Channel Islands

The Channel Islands are a group of British-dependent islands off the coast of Normandy, France, in the English Channel. They comprise two separate countries: the bailiwick of Guernsey and the bailiwick of Jersey, and have a total population of about 160,000. more...

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Topographical: British
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Geography

The inhabited islands of the Channel Isles are Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, Sark, Herm (the main islands); Jethou, Brecqhou (Brechou), and Lihou. All of these except Jersey are in the Bailiwick of Guernsey, but the Minquiers and Ecréhous as well as the Les Dirouilles and Les Pierres de Lecq (the Paternosters), uninhabited groups of islets, are part of the Bailiwick of Jersey. Burhou and the Casquets lie off Alderney. As a general rule, the larger islands have the -ey suffix, and the smaller ones have the -hou suffix; this is believed to be from the Old Norse ey and holmr respectively.

The Chausey islands south of Jersey are not generally included in the geographical definition of the Channel Islands but occasionally described as 'French Channel Islands' in English in view of their French jurisdiction. They were historically linked to the Duchy of Normandy, but they are part of the French territory along with continental Normandy, and not part of the British Isles or of the Channel Islands in a political sense. They are an incorporated part of the commune of Granville (Manche), and although popular with visitors from France, they are rarely visited by Channel Islanders, as there are no direct transport links from the other islands.

In official Channel Island French (see Jersey Legal French), the Islands are called 'ÃŽles de la Manche', while in France, the term 'ÃŽles anglo-normandes' (Anglo-Norman isles) is used to refer to the British 'Channel Islands' in contrast to other islands in the channel. Chausey is referred to as an 'ÃŽle normande' (as opposed to anglo-normande). 'ÃŽles Normandes' and 'Archipel Normand' have also, historically, been used in Channel Island French to refer to the islands as a whole.

The very large tidal variation provides an environmentally rich inter-tidal zone around the islands.

History

The Islands were annexed to the Duchy of Normandy in 933. In 1066 the Duke William the Conqueror invaded and conquered England, becoming the English monarch. Since 1204, the loss of the rest of the monarch's lands in mainland Normandy has meant that the Channel Islands have been governed as separate possessions of the Crown.

The Bailiwicks have been administered separately from each other since the late 13th century, and although those unacquainted with the Islands often assume they form one political unit, common institutions are the exception rather than the rule. The two Bailiwicks have no common laws, no common elections, and no common representative body (although their politicians consult regularly). There is no common newspaper or radio station, but a common television station, ITV Channel Television.

Read more at Wikipedia.org