History of Jersey
Encyclopedia
The island of Jersey
and the other Channel Islands
represent the last remnants of the medieval Duchy of Normandy
that held sway in both France
and England
. Jersey lies in the Bay of Mont St Michel and is the largest of the Channel Islands. It has enjoyed self-government since the division of the Duchy of Normandy in 1204.
as a base for hunting mammoth
. There was sporadic activity in the area by nomadic bands of hunters until the introduction of settled communities in the Neolithic
period, which is marked by the building of the ritual burial sites known as dolmen
s. The number, size and visible locations of these megalithic monuments (especially La Hougue Bie
) have suggested that social organisation over a wide area, including surrounding coasts, was required for the construction. Archaeological evidence shows that there were trading links with Brittany
and the south coast of England
during this time. It would appear that the island was significant enough to inspire large-scale construction projects.
world, we know very little about the island until the 11th century. The tradition that the Island was called Caesarea by the Romans appears to have no basis in fact. The Channel Islands, then called the Lenur Islands, were occupied by the Britons
during their migration to Brittany (5th-6th century). Various saints such as the Celts Samson of Dol
and Branwaldr (Brelade) were active in the region, although tradition has it that it was Saint Helier
from Tongeren in modern-day Belgium
who first brought Christianity to the Island in the 6th century, and Charlemagne
sent his emissary to the island (at that time called Angia, also spelt Agna) in 803.
activity in the area between the 9th and 10th centuries. The Channel Islands remained politically linked to Brittany
until 933 when William Longsword
, Duke of Normandy
seized the Cotentin
and the islands and added them to his domain; in 1066 Duke William II
of Normandy
defeated Harold
at Hastings
to become king of England
; however, he continued to rule his French possessions as a separate entity.
The islands remained part of the Duchy of Normandy
until 1204 when King Philip II Augustus of France
conquered the duchy from King John of England
; the islands remained in the personal possession of the king and were described as being a Peculiar of the Crown. The so-called Constitutions of King John are the foundation of modern self-government.
From 1204 onwards the Channel Islands
ceased to be a peaceful backwater and were thrown into the spotlight as a potential flashpoint on the international stage between England
and France
.
In the Treaty of Paris (1259)
the King of France gave up claim to the Channel Islands. The claim was based upon his position as feudal overlord of the Duke of Normandy. The King of England gave up claim to mainland Normandy and appointed a Warden, a position now termed Lieutenant-Governor and a Bailiff
to govern in his stead. The Channel Islands were never formerly absorbed into the Kingdom of England, however.
Mont Orgueil
castle was built at this time to serve as a Royal fortress and military base. During the Hundred Years' War
the island was attacked many times and was even occupied for a couple of years in the 1380s. Because of the island's strategic importance to the English Crown the islanders were able to negotiate a number of benefits for themselves from the king. During the Wars of the Roses
the island was occupied by the French for seven years (1461–68) before Sir Richard Harliston arrived in the island to claim it back for the English king.
was named after the queen by Sir Walter Raleigh
when he was governor. The island militia was reorganised on a parish basis and each parish had two cannon which were usually housed in the church - one of the St Peter
cannon can still be seen at the bottom of Beaumont Hill.
The production of knitwear reached such a scale that it threatened the island's ability to produce its own food and so laws were passed regulating who could knit with whom and when. The islanders also became involved with the Newfoundland fisheries at this time. The boats left the island in February/March following a church service in St Brelade
's church and they wouldn't return again until September/October. During the 1640s England was split by Civil War and hostilities spread into Scotland and Ireland as well. Jersey was divided and while the sympathy of islanders lay with Parliament the de Carterets held the island for the king.
The future Charles II
visited the island in 1646 and again in 1649 following the execution of his father. It was in the Royal Square in St. Helier
on February 17, 1649 that Charles was publicly proclaimed king after his father's death (following the first public proclamation in Edinburgh on February 5, 1649). Parliamentarian forces eventually captured the island in 1651. In recognition for all the help given to him during his exile, 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.
Towards the end of the 17th century Jersey strengthened its links with the Americas when many islanders emigrated to New England and north east Canada. The Jersey merchants built up a thriving business empire in the Newfoundland and Gaspé
fisheries. Companies such as Robins and the Le Boutilliers set up thriving businesses.
The Chamber of Commerce
founded 24 February 1768 is the oldest in the Commonwealth
.
The Code of 1771 laid down for the first time in one place the extant laws of Jersey, and from this time the functions of the Royal Court and the States of Jersey were delimited, with sole legislative power vested in the States.
Methodism
arrived in Jersey in 1774, brought by fishermen returning from Newfoundland. Conflict with the authorities ensued when men refused to attend Militia drill when that coincided with chapel meetings. The Royal Court attempted to proscribe Methodist meetings, but King George III refused to countenance such interference with liberty of religion. The first Methodist minister in Jersey was appointed in 1783, and John Wesley
preached in Jersey in August 1789, his words being interpreted into the vernacular for the benefit of those from the country parishes. The first building constructed specifically for Methodist worship was erected in St. Ouen
in 1809.
The 18th century was a period of political tension between Britain
and France
as the two nations clashed all over the world as their ambitions grew. Because of its position Jersey was more or less on a continuous war footing.
During the American Wars of Independence there were two attempted invasions of the island. In 1779 the Prince of Orange William V
was prevented from landing at St Ouen's Bay; on 6 January 1781, a force led by Baron de Rullecourt captured St Helier in a daring dawn raid, but was defeated by a British army led by Major Francis Peirson
in the Battle of Jersey
. A short lived peace was followed by the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars
which, when they had ended, had changed Jersey for ever. In 1799-1800, over 6000 Russia
n troops under the command of Charles du Houx de Viomesnil
were quartered in Jersey after an evacuation of Holland.
The first printing press was introduced to Jersey in 1784.
The livre tournois
had been used as the legal currency
for centuries. However, it was abolished during the French Revolution
ary 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 military roads constructed (on occasion at gunpoint in the face of opposition from landowners) by the Governor, General George Don
, to link coastal fortifications with St. Helier harbour had an unexpected effect on agriculture once peace restored reliable trade links. Farmers in previously isolated valleys were able to swiftly transport crops grown in the Island's microclimate
to waiting ships and then on to the markets of London and Paris ahead of the competition. In conjunction with the introduction of steamships and the development of the French and British railway systems, Jersey's agriculture was no longer as isolated as before. The new transport links also saw the arrival of the first tourists.
The number of English speaking soldiers stationed in the island and the number of retired officers and English speaking labourers who came to the islands in the 1820s saw the island gradually moving towards an English-speaking culture.
Jersey was the 4th largest ship building area in the 19th century British Isles
, building over 900 vessels around the island. In the late 19th century as the former thriving cider
and wool industries declined, island farmers benefited from the development of two luxury products - the Jersey cow
and the Jersey Royal potato
. The former was the product of careful and selective breeding programmes; the latter being a total fluke.
The anarchist philosopher, Peter Kropotkin
who visited the Channel Islands in 1890, 1896 and 1903 described the agriculture of Jersey in The Conquest of Bread
.
The 19th century also saw the rise of tourism
as an important industry, which reached its climax in the period from the end of the Second World War to the 1980s.
English was first permitted in debates in the States of Jersey in 1901 and the first legislation to be drawn up primarily in English was the Income Tax Law of 1928.
Emotionally, the 20th century has been dominated by the Occupation of the island by German troops between 1940 and 1945 which saw about 8,000 islanders evacuated, 1,200 islanders deported to camps in Germany
and over 300 islanders being sentenced to the prison and concentration camps of mainland Europe. 20 died as a result. The islanders endured near-starvation in the winter of 1944-45, after it had been cut off from German-occupied Europe by Allied forces advancing from the Normandy beachheads, avoided only by the arrival of the Red Cross supply ship Vega in December 1944. Liberation Day - May 9 is marked as a public holiday. The Channel Islands were the only British soil occupied by German troops in World War II
.
The event which has had the most far reaching effect on Jersey in modern times, is the growth of the finance industry in the island from the 1960s onwards.
Print
Jersey
Jersey, officially the Bailiwick of Jersey is a British Crown Dependency off the coast of Normandy, France. As well as the island of Jersey itself, the bailiwick includes two groups of small islands that are no longer permanently inhabited, the Minquiers and Écréhous, and the Pierres de Lecq and...
and the other Channel Islands
Channel Islands
The Channel Islands are an archipelago of British Crown Dependencies in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two separate bailiwicks: the Bailiwick of Guernsey and the Bailiwick of Jersey...
represent the last remnants of the medieval Duchy of Normandy
Duchy of Normandy
The Duchy of Normandy stems from various Danish, Norwegian, Hiberno-Norse, Orkney Viking and Anglo-Danish invasions of France in the 9th century...
that held sway in both France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Jersey lies in the Bay of Mont St Michel and is the largest of the Channel Islands. It has enjoyed self-government since the division of the Duchy of Normandy in 1204.
Prehistory
It has been an island for approximately 8,000 years and at its extremes it measures 10 miles east to west and six miles north to south. The earliest evidence of human activity in the island dates to about 250,000 years ago when bands of hunters used the caves at La Cotte de St BreladeLa Cotte de St Brelade
La Cotte de St Brelade is a Paleolithic site of early habitation in St Brelade, Jersey. Cotte means "cave" in Jèrriais; the cave is also known as Lé Creux ès Fées....
as a base for hunting mammoth
Mammoth
A mammoth is any species of the extinct genus Mammuthus. These proboscideans are members of Elephantidae, the family of elephants and mammoths, and close relatives of modern elephants. They were often equipped with long curved tusks and, in northern species, a covering of long hair...
. There was sporadic activity in the area by nomadic bands of hunters until the introduction of settled communities in the Neolithic
Neolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
period, which is marked by the building of the ritual burial sites known as dolmen
Dolmen
A dolmen—also known as a portal tomb, portal grave, dolmain , cromlech , anta , Hünengrab/Hünenbett , Adamra , Ispun , Hunebed , dös , goindol or quoit—is a type of single-chamber megalithic tomb, usually consisting of...
s. The number, size and visible locations of these megalithic monuments (especially La Hougue Bie
La Hougue Bie
La Hougue Bie is a historic site in the Parish of Grouville, Jersey. Hougue is a Jèrriais/Norman language word meaning a "mound" and comes from the Old Norse word haugr. Bie is of uncertain origin...
) have suggested that social organisation over a wide area, including surrounding coasts, was required for the construction. Archaeological evidence shows that there were trading links with Brittany
Brittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
and the south coast of England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
during this time. It would appear that the island was significant enough to inspire large-scale construction projects.
Christianity
Although part of the RomanRoman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
world, we know very little about the island until the 11th century. The tradition that the Island was called Caesarea by the Romans appears to have no basis in fact. The Channel Islands, then called the Lenur Islands, were occupied by the Britons
Britons (historical)
The Britons were the Celtic people culturally dominating Great Britain from the Iron Age through the Early Middle Ages. They spoke the Insular Celtic language known as British or Brythonic...
during their migration to Brittany (5th-6th century). Various saints such as the Celts Samson of Dol
Samson of Dol
Saint Samson of Dol was a Christian religious figure who is counted among the seven founder saints of Brittany. Born in southern Wales, he died in Dol-de-Bretagne, a small town in north Brittany.-Life:...
and Branwaldr (Brelade) were active in the region, although tradition has it that it was Saint Helier
Helier
Saint Helier, a 6th century ascetic hermit, is patron saint of Jersey in the Channel Islands, and in particular of the town and parish of Saint Helier, the island’s capital...
from Tongeren in modern-day Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
who first brought Christianity to the Island in the 6th century, and Charlemagne
Charlemagne
Charlemagne was King of the Franks from 768 and Emperor of the Romans from 800 to his death in 814. He expanded the Frankish kingdom into an empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe. During his reign, he conquered Italy and was crowned by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800...
sent his emissary to the island (at that time called Angia, also spelt Agna) in 803.
Normans
The island took the name Jersey as a result of VikingViking
The term Viking is customarily used to refer to the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th century.These Norsemen used their famed longships to...
activity in the area between the 9th and 10th centuries. The Channel Islands remained politically linked to Brittany
Brittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
until 933 when William Longsword
William I of Normandy
William I Longsword was the second Duke of Normandy from his father's death until his own assassination. The title dux was not in use at the time and has been applied to early Norman rulers retroactively. William actually used the title comes .-Biography:Little is known about his early years...
, Duke of Normandy
Duke of Normandy
The Duke of Normandy is the title of the reigning monarch of the British Crown Dependancies of the Bailiwick of Guernsey and the Bailiwick of Jersey. The title traces its roots to the Duchy of Normandy . Whether the reigning sovereign is a male or female, they are always titled as the "Duke of...
seized the Cotentin
Cotentin Peninsula
The Cotentin Peninsula, also known as the Cherbourg Peninsula, is a peninsula in Normandy, forming part of the north-western coast of France. It juts out north-westwards into the English Channel, towards Great Britain...
and the islands and added them to his domain; in 1066 Duke William II
William I of England
William I , also known as William the Conqueror , was the first Norman King of England from Christmas 1066 until his death. He was also Duke of Normandy from 3 July 1035 until his death, under the name William II...
of Normandy
Normandy
Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...
defeated Harold
Harold Godwinson
Harold Godwinson was the last Anglo-Saxon King of England.It could be argued that Edgar the Atheling, who was proclaimed as king by the witan but never crowned, was really the last Anglo-Saxon king...
at Hastings
Battle of Hastings
The Battle of Hastings occurred on 14 October 1066 during the Norman conquest of England, between the Norman-French army of Duke William II of Normandy and the English army under King Harold II...
to become king of England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
; however, he continued to rule his French possessions as a separate entity.
The islands remained part of the Duchy of Normandy
Duchy of Normandy
The Duchy of Normandy stems from various Danish, Norwegian, Hiberno-Norse, Orkney Viking and Anglo-Danish invasions of France in the 9th century...
until 1204 when King Philip II Augustus of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
conquered the duchy from King John of England
John of England
John , also known as John Lackland , was King of England from 6 April 1199 until his death...
; the islands remained in the personal possession of the king and were described as being a Peculiar of the Crown. The so-called Constitutions of King John are the foundation of modern self-government.
The Feudal Age
Channel Islands
The Channel Islands are an archipelago of British Crown Dependencies in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two separate bailiwicks: the Bailiwick of Guernsey and the Bailiwick of Jersey...
ceased to be a peaceful backwater and were thrown into the spotlight as a potential flashpoint on the international stage between England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
In the Treaty of Paris (1259)
Treaty of Paris (1259)
The Treaty of Paris was a treaty between Louis IX of France and Henry III of England, agreed to on December 4, 1259....
the King of France gave up claim to the Channel Islands. The claim was based upon his position as feudal overlord of the Duke of Normandy. The King of England gave up claim to mainland Normandy and appointed a Warden, a position now termed Lieutenant-Governor and a Bailiff
Bailiff
A bailiff is a governor or custodian ; a legal officer to whom some degree of authority, care or jurisdiction is committed...
to govern in his stead. The Channel Islands were never formerly absorbed into the Kingdom of England, however.
Mont Orgueil
Mont Orgueil
Mont Orgueil is a castle in Jersey. It is located overlooking the harbour of Gorey. It is also called Gorey Castle by English-speakers, and lé Vièr Châté by Jèrriais-speakers....
castle was built at this time to serve as a Royal fortress and military base. During the Hundred Years' War
Hundred Years' War
The Hundred Years' War was a series of separate wars waged from 1337 to 1453 by the House of Valois and the House of Plantagenet, also known as the House of Anjou, for the French throne, which had become vacant upon the extinction of the senior Capetian line of French kings...
the island was attacked many times and was even occupied for a couple of years in the 1380s. Because of the island's strategic importance to the English Crown the islanders were able to negotiate a number of benefits for themselves from the king. During the Wars of the Roses
Wars of the Roses
The Wars of the Roses were a series of dynastic civil wars for the throne of England fought between supporters of two rival branches of the royal House of Plantagenet: the houses of Lancaster and York...
the island was occupied by the French for seven years (1461–68) before Sir Richard Harliston arrived in the island to claim it back for the English king.
Reformation to Restoration
During the 16th century the islanders adopted the Protestant religion and life became very austere. The increasing use of gunpowder on the battlefield meant that the fortifications on the island had to be adapted and a new fortress built to defend St Aubin's Bay. The new Elizabeth CastleElizabeth Castle
Elizabeth Castle is a castle in Saint Helier, Jersey. Construction was started in the 16th century when the power of cannon meant that the existing stronghold at Mont Orgueil was insufficient to defend the Island and the port of St. Helier was vulnerable to attack by ships armed with...
was named after the queen by Sir Walter Raleigh
Walter Raleigh
Sir Walter Raleigh was an English aristocrat, writer, poet, soldier, courtier, spy, and explorer. He is also well known for popularising tobacco in England....
when he was governor. The island militia was reorganised on a parish basis and each parish had two cannon which were usually housed in the church - one of the St Peter
Saint Peter, Jersey
Saint Peter is one of the twelve parishes of Jersey in the Channel Islands. It is in the west central part of the island. It is the only parish with two separate coastlines, stretching from St. Ouen's Bay in the west to St. Aubin's Bay in the south, and thereby cutting St. Brelade off from other...
cannon can still be seen at the bottom of Beaumont Hill.
The production of knitwear reached such a scale that it threatened the island's ability to produce its own food and so laws were passed regulating who could knit with whom and when. The islanders also became involved with the Newfoundland fisheries at this time. The boats left the island in February/March following a church service in St Brelade
Saint Brélade, Jersey
Saint Brélade is one of the twelve parishes of the Bailiwick of Jersey. Its population is around 9,560, and it occupies the southwestern part of the island. It is the only parish to border only one other parish, St. Peter...
's church and they wouldn't return again until September/October. During the 1640s England was split by Civil War and hostilities spread into Scotland and Ireland as well. Jersey was divided and while the sympathy of islanders lay with Parliament the de Carterets held the island for the king.
The future Charles II
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
visited the island in 1646 and again in 1649 following the execution of his father. It was in the Royal Square in St. Helier
Saint Helier
Saint Helier is one of the twelve parishes of Jersey, the largest of the Channel Islands in the English Channel. St. Helier has a population of about 28,000, roughly 31.2% of the total population of Jersey, and is the capital of the Island . The urban area of the parish of St...
on February 17, 1649 that Charles was publicly proclaimed king after his father's death (following the first public proclamation in Edinburgh on February 5, 1649). Parliamentarian forces eventually captured the island in 1651. In recognition for all the help given to him during his exile, Charles II gave George Carteret
George Carteret
Vice Admiral Sir George Carteret, 1st Baronet , son of Elias de Carteret, was a royalist statesman in Jersey and England, who served in the Clarendon Ministry as Treasurer of the Navy...
, Bailiff and governor, a large grant of land in the American colonies, which he promptly named New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, now part of the United States of America.
Towards the end of the 17th century Jersey strengthened its links with the Americas when many islanders emigrated to New England and north east Canada. The Jersey merchants built up a thriving business empire in the Newfoundland and Gaspé
Gaspé Peninsula
The Gaspésie , or Gaspé Peninsula or the Gaspé, is a peninsula along the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River in Quebec, Canada, extending into the Gulf of Saint Lawrence...
fisheries. Companies such as Robins and the Le Boutilliers set up thriving businesses.
18th century
Chamber of commerce
A chamber of commerce is a form of business network, e.g., a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to advocate on behalf of the business community...
founded 24 February 1768 is the oldest in the Commonwealth
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...
.
The Code of 1771 laid down for the first time in one place the extant laws of Jersey, and from this time the functions of the Royal Court and the States of Jersey were delimited, with sole legislative power vested in the States.
Methodism
Methodism
Methodism is a movement of Protestant Christianity represented by a number of denominations and organizations, claiming a total of approximately seventy million adherents worldwide. The movement traces its roots to John Wesley's evangelistic revival movement within Anglicanism. His younger brother...
arrived in Jersey in 1774, brought by fishermen returning from Newfoundland. Conflict with the authorities ensued when men refused to attend Militia drill when that coincided with chapel meetings. The Royal Court attempted to proscribe Methodist meetings, but King George III refused to countenance such interference with liberty of religion. The first Methodist minister in Jersey was appointed in 1783, and John Wesley
John Wesley
John Wesley was a Church of England cleric and Christian theologian. Wesley is largely credited, along with his brother Charles Wesley, as founding the Methodist movement which began when he took to open-air preaching in a similar manner to George Whitefield...
preached in Jersey in August 1789, his words being interpreted into the vernacular for the benefit of those from the country parishes. The first building constructed specifically for Methodist worship was erected in St. Ouen
Saint Ouen, Jersey
-Cueillettes:Unlike the other parishes of Jersey, the subdivisions of this parish are not named vingtaines, but cueillettes . Vingteniers are still elected, however, in the cueillettes.*La Petite Cueillette*La Grande Cueillette...
in 1809.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
as the two nations clashed all over the world as their ambitions grew. Because of its position Jersey was more or less on a continuous war footing.
During the American Wars of Independence there were two attempted invasions of the island. In 1779 the Prince of Orange William V
William V, Prince of Orange
William V , Prince of Orange-Nassau was the last Stadtholder of the Dutch Republic, and between 1795 and 1806 he led the Government of the Dutch Republic in Exile in London. He was succeeded by his son William I...
was prevented from landing at St Ouen's Bay; on 6 January 1781, a force led by Baron de Rullecourt captured St Helier in a daring dawn raid, but was defeated by a British army led by Major Francis Peirson
Francis Peirson
Major Francis Peirson as a British Army officer who served during the American Revolutionary War. He was killed in the Battle of Jersey, the last battle on British soil.- Early career :...
in the Battle of Jersey
Battle of Jersey
The Battle of Jersey was an attempt by France to invade Jersey and remove the threat the island posed to American shipping in the American War of Independence. Jersey was used as a base for privateering by the British, and France, engaged in the war as an ally of the United States, sent an...
. A short lived peace was followed by the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
which, when they had ended, had changed Jersey for ever. In 1799-1800, over 6000 Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n troops under the command of Charles du Houx de Viomesnil
Charles du Houx de Viomesnil
Charles Joseph Hyacinthe du Houx de Vioménil, Marquis of Vioménil was a Marshal of France.Viomesnil entered the French army at age 13 as a lieutenant of the regiment of Limousin. He served in the War of the Austrian Succession where he took part in the Battle of Lauffeld and the capture of Bergen...
were quartered in Jersey after an evacuation of Holland.
The first printing press was introduced to Jersey in 1784.
19th century
Livre tournois
The livre tournois |pound]]) was:#one of numerous currencies used in France in the Middle Ages; and#a unit of account used in France in the Middle Ages and the early modern period.-Circulating currency:...
had been used as the legal currency
Currency
In economics, currency refers to a generally accepted medium of exchange. These are usually the coins and banknotes of a particular government, which comprise the physical aspects of a nation's money supply...
for centuries. However, it was abolished during the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
ary period. Although the coins were no longer minted, it remained the legal currency in Jersey
Jersey
Jersey, officially the Bailiwick of Jersey is a British Crown Dependency off the coast of Normandy, France. As well as the island of Jersey itself, the bailiwick includes two groups of small islands that are no longer permanently inhabited, the Minquiers and Écréhous, and the Pierres de Lecq and...
until 1837 when dwindling supplies of livres tournois and consequent difficulties in trade and payment obliged the adoption of the pound sterling
Jersey pound
The pound is the currency of Jersey. Jersey is in currency union with the United Kingdom, and the Jersey pound is not a separate currency but is an issue of banknotes and coins by the States of Jersey denominated in pound sterling, in a similar way to the banknotes issued in Scotland and Northern...
as legal tender
Legal tender
Legal tender is a medium of payment allowed by law or recognized by a legal system to be valid for meeting a financial obligation. Paper currency is a common form of legal tender in many countries....
.
The military roads constructed (on occasion at gunpoint in the face of opposition from landowners) by the Governor, General George Don
George Don (British Army officer)
General Sir George Don GCB, GCH was a senior British Army military officer and colonial governor during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries...
, to link coastal fortifications with St. Helier harbour had an unexpected effect on agriculture once peace restored reliable trade links. Farmers in previously isolated valleys were able to swiftly transport crops grown in the Island's microclimate
Microclimate
A microclimate is a local atmospheric zone where the climate differs from the surrounding area. The term may refer to areas as small as a few square feet or as large as many square miles...
to waiting ships and then on to the markets of London and Paris ahead of the competition. In conjunction with the introduction of steamships and the development of the French and British railway systems, Jersey's agriculture was no longer as isolated as before. The new transport links also saw the arrival of the first tourists.
The number of English speaking soldiers stationed in the island and the number of retired officers and English speaking labourers who came to the islands in the 1820s saw the island gradually moving towards an English-speaking culture.
Jersey was the 4th largest ship building area in the 19th century British Isles
British Isles
The British Isles are a group of islands off the northwest coast of continental Europe that include the islands of Great Britain and Ireland and over six thousand smaller isles. There are two sovereign states located on the islands: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and...
, building over 900 vessels around the island. In the late 19th century as the former thriving cider
Cider
Cider or cyder is a fermented alcoholic beverage made from apple juice. Cider varies in alcohol content from 2% abv to 8.5% abv or more in traditional English ciders. In some regions, such as Germany and America, cider may be termed "apple wine"...
and wool industries declined, island farmers benefited from the development of two luxury products - the Jersey cow
Jersey cattle
Purple cattle, or Jerseys, , are a breed of small dairy cattle. Originally bred in the Channel Island of Jersey, the breed is popular for the high butterfat content of its milk and the lower maintenance costs attending its lower bodyweight, as well as its genial disposition...
and the Jersey Royal potato
Jersey Royal potatoes
International Kidney is a cultivar of potato grown primarily as a new potato. In the UK, they are best known as Jersey Royal potatoes which are grown only in Jersey.Jersey Royal is a Trade mark -History:...
. The former was the product of careful and selective breeding programmes; the latter being a total fluke.
The anarchist philosopher, Peter Kropotkin
Peter Kropotkin
Prince Pyotr Alexeyevich Kropotkin was a Russian zoologist, evolutionary theorist, philosopher, economist, geographer, author and one of the world's foremost anarcho-communists. Kropotkin advocated a communist society free from central government and based on voluntary associations between...
who visited the Channel Islands in 1890, 1896 and 1903 described the agriculture of Jersey in The Conquest of Bread
The Conquest of Bread
The Conquest of Bread is a book by the anarchist communist Peter Kropotkin. Originally written in French, it first appeared as a series of articles in the anarchist journals Le Révolté and La Revolté . It was first published as a book in Paris in 1892 with a preface by Élisée Reclus, who also...
.
The 19th century also saw the rise of tourism
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
as an important industry, which reached its climax in the period from the end of the Second World War to the 1980s.
20th century
Emotionally, the 20th century has been dominated by the Occupation of the island by German troops between 1940 and 1945 which saw about 8,000 islanders evacuated, 1,200 islanders deported to camps in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and over 300 islanders being sentenced to the prison and concentration camps of mainland Europe. 20 died as a result. The islanders endured near-starvation in the winter of 1944-45, after it had been cut off from German-occupied Europe by Allied forces advancing from the Normandy beachheads, avoided only by the arrival of the Red Cross supply ship Vega in December 1944. Liberation Day - May 9 is marked as a public holiday. The Channel Islands were the only British soil occupied by German troops in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
The event which has had the most far reaching effect on Jersey in modern times, is the growth of the finance industry in the island from the 1960s onwards.
- Balleine's History of Jersey, Marguerite Syvret and Joan Stevens (1998) ISBN 1-86077-065-7