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Jersey

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 in between the Hudson and Delaware rivers, which he promptly named New Jersey. It is now a state in the United States.

Aware of the military importance of Jersey, the British government had ordered that the bailiwick be heavily fortified. On 6 January 1781, a French invasion force of 2,000 men set out to take over the island, but only half of the force arrived and landed. The Battle of Jersey lasted about half an hour, with the British successfully defending the island. There were about thirty casualties on each side, and the British took 600 French prisoners who were subsequently sent to Great Britain. Both of the army commanders were slain.

Trade laid the foundations of prosperity, aided by neutrality between England and France. The Jersey way of life involved agriculture, milling, fishing, shipbuilding and production of woolen goods. 19th-century improvements in transport links brought tourism to the island.

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Liberation Day celebrations in Jersey, 9 May 2012

During the Second World War, some citizens were evacuated to the UK but most remained. Jersey was occupied by Germany from 1 July 1940 until 9 May 1945, when Germany surrendered. During this time the Germans constructed many fortifications using Soviet slave labor. After 1944, supplies from France were interrupted by the D-Day landings, and food on the island became scarce. The SS Vega was sent to the island carrying Red Cross supplies and news of the success of the Allied advance in Europe. During the Nazi occupation, a resistance cell was created by communist activist Norman Le Brocq and the Jersey Communist Party, whose communist ideology of forming a ‘United Front’ led to the creation of the Jersey Democratic Movement. The Channel Islands were one of the last places in Europe to be liberated. 9 May is celebrated as the island’s Liberation Day, where there are celebrations in Liberation Square.

Escalation in a fishing-rights dispute between the Jersey government and French fishers led to an international dispute in May 2021Royal Navy vessels were deployed to prevent a potential blockade by French ships. Previously in March 2021, fishing vessels from Jersey blocked Saint Helier Marina in protest.

Geography:

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Satellite view of Jersey

Jersey is an island measuring 118.2 square kilometers (45.6 sq mi) (or 66,436 vergées), including reclaimed land and intertidal zone. It lies in the English Channel, about 12 nautical miles (22 km; 14 mi) from the Cotentin Peninsula in Normandy, France, and about 87 nautical miles (161 km; 100 mi) south of Great Britain. It is the largest and southernmost of the Channel Islands and part of the British Isles, with a maximum land elevation of 143 m (469 ft) above sea level.

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