Jersey

Jersey ( , ; nrf, label=Jèrriais, Jèrri ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ''Bailliage dé Jèrri''), is an island and self-governing

Crown Dependency

near the coast of north-west

France

. It is the largest of the

Channel Islands

and is 22 kilometres (14 mi) from the

Cotentin Peninsula

in

Normandy

. The Bailiwick consists of the main island of Jersey and some surrounding uninhabited islands and rocks including Les Dirouilles, Les Écréhous, Les Minquiers, and Les Pierres de Lecq.

Jersey was part of the

Duchy of Normandy

, whose dukes became kings of

England

from 1066. After Normandy was lost by the kings of England in the 13th century, and the ducal title surrendered to France, Jersey remained loyal to the

English Crown

, though it never became part of the

Kingdom of England

.

Jersey is a self-governing parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy, with its own financial, legal and judicial systems, and the power of self-determination. The island has a separate relationship with the Crown than the other Crown Dependencies and the Lieutenant Governor represents the

Queen

there. Jersey is not part of the

United Kingdom

, and has an international identity separate from that of the UK, but the UK is constitutionally responsible for the defence of Jersey.

The island has a large financial services industry, which generates 40% of its GVA. British cultural influence on the island is evident in its use of

English

as the main language and Pound sterling as its primary currency. Additional British cultural similarities include: driving on the left, access to British television and newspapers, a school curriculum following that of England, and the popularity of British sports, including

cricket

. The island also has a strong Norman-French culture, such as its ancient Norman language Jèrriais and place names with

French

or Norman origins. The island has close cultural links with its neighbouring islands in the

Bailiwick of Guernsey

. Jersey and its people have been described as a

nation

.

Toponymy

Origin of the name

The

Channel Islands

are mentioned in the Antonine Itinerary as the following: ''Sarnia'', ''Caesarea'', ''Barsa'', ''Silia'' and ''Andium'', but Jersey cannot be identified specifically because none corresponds directly to the present names. The name ''Caesarea'' has been used as the Latin name for Jersey (also in its French version ''Césarée'') since

William Camden

's ''Britannia'', and is used in titles of associations and institutions today. The Latin name ''Caesarea'' was also applied to the colony of New Jersey as ''Nova Caesarea''.

''Andium'', ''Agna'' and ''Augia'' were used in antiquity.

Scholars variously surmise that ''Jersey'' and ''Jèrri'' derive from ''jarð'' (Old Norse for "earth") or ''

jarl

'' (earl), or perhaps the Norse personal name ''Geirr'' (thus ''Geirrsey'', "Geirr's Island"). The ending '' -ey'' denotes an island (as in

Guernsey

or Surtsey).

History

Jersey history is influenced by its strategic location between the northern coast of France and the southern coast of England; the island's recorded history extends over a thousand years.

La Cotte de St Brelade is a Palaeolithic site inhabited before

rising sea levels

transformed Jersey into an island. Jersey was a centre of Neolithic activity, as demonstrated by the concentration of

dolmens

. Evidence of Bronze Age and early Iron Age settlements can be found in many locations around the island.

Additional

archaeological

evidence of Roman influence has been found, in particular at

Les Landes

, the coastal headland site at Le Pinacle, where remains of a primitive structure are attributed to Gallo-Roman temple worship (''fanum'').

Jersey was part of Neustria with the same Gallo-Frankish population as the continental mainland. Jersey, the whole Channel Islands and the

Cotentin peninsula

(probably with the

Avranchin

) came formally under the control of the Duke of Brittany during the

Viking

invasions, because the king of the Franks was unable to defend them, however they remained in the archbishopric of Rouen. Jersey was invaded by Vikings in the 9th century. In 933 it was annexed to the future

Duchy of Normandy

, together with the other Channel Islands, Cotentin and Avranchin, by William Longsword, count of Rouen and it became one of the Norman Islands. When William's descendant,

William the Conqueror

, conquered England in 1066, the Duchy of Normandy and the kingdom of England were governed under one monarch. The Dukes of Normandy owned considerable estates in the island, and Norman families living on their estates established many of the historical Norman-French Jersey family names.

King John

lost all his territories in mainland Normandy in 1204 to

King Philip II Augustus

, but retained possession of Jersey and the other Channel Islands.

In the Treaty of Paris (1259), the English king formally surrendered his claim to the duchy of Normandy and ducal title, and since then the islands have been internally self-governing territories of the English crown and latterly the British crown.

On 7 October 1406, 1,000 French men at arms led by Pero Niño invaded Jersey, landing at St Aubin's Bay and defeated the 3,000 defenders but failed to capture the island.

In the late 16th century, islanders travelled across the North Atlantic to participate in the Newfoundland fisheries. In recognition for help given to him during his exile in Jersey in the 1640s, King

Charles II of England

gave Vice Admiral Sir George Carteret, bailiff and governor, a large grant of land in the American colonies

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