Guernsey

History

Rising sea levels transformed Guernsey into the tip of a peninsula jutting out into the emergent English Channel until about 6000 BC, when Guernsey and other promontories were cut off from continental Europe, becoming islands. At this time, Neolithic farmers settled the coasts and created the dolmens and menhirs that dot the islands. The island of Guernsey contains three sculpted menhirs of great archaeological interest; the dolmen known as L'Autel du Dehus also contains a dolmen deity.

During their migration to Brittany, the Britons occupied the Lenur Islands (former name of the Channel Islands) including Lisia (Guernsey) and Angia (Jersey). It was formerly thought that the Island's original name was Sarnia, but recent research shows that to have been the Latin name for Sark. Coming from the kingdom of Gwent, Saint Sampson (abbot of Dol, in Brittany) is credited with the introduction of Christianity to Guernsey.

In 933 the islands, formerly under the control of the kingdom, then Duchy of Brittany were annexed by the Duchy of Normandy. The island of Guernsey and the other Channel Islands represent the last remnants of the medieval Duchy of Normandy. In the islands, Elizabeth II's traditional title as head of state is Duke of Normandy. In fact, locals jokingly refer to England as the colony!

During the English Civil War, Guernsey sided with Parliament, while Jersey remained Royalist. Guernsey's decision was mainly related to the higher proportion of Calvinists and other Reformed churches, as well as Charles I's refusal to take up the case of some Guernsey seamen who had been captured by the Barbary corsairs. The allegiance was not total, however, there were a few Royalist uprisings in the Southwest of the island, while Castle Cornet was occupied by the then Governor, Sir Peter Osbourne, and Royalist troops. Castle Cornet was the last Royalist stronghold to capitulate, in 1651.

During World War I approximately 3,000 island men served in the British Expeditionary Force. Of these, about 1,000 served in the Royal Guernsey Light Infantry regiment which was formed from the Royal Guernsey Militia in 1916.

The Bailiwick of Guernsey was occupied by German troops in World War II. Before the occupation, many Guernsey children were evacuated to England to live with relatives or strangers during the war. Some children were never re-united with their families. During the occupation, some people from Guernsey were deported by the Germans to camps in the southwest of Germany, notably to Biberach an der Riss and interned in the Lindele Camp ("Lager Lindele"). There was also a concentration camp built in Alderney where forced labourers, predominantly from Eastern Europe, were kept. It was the only concentration camp built on British soil and is commemorated on memorials under the Alderney's name in French: 'Aurigny'.

Politics

Template:Main The States of Guernsey, officially called the States of Deliberation, consists of 45 People's Deputies, elected from multi- or single-member districts every four years. There are also two representatives from Alderney, a self-governing dependency of the Bailiwick, but Sark sends no representative. There are also two non-voting members - the Attorney General and the Solicitor General both appointed by the monarch.

Laws made the States are known as Projet(s) de Loi before they are passed and Loi or Law(s) afterwards (e.g. The Human Rights (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law 2000.

A Project de Loi is the equivalent of an English Bill , and a Law is the equivalent of an English Act of Parliament. Laws have no effect until promulgated as Orders-in-Council of the Crown. They are given the Royal Sanction at regular meetings of the | Privy Council in London after, which they are returned to the Islands for formal registration at the Royal Court.

The States also make delegated legislation known as 'Ordinances (Ordonnances)' and 'Orders (Ordres)' which do not require Royal Assent. Commencement orders are usually in the form or Ordinances.

The Lieutenant Governor is the representative of the Crown. The official residence of the Lieutenant Governor is Government House. Since 18 October 2005, the incumbent is Vice-Admiral Sir Fabian Malbon, born in Southsea in 1946 and a serving naval officer 1965-2002. His last naval posting before retirement from the Royal Navy was deputy commander-in-chief of fleet.

Each parish is administered by a Douzaine. Douzeniers are elected for a six year mandate, two Douzeniers being elected by parishioners at a Parish Meeting in November each year. The senior Douzenier is known as the Doyen. Two elected Constables carry out the decisions of the Douzaine, serving for between one and three years. The longest serving Constable is known as the Senior Constable and his or her colleague as the Junior Constable.

The legal system is Guernsey customary derived from Norman French customary law, heavily influenced and overlaid by English common law, justice being administered through a combination of Magistrates Court and the Royal Court. The legal profession is fused - there is no difference between solicitors and barristers as in England: Guernsey Advocates fulfil both roles. The Royal Court is presided over by the Bailiff and 12 Jurats (a permanent elected jury), the ultimate court of appeal being the Judicial Committe of the Privy Council.

Geography

Image:Guernsey sm02.png

At Template:Coor dm, Alderney, Guernsey, Herm, Sark, and some other smaller islands have a total area of 30 square miles (78 sq km) and a coastline of about 30 miles (50  km). By itself, the island of Guernsey has a total area of 24 square miles (63 sq km). Guernsey is situated 30 miles (48 km) west of France's Normandy coast and 75 miles (121 km) south of Weymouth in England and lies in the Gulf of St Malo. Lihou, a tidal island, is attached to Guernsey by a causeway at low tide. The terrain is mostly level with low hills in southwest.

Elevation varies from sea level to 375 feet (114 m) at Le Moulin on Sark. The highest point in mainland Guernsey is Hautnez (363 ft; 110 m), in Alderney at Le Rond But (306 ft; 93 m), in Jethou (248 ft; 75.6 m) and Herm (322 ft; 98 m). Natural resources include cropland.

There is a large, deepwater harbour at St Peter Port.

The climate is temperate with mild winters and cool summers. The hottest months are August and September where temperatures are generally around 79 °F (26 °C). In retrospect, the coldest month is February, when it has snowed for the last two years running. However, the temperature rarely drops below freezing, although strong wind-chill from Arctic winds can sometimes make it feel like it. 50% of the days are overcast.

This said, if Guernsey were part of the United Kingdom, it would be statistically the sunniest place in the region. The island enjoys glorious sunrises and sunsets throughout most of the year.

The Casquets, a group of islets, are notable for the lighthouse facility constructed there.

The island of Guernsey is divided into ten parishes (the parish of St Anne, Alderney is not generally included in the enumeration of parishes in the Bailiwick):

Image:Guernsey.png

Economy

Unlike many countries Guernsey has not delegated money-creation to the central bank and has instead issued interest-free money since 1816. As a result the government has not had to use increasing amounts of tax revenue to repay debt to the central bank, which has lead to low income tax rates, no goods and services tax and no capital gains tax.

Financial services - banking, fund management, insurance, etc. - account for about 55% of total income in this tiny Channel Island economy. Tourism, manufacturing, and horticulture, mainly tomatoes and cut flowers especially freesias have been declining. Light tax and death duties make Guernsey a popular offshore finance centre. However, the evolving economic integration of the European Union nations is changing the rules under which Guernsey operates. Guernsey is currently changing the way its tax system works in order to remain internationally competitive, and is confronting what it terms a financial "black hole" of just over forty million pounds. Guernsey now has the official ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 code GG and the official ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 code GGY; market data vendors, such as Bloomberg, will report products related to Guernsey using the alpha-3 code.

Guernsey issues its own coinage and banknotes. The Guernsey Pound is at par with the British pound. Jersey currency, UK coinage and English and Scottish banknotes also circulate freely and are accepted interchangeably.

Image:GuernseyPostBox.jpg Image:GuernseyTelephoneBox.jpg Public services, such as electricity, gas, and postal services are all operated by independent (from the UK) companies in Guernsey. Both the Guernsey Post post boxes and the telephone boxes are painted blue, but otherwise are identical to their British counterparts, the red pillar box and red telephone box.

Ports and harbours exist at St Peter Port and St Sampson's. There are two paved airports in the bailiwick (Guernsey Airport and Alderney Airport), and 3 miles (5 km) of railways in Alderney.

The Guernsey Railway, which was virtually an electric tramway, and which began working on 20 February 1892, was abandoned on 9 June 1934. It replaced an earlier transport system which was worked by steam, and was named the Guernsey Steam Tramway. The latter began service on 6 June 1879 with six locomotives. This leaves Alderney as the only Channel Island with a working railway.

• [Notes on the Railway taken from The Railway Magazine, September 1934 edition]

Demographics

The population is 65,031, as of 2004. The median age for males is 39.6 years and for females is 41.5 years. The population growth rate is 0.31% with 9.16 births/1,000 population, 9.87 deaths/1,000 population, and 3.84 migrant(s)/1,000 population. The life expectancy is 77.17 years for males and for females. 1.38 children are born per woman. Ethnic groups consist of British and Norman-French descent and Portuguese. The Anglican, Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Baptist, Congregational, and Methodist religions are practised, the most common being the Anglicans and Methodists.

For immigration and nationality purposes the United Kingdom generally treats Guernsey as though it were part of the UK, however Guernsey is constitutionally entitled to restrict immigration by non-Guernsey people and maintains its own immigration and border controls. There are restrictions on those without Guernsey status purchasing or renting property on the island. Although Guernsey's inhabitants are full British citizens, an endorsement restricting the right of establishment in other European Union states is placed in the 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 itself (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland), or who have lived in the United Kingdom for 5 years, are not subject to this restriction.

Culture

Image:Little chapel, Guernsey (1993).jpg English is the only language spoken by a majority of the population, while Dgèrnésiais, the Norman language of the island, is currently spoken fluently by 2% of the population (according to 2001 census). However, 14% of the population claim some understanding of the language and it is taught in a few Island schools. Until the early 20th century French was the only official language. Family and place names reflect this linguistic heritage. Portuguese is taught in a few schools and is spoken by around 2% of the population.

Victor Hugo wrote some of his best-known works while in exile in Guernsey, including Les Misérables. His home in St Peter Port, Hauteville House, is now a museum administered by the city of Paris.

The most well-known work by a Guernseyman is The Book of Ebenezer Le Page, which contains a wealth of factual information on local places and customs[1].

The national animals of the island of Guernsey are the donkey and the Guernsey cow. The traditional explanation for the donkey (âne in French and Dgèrnésiais) is the steepness of St Peter Port streets that necessitated beasts of burden for transport (in contrast to the flat terrain of the rival capital of St Helier in Jersey), although it is also used in reference to Guernsey inhabitants' stubbornness. The Guernsey cow is a more internationally famous icon of the island.

Guernsey people are traditionally nicknamed donkeys or ânes, especially by Jersey people (who in turn are nicknamed crapauds - toads). Inhabitants of each of the parishes of Guernsey also have traditional nicknames, although these have generally dropped out of use among the English-speaking population.

The Guernsey Lily Nerine sarniensis (Sarnia is the traditional name of the island of Guernsey in Latin) is also used as a symbol of the island.

A local delicacy is the ormer (haliotis tuberculata) - a variety of abalone harvested from the beach at low spring tides.

Sport in Guernsey

Guernsey participates in its own right in the Commonwealth Games.

Guernsey participates in the Island Games, which it has hosted. In sporting events in which Guernsey does not have international representation, when the British Home Nations are competing separately, islanders that do have high athletic skill may choose to compete for any of the Home Nations - there are, however, restrictions on subsequent transfers to represent another Home Nation. The football player Matt Le Tissier for example, tried out for the Scotland national football team but ended up playing for England.

The island's traditional colour (e.g. for sporting events) is green.

Guernsey has recently been declared an affiliate member by the ICC (International Cricket Council).

External links

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• States of Guernsey - Official site
• Guernsey Tourism - Official Site
• This Is Guernsey - Local information and news.
• The Guille-Allès Library - Guille-Allès Public Library site
• Map of Guernsey
• Guernsey Airport (EGJB) - Guernsey Airport (EGJB)
• Search Guernsey - Search Local Information

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