the islands were transferred to the diocese of Coutances, perhaps under the influence of Prætextatus.
From the beginning of the 9th century Norse raiders appeared on the coasts. Norse settlement succeeded initial attacks, and it is from this period that many place names of Norse origin appear, including the modern names of the islands.
From the Duchy of Normandy
The islands were annexed to the Duchy of Normandy in 933. In 1066, William II of Normandy, a vassal to the king of France, invaded and conquered England, becoming William I of England, also known as William the Conqueror. In the period 1204–1214, King John lost the Angevin lands in northern France, including mainland Normandy, to King Philip II of France; in 1259 his successor, Henry III officially surrendered his claim and title to the Duchy of Normandy, while retaining the Channel Islands. Since then, the Channel Islands have been governed as possessions of the Crown separate from the Kingdom of England and its successor kingdoms of Great Britain and the United Kingdom.
The islands were invaded by the French in 1338, who held some territory until 1345. Owain Lawgoch, a mercenary leader of a Free Company in the service of the French Crown, attacked Jersey and Guernsey in 1372, and in 1373 Bertrand du Guesclin besieged Mont Orgueil.[5] Jersey was occupied by the French in the Wars of the Roses from 1461 to 1468. In 1483 a Papal Bull decreed that the islands would be neutral during time of war. This privilege of neutrality enabled islanders to trade with both France and England and was respected until 1689 when it was abolished by Order in Council following the Glorious Revolution in Great Britain.
Various attempts to transfer the islands from the diocese of Coutances (to Nantes (1400), Salisbury (1496) and Winchester (1499)) had little effect until an Order in Council of 1569 brought the islands formally into the diocese of Winchester. Control by the bishop of Winchester was ineffectual as the islands had turned overwhelmingly Calvinist and the episcopacy was not restored until 1620 in Jersey and 1663 in Guernsey.
Sark in the 16th century was uninhabited until colonized from Jersey in the 1560s. The grant of seigneurship from Elizabeth I of England forms the basis of Sark’s constitution today.
Over a dozen windmills are known to have existed in the Channel Isles. They were mostly tower mills used for grinding corn.
From the 17th century
During the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, Jersey held out strongly for the Royalist cause, providing refuge for Charles, Prince of Wales in 1646 and 1649–1650, while the more strongly Presbyterian Guernsey more generally favored the parliamentary cause (although Castle Cornet was, on 15 December 1651, the last Royalist stronghold in the British Isles to surrender).
The islands acquired commercial and political interests in the North American colonies. 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. Sir Edmund Andros of Guernsey was an early colonial governor in North America, and head of the short-lived Dominion of New England.
In the 19th century, wealthy French émigrés fleeing the revolution sought residency in the islands. Many of the town domiciles existing today were built in that time. In Saint Peter Port, a large part of the harbor had been built by 1865.
20th century
The Channel Islands remain covered in German fortifications built in the Second World War.
During the German occupation of Jersey, a stonemason repairing the paving of the Royal Square incorporated a V for victory under the noses of the occupiers. This was later amended to refer to the Red Cross ship Vega. The addition of the date 1945 and a more recent frame has transformed it into a monument.
The islands were the only part of the British Commonwealth to be occupied by the German Forces during World War II.
The British Government demilitarized the islands in June 1940 and the Lieutenant-Governors were withdrawn on 21 June, leaving the insular administrations to continue government as best they could under impending military occupation.
Before German troops landed, between 30 June and 4 July 1940, evacuation took place (many young men had already left to join the Allied armed forces): 6,600 out of 50,000 left Jersey whilst 17,000 out of 42,000 left Guernsey. Thousands of children were evacuated with their schools to England and Scotland.
The Royal Navy blockaded the islands from time to time, particularly following the Invasion of Normandy in June 1944. There was considerable hunger and privation during the five years of German occupation, particularly in the final months when the population was close to starvation. Intense negotiations resulted in some humanitarian aid being sent via the Red Cross, leading to the arrival of the Red Cross supply ship Vega in December 1944.
The German occupation of 1940–45 was harsh: over 2,000 Islanders were deported by the Germans, and Jews were sent to concentration camps; partisan resistance and retribution, accusations of collaboration, and slave labor also occurred. Many Spaniards, initially refugees from the Spanish Civil War, were brought to the islands to build fortifications. Later, Russians and Eastern Europeans continued the work. Many land mines were laid, with 65,718 land mines laid in Jersey alone.
There was no resistance movement in the Channel Islands on the scale of that in mainland France. This has been ascribed to a range of factors including the physical separation of the Islands, the density of troops (up to one German for every two Islanders), the small size of the Islands precluding any hiding places for resistance groups and the absence of the Gestapo from the occupying forces. Moreover, much of the population of military age had joined the British Army already.
The end of the occupation came after VE-Day on 8 May 1945, Jersey and Guernsey being liberated on 9 May. The German garrison in Alderney did not surrender until 16 May, and it was one of the last of the Nazi German remnants to surrender. The first evacuees returned on the first sailing from Great Britain on 23 June, but the people of Alderney were unable to start returning until December 1945. Many of the evacuees who returned home had difficulty reconnecting with their families after five years of separation.
“And our dear Channel Islands are also to be freed to-day.”
Winston Churchill
May 8, 1945
Post-1945
Following the liberation of 1945, reconstruction led to a transformation of the economies of the islands, attracting immigration and developing tourism. The legislatures were reformed and non-party governments embarked on social programmes, aided by the incomes from offshore finance, which grew rapidly from the 1960s.
The islands decided not to join the European Economic Community when the UK joined, and remain outside.
Since the 1990s declining profitability of agriculture and tourism have challenged the governments of the islands.
Thanks to Wikipedia.
