Jersey is a small island off the coast of France, it’s special because although you can see France from its shores it’s British. The island is steeped in history, and is known the world over for the Jersey cow and Jersey Royal potato. It boasts beautiful beaches, a mild sunny climate and has its own system of Government, its own language, and its own notes and coins. Today it has a thriving financial sector and although its tourism industry has reduced, there are many luxury hotels and spas to attract travellers to its shores.
Jersey is one of the Channel islands, the other islands are Guernsey, Alderney, Sark, Herm and the privately owned Brecqhou (owned by the Barclay Brothers).
How big is Jersey?
Jersey is actually quite small, a huge lump of granite that rises out of the English Channel in the Bay of Mont St. Michel. It measures just five miles by nine miles, that’s 45 square miles in total. More than 85,000 people live in Jersey, although there are housing restrictions so somebody who isn’t from the island can’t just come in to live and buy any house they want. The exception to this are what’s called the 1(1)Ks, (one, one Ks) or high value residents. These are the multi-millionaires who are allowed to settle in the island under a special agreement with the Government that they contribute a certain amount in tax to the island each year.
Language and Road names
One of the first things tourists notice is the proliferation of French road names and house names. Jersey was ruled by the Normans until 1204 when a descendant of William, King John went to war with France and lost. The people of the Channel islands were then given a choice, they had to pledge their allegiance to England or France. They chose England, and the islands have remained under British protection ever since.
English is the main language, but there is a special Jersey Norman-French called Lé Jerriais. Only a small proportion of the population can speak Jerriais and the language like many of its kind was dying out. There has been a move in recent years to revive it and now schoolchildren are able to study it if they want. Around ten percent of the population are from Madeira and so there is quite a large Portuguese speaking community on the island.
Government
Jersey has its own parliament called the States of Jersey which is an elected assembly. There is no party political system, all of the Senators, Deputies and Constables who are elected to the States are independent candidates. Jersey is a dependency of the British Crown, but it is not part of the United Kingdom. It’s not a full member of the EU either.
Jersey is split into parishes, there are twelve in total: St Brelade, St Clement, St Helier, St John, St Lawrence, St Martin, St Mary, St Peter, St Ouen, St Saviour and Trinity. There is also a unique system of Honorary Police which are based in each Parish and assist the States of Jersey Police.
Industry and Economy
In the 1960s Jersey’s finance industry began to develop and it’s now the largest employer on the island. The island used to be known for its knitting, hence the name for a jumper of a ‘Jersey’. They didn’t just knit jumpers, but socks as well and the manufacture of knit wear reached such high levels that a law was passed regulating who could knit and when otherwise nothing else got done.
Jersey had close links with Newfoundland, helping to develop its fishing industry, and for a while became one of the largest shipbuilding areas in the British isles, building wooden boats. Cider making became big business and the island’s fields were planted with apple orchards. The small hedged fields that you can see today are a legacy of this time as the hedges were built to protect the apples from harsh sea winds.
From the late 19th century though the Jersey cow and potato came to dominate farming and sheep and apples almost disappeared from the island. Tomatoes were a popular export for a while with glass houses springing up everywhere, but this method of growing has become uneconomical and the export of tomatoes to the UK all but ceased in 2009.
Early History
Jersey wasn’t always an island. Around 8,000 years previous it was part of a land mass linked to France until the sea levels rose and cut it off. The waters between the two are to this day relatively shallow and the island has one of the largest tidal reaches in the world. Evidence of humans from 250,000 years ago has been found, and in one section of the island, the caves at La Cotte de St. Brelade, archaeologists have discovered that man hunted mammoths there by driving them off the steep cliffs.
More recently the island has been scarred and altered by the occupation of the Germans in the Second World War. There’s a fantastic exhibition at Jersey War Tunnels, which was built by slave labour during the occupation.
Things to do and see on Jersey
For such a small island Jersey has an amazing amount of things to see and do. From the castles of Mont Orgueil and Elizabeth Castle to surfing and water sports. It’s also home to Durrell the wildlife conservation trust. Each year islanders celebrate the Battle of Flowers spectacle and in September there is the very popular Air Display. It’s favoured by walkers and cyclists and its harbour is always filled with visiting yachtsmen and women.
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