Guernsey
Guernsey

Flag Coat of Arms
The islands of the Bailiwick of Guernsey.
Administration
Political Status	Crown dependency UK
Capital	St. Peter Port 49 27'N 02 32'W / 49.45, 2533
Government - Head of State - Lieutenant Governor - Bailiff - Prime Minister	Elizabeth II Fabian Malbon Geoffrey Rowland Lyndon Trott
Geography
Area	78 km 2
Demography
Population (2007
Other
Time Zone	UTC 0
Internet domain	. Gg
Calling code	44-1481

The Bailiwick of Guernsey ( English : is a crown dependency in the British Channel off the French coasts. In addition to the island of Guernsey itself, it also includes Alderney , Sark , Herm , Jethou , Brecqhou , Burhou and other small islands. With Jersey , they form the archipelago known to the Channel Islands.

In Paleolithic , Guernsey was connected to the mainland. For the French Atlantic coast and the Channel sea level in late glacial (ca. - 16000) was from -130 m to - 8000 was the sea level of -50 meters, the current level with 0 being reached at the Gallo-Roman times. Little remains of the Paleolithic period were discovered. Archaeological levels due to Mesolithic were identified on the island of Lihou walking distance from Guernsey at low tide.

The Neolithic is represented on the island with many megaliths http://www.megalithic.co.uk/search.php?country=12&county=63889042. From the ^nineteenth century , the archaeologist Frederick Corbin Luckas studies them, he searched the rooms above the dolmens and conducts surveys around the menhirs. His work was continued by his son. He directed the first restorations. Lukis's work preserved in Guernsey is substantial with 12,000 pages of records (notes of excavations, drawings of monuments and artefacts ...).

In the north of the island:

• The gallery falls Dehus: the Neolithic grave is located near Bordeaux Harbour in the parish of Valle. In the master bedroom, a mysterious human figure carved in stone, depicting a hunter with a bow and arrows, is called the "Guardian of the Tomb."

• The Vardes: the largest megalithic tomb of Guernsey is located in L'Ancresse.

• The Fouaillages: we think that this mound of Neolithic date 4500 BC and is the only of its kind in all of Western Europe. More than 35,000 archaeological remains have been unearthed: flints , ornaments, tools and pottery.
• Chateau du Valle (Castle Vale) on the site of a fort from the Iron Age , a castle was built in the ^fifteenth century and later enlarged.

On the west coast:

• The Dolmen Tripod: The Tripod has a Chamber composed of twelve three stone pillars supporting the roof. It measures 5.5 m by 2.1 m and is oriented northeast / southwest. According to records of witch trials in ^seventeenth siclehttp : / / www.archive.org/stream/guernseyfolklore00maccuoft/guernseyfolklore00maccuoft_djvu.txt, it would have been a place of rendezvous for the Sabbath on Friday evening. The Devil, disguised as a cat or a black goat, also sat on the dolmen while his disciples, yelling to his glory, danced around him.

• Depth of burial s Faies: this ancient mound was located on a promontory facing the island of Lihou, on the west coast of Guernsey.

South of the island:

• The Gran'mre of Chimquire is a stele anthropomorphic granite located at the door of the parish church of Saint-Martin Bellouze. It measures 1.65 meters above ground and is buried 0.50 m. According to tradition, it would "happiness and fertility to the newlyweds.

The Bronze Age is present on the southern coast where a wall blocks the promontoireau of Corbiere.

The Iron Age and the Gallo-Roman period have also left traces of habitats and burials.

The Guernsey Museum has a small part of the furniture collected during archaeological work.

History

During the migration of Britons to the Armorica in ^the sixth century , they occupied the Channel Islands (islands Lenur then called) who were on their way. At that time, Guernsey was called Lesia. It was part of the kingdom of Britain in ^the ninth century , but was subject to incursions by Vikings at that time. In the year 933, King of France gave the Avranchin and Cotentin (which depended Lesia / Guernsey) the Duke of Normandy William Longsword , dependent for him to conquer.

The island of Guernsey and other Channel Islands represent the last vestiges of the Duchy of medieval Normandy , divided since 1204 between England and France. That year, the King of France Philip Augustus conquered Normandy mainland, the King of England John Lackland keeping meanwhile, the Channel Islands. Despite numerous attempts French, Guernsey and its neighbors will remain under the rule of the King of England, reigning here under the title "Duke of Normandy."

These islands were the only dependent territories to the British throne occupied by Germany during the Second World War and was the scene of Operation Ambassador.

Demographics

Bilingual signs in English and French in Guernsey

Learn Guernsey on the BBC!

Guernsey residents are. In 2001, the population of Guernsey was recorded at 59 807 inhabitants.

The Guernsey Jersey call "donkey" or "Donkey" as their language and they call them in return "toad", since this animal does not exist on Guernsey.

Politics

States of Guernsey, officially called the "States of Deliberation, consists of 59 members, of whom 45 are deputies elected by districts with one or more members every 4 years, and 10 are douzainiers parish representing parish authorities. There are 2 representatives from Alderney and Sark , which are self-governing dependency of the Bailiwick. There are also 2 non-voting members - the Attorney-General and General Counsel, both appointed by the sovereign. The laws passed by states are called 'Orders'.

Government of Guernsey

Since 2004 there is a ministerial system of government. The legal system is derived from Norman law and English.

Feudal System

Without political power or legal for several decades, the feudal system of Guernsey has maintained until today. There are officially 75 fiefdoms, at whose head is a "lord" or "lady". The British Crown in the person of the Duke of Normandy , Queen Elizabeth II has in fact 29 of his strongholds, most of which belonged to abbeys or priories Lower Normandy, before the ^sixteenth century. This fact, in 2004, there were 24 private 46 lords of the manors inherited feudal system , except for two of these 46 estates are in joint ownership between several owners. These fiefs belong to very ancient lineages that gave many local officers, bailiffs, lawyers and aldermen. These few families gather in their hands, as a result of marriages endogamous several small rural strongholds, from shares made during the story, according to the precepts of Norman customary law , still in force.

As in England and according to a centuries-old system, the fiefs may be sold by the Lords to other individuals. Each lord is bound by custom to make the faith and homage to the Duke or his representative. This tribute is sometimes directed at state visits of the Queen in the Channel Islands.

Unlike the lord of Sark , the lords gueurnesiais have kept the only feudal rights, but have lost all their rights properly since stately ^nineteenth century and the next. The Lords played a social role even in the first half of the ^twentieth century. The feudal courts have also practically disappeared, with the exception of short feud Count (Lenfestey family) or the stronghold of the White (the Bailiff of Guernsey, ex officio, Saint-Martin). The steward of a fee, and his officers were usually selected among the inhabitants of the fief, as required by feudal customs. In the example of the stronghold of the White, which once belonged to a priory of the old Abbey of the White (in Neufmesnil , France, English Channel), the court of the fief still consists of the Seneschal, four vavasours, and that officers are the clerk and the clerk, the marshal, a sergeant and a Grenetier . In the fiefs, this court held either in a special room or room rugs, or on a stone bench located on a main axis of the manor. Some of these banks have been preserved.

The 1980 law called due Feudal law has finally ceased the privacy seigneurales remaining charges by transferring the benefit of the Crown. A 2002 law further provides for the abolition in 2003 of the right of "thirteenth" (transfer) in favor of private lords, because of the exemption for farms and fiefs held fiefs francs (lordships). This tax is now up to the Crown. .

The lords and ladies of the largest fiefs Guernsey traditionally sit on the Court of Chief Pleas, with lawyers practicing on the island and the elected constables of the parishes, in its formal sittings "in body" (short or full) three times per year. To serve the lords and ladies must have their fee paid tribute to the Crown or its representative, the Lieutenant-Governor of Guernsey. However, although the presence of lords and ladies is required for these three sessions, they n'opinent in the debate over but respond only to their name. This survival, however, indicates that Guernsey lordships have retained their moral and legal personalities. .

Become owners of several lordships (English Manor), a number of stately homes have been converted into a luxury hotel (Hotel La Barbarie, the stronghold of the White or the Longueville Manor, St-Sauveur) or simply sold, which allows customary law. Some lords have maintained the area rich in rare botanical essences, and open to visitors, such as the manor Sausmarez (Sausmarez Manor) . It still belongs to the family of Sausmarez, one of the oldest on the island with that of De Carteret.

A similar situation exists in Jersey.

Justice

Justice is administered by the Royal Court or Court of Chief Pleas (Court of Chief Pleas), which is composed of professional judges for its regular meetings around the bailiff and aldermen, and official bodies for its three sessions "in body" Annual (including hereditary lords and ladies, and elected constables of the parishes).

International status

The bailiwick of Jersey and Guernsey and the Isle of Man are considered by the Council of Europe (through the Office of Treaty and Legal Services) as territories including the United Kingdom international relations. These territories do not have international legal personality to enable them to be a party to treaties of the Council of Europe. However, when the United Kingdom is party to a treaty of the Council of Europe, it can (in agreement with the territories) declare that the Treaty applies (or not) on these territories.

The absence of legal personality does not mean they are treated in the United Kingdom, whose government has been formed by the former Union of Kingdoms of England and Scotland and Wales Duchy ). But historically, the Duchy of Normandy has never formally ceased to exist as a state (now independent of the Kingdom of France) even though it no longer existed then as his last-lying islands.

Although, previously grouped under the term "British Isles" (British Isles, not to be confused with British Islands), the bailiwicks gained greater autonomy with the creation of states like here in Guernsey, Jersey Independent States.

The question now arises the recognition of the bailiwick of the Crown as a state even without legal personality at international level (which seems to be the case since the creation of "States of Jersey", " States of Guernsey "and" those of Man "(note the plural), and the ongoing modernization of the ancient medieval law.

Municipal Government

Map of parishes of Guernsey

The island of Guernsey is divided into ten administrative districts called parishes :

Lihou , an island accessible at low tide , is part of the parish of Saint-Pierre-du-Bois.

Culture

Languages

On Guernsey , the Norman language of Guernsey, is still spoken by a minority of the population.

A novel by Frederic Lenormand says Victor Hugo's exile to St Peter Port under Napoleon III: "Madmen of Guernsey", Editions Robert Laffont, 1991.

Literature

The author Guernsey normannophone most famously George Metivier. It is the origin of the modern Norman dialect literature. He found his successors in the ^twentieth century with the Society members of Warrant Whale.

Victor Hugo

Victor Hugo statue in Guernsey

Victor Hugo in exile in the Channel Islands

Victor Hugo lived 15 years in exile in Guernsey.

• In 1851, following the coup of Louis Napoleon Bonaparte , future Napoleon III , Victor Hugo was forced into exile in France. After Brussels (1852), he moved to Jersey (1852-55), where he writes the punishment , 98 poems that describe his anger and outrage at the regime of Napoleon III, whom he calls "the little Napoleon." In October 1855, authorities in Jersey expel Victor Hugo. He left Jersey to Guernsey, an island smaller and wilder than Jersey.

• During his 15 years of exile in Guernesey.Victor Hugo has produced some of his greatest works: The contemplations , The legend of the centuries and completed the drafting Miserables.
• In Guernsey, Victor Hugo settles Rue Hauteville in St Peter Port. In April 1856, the success of Contemplations allows him to acquire a large house in the same street, which overlooks the sea and the baptizing Hauteville House. He lives with his wife Adele, his adult children Charles , Franois-Victor and Adele. His mistress Juliette Drouet installs in the same street.

• Despite the amnesty granted to the proscribed republicans by Napoleon III in August 1859, Victor Hugo refuses to regain France. He published in September The Legend of centuries.

• In March 1861, for the first time he went to Belgium. He will travel with Juliette Drouet every year on the continent ( Belgium , Luxembourg , the Ardennes , the Netherlands , Germany ).

• The family of Victor Hugo's hard to bear this exile. Adele fell seriously ill on arrival and show signs of depression. She fled to Canada in 1863 and ended his days in a psychiatric hospital. Charles moved to Paris in 1861 and then to Brussels where his mother Adele and his brother Francois-Victor will join in 1865. Victor Hugo remain at Hauteville with her step-sister.

• In 1866, he paid tribute to the people of Guernsey in his novel The Toilers of the Sea. He wrote in dedication:

"I dedicate this book to the rock of hospitality and liberty, this corner of old Norman land where live the noble little people of the sea, the island of Guernsey, stern and gentle, my present asylum, my probable tomb. "

• Victor Hugo finally leaves Guernsey 15 August 1870 for France, ten days after the proclamation of the Republic and the formation of the Provisional Government. He has spent 19 years in exile.

• He returned to Guernsey in the company of Juliette Drouet in 1872/73, 1875 and a final time in 1878.

Gastronomy

Emblems

Completed.

Economy

Tomatoes under glass

Unlike many countries, Guernsey has not delegated the creation of its currency to a central bank since 1816. Accordingly ^Post

Mailbox Guernsey

The Post has long been a responsibility of the Crown since the opening of the first post office in Jersey in 1894. The Channel Islands, including those of the Bailiwick of Guernsey have therefore used the postage stamps English since the creation of the latter in May 1840. There it is added during the German occupation from 1940 to 1945 stamps apparently local, but in fact issued on behalf of the British Post Office, by Postmasters of the two islands to cope with the inability to source stamps in England.

But since 1969, the postal authority was transferred by the United Kingdom to bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey. Therefore they have each issued their own stamps. and figurines of Guernsey stamps replaced English in this island, and Alderney , Sark and Herm.

Many studies have focused on the philatelic postmarks and stamps postmarked English in Jersey before 1969, including during the German occupation from 1940 to 1945.

Transport

• Ferries: Guernsey is connected by ferry to the UK ( Poole , Portsmouth , Weymouth ) and France ( St Malo , Dielette , Carteret ).

Guernsey, one can also travel by ferry to the nearby islands of Herm , Sark and Alderney.

• Plane: Guernsey Airport is connected to several cities of Great Breatgne London , Manchester , Nottingham / East Midlands, Birmingham , Exeter , Bristol , Southampton , Isle of Man , Plymouth ) but also Dinard , Dublin , Zurich and Geneva.

It also serves the islands of Alderney / Alderney and Jersey ,

Celebrities

• Busker Eustache , pirate of the early ^thirteenth century.
• Thomas de la Rue , printer
• Matthew Le Tissier , football
• Jean Marant , sailor and privateer in the ^fourteenth century who became famous during the Hundred Years War
• Georges Mtivier , poet
• Andy Priaulx , racing driver
• Dennis Price , actor

Fauna, flora

On the island of Guernsey certain animal species such as moles and toads are absent. Flora enjoys very favorable climatic conditions.

Notes

Internal Links

• Archives Service and the island states of Guernsey

External Links

• (In) a href = "http://www.gov.gg/" class = "external text" rel = "nofollow"> Official Website of the States of Guernsey
• (En) Official site of the Guernsey Tourist Board

Notes

British Isles
Sovereign states	Ireland United Kingdom
British Crown Dependencies	Guernsey Isle of Man Jersey
Constituent nations of the United Kingdom	Northern Ireland Scotland Wales England
Political Cooperation	British-Irish Council British-Irish Interparliamentary Body Common Travel Area
Islands	Channel Islands Britain Hebrides Ireland Isle of Man Orkney Shetland Isle of Wight
List of islands	England Ireland Isle of Man Scotland Wales
History	British Isles England Ireland Isle of Man Jersey Scotland UK Wales
State Historical	Kingdom of Scotland Kingdom of England Principality of Wales Kingdom of Ireland United Kingdom of Great Britain UK Irish Free State Kingdom of Man and the Isles
Modern Languages	BSL Cornish English French Guernsey Irish ISL Jersey NISL Manx Scots Ulster Scots Scottish Welsh
Peoples	British Celts Cornish English Irish Travellers Manx Scottish Ulster Scots Welsh

Channel Islands
Bailiwick of Jersey	Jersey The crhou Minquiers Stones Lecq Dirouilles
Bailiwick of Guernsey	Guernsey Alderney Herm Sark Brecqhou Burhou Caskets Jethou Lihou Crevichon Houmet

British territories overseas and Crown Dependencies
Overseas Territories	Anguilla Bermuda Cayman Islands South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Gibraltar Falkland Islands Montserrat Pitcairn Islands St. Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha British Antarctic Territory Territory British Indian Ocean Islands Turkey and Caicos British Virgin Islands
Crown Dependencies	Guernsey Jersey Isle of Man
Bases of sovereignty	Akrotiri and Dhekelia
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