Jersey officially
the Bailiwick of Jersey is a Crown dependency located near the coast of
Normandy, France. It is the second closest of the Channel Islands to France,
after Alderney. Jersey was part of the Duchy of Normandy, whose dukes went on
to become 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
and the other Channel Islands remained attached to the English crown.
The bailiwick
consists of the island of Jersey, the largest of the Channel Islands, along
with surrounding uninhabited islands and rocks collectively named Les
Dirouilles, Les Écréhous, Les Minquiers, Les Pierres de Lecq, and other reefs.
Although the bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey are often referred to
collectively as the Channel Islands, the "Channel Islands" are not a
constitutional or political unit. Jersey has a separate relationship to the
Crown from the other Crown dependencies of Guernsey and the Isle of Man, although
all are held by the monarch of the United Kingdom.
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 Lieutenant Governor on the island is the personal
representative of the Queen.
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 definition of United Kingdom in the British Nationality Act 1981 is
interpreted as including the UK and the Islands together. The European
Commission have confirmed in a written reply to the European Parliament in 2003
that Jersey is within the Union as a European Territory for whose external
relationships the UK is responsible. Jersey is not fully part of the European
Union but has a special relationship with it, notably being treated as within
the European Community for the purposes of free trade in goods.
British
cultural influence on the island is evident in its use of English as the main
language and the British pound as its primary currency, even if some people
still speak the Norman language. Additional cultural commonalities include
driving on the left, access to the BBC and ITV regions, a school curriculum
following that of England, and the popularity of British sports, including
cricket.
Censuses have
been undertaken in Jersey since 1821. In the 2011 census, the total resident
population was estimated to be 97,857, of whom 34% live in Saint Helier, the
island's only town. Approximately half the island's population was born in
Jersey; 31% of the population were born elsewhere in the British Isles, 7% in
continental Portugal or Madeira, 8% in other European countries and 4%
elsewhere. The people of Jersey are often called Islanders or, in individual
terms, Jerseyman or Jerseywoman. Some Jersey-born people identify as British.
Received on 27th of April, 2019. Thanks to dear friend Rosmarie Billia-Schlatter of Switzerland.
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