![guernsey]( "guernsey")
Guernsey (/ˈgɜ:nzi/, /ˈɡɜrnzi/ gurn-zee), officially the Bailiwick of Guernsey (French: Bailliage de Guernesey, IPA: [bajaʒ də ɡɛʁnəzɛ]), is a British Crown dependency in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy. As a bailiwick, ![467_guernsey_02]( "467_guernsey_02")
Guernsey embraces not only all ten parishes on the Island of Guernsey, but also the islands of Alderney and Sark – each with its own parliament – and the smaller islands of Herm, Jethou and Lihou. Although its defence is the responsibility of the United Kingdom, the Bailiwick is not part of the United Kingdom but rather a possession of the British Crown. It lies within the Common Travel Area of the British Isles and is not a member of the European Union, but has a special relationship with it, being treated as part of the European Community for the purposes of free trade in goods. Together, the Bailiwick of Guernsey and Bailiwick of Jersey form the geographical grouping known as the Channel Islands.
History of Guernsey
![467_guernsey_03]( "467_guernsey_03")
Around 6000 B.C., rising sea created the English Channel and separated the Norman promontories that became the bailiwicks of Guernsey and Jersey from continental Europe. Neolithic farmers then settled on its coast and built the dolmens and menhirsfound in the islands today.
During their migration to Brittany, Britons occupied the Lenur islands (the former name of the Channel Islands) including Sarniaor Lisia (Guernsey) and Angia (Jersey). It was formerly thought that the island’s original name was Sarnia, but recent research indicates that this might have been the Latin name for Sark.[citation needed] (Sarnia nonetheless remains the island’s traditional designation.) Travelling from the Kingdom of Gwent, Saint Sampson, later the abbot of Dol in Brittany, is credited with the introduction of Christianity to Guernsey.
![467_guernsey_05]( "467_guernsey_05")
In 933 the islands, formerly under the control of William I, then Duchy of Brittany were annexed by the Duchy of Normandy. The island of Guernsey and the other Channel Islands represent the last remnants of the medieval Duchy of Normandy.
During the Middle Ages, the island was haven for Pirates that would use the "Lamping Technique" to ground ships close to her waters . This intensified during the Hundred Years War, when, starting in 1339, the island was occupied by the Capetians on several occasions.
In 1372, the island was invaded by Aragonese mercenaries under the command of Owain Lawgoch (remembered as Yvon de Galles), who was in the pay of the French king. Lawgoch and his dark-haired mercenaries were later absorbed into Guernsey legend as an invasion by fairies from across the sea.
![467_guernsey_05]( "467_guernsey_05")
In the mid-16th century, the island was influenced by Calvinist reformers from Normandy. During the Marian persecutions, three women, the Guernsey Martyrs, wereburned at the stake for their Protestant beliefs.
During the English Civil War, Guernsey sided with the Parliamentarians. The allegiance was not total, however; there were a few Royalist uprisings in the southwest of the island, while Castle Cornet was occupied by the Governor, Sir Peter Osborne, and Royalist troops. Castle Cornet was the last Royalist outpost anywhere in the British Isles to surrender
Wars against France and Spain during the 17th and 18th centuries gave Guernsey shipowners and sea captains the opportunity to exploit the island’s proximity to mainland Europe by applying for Letters of Marque and turning their merchantmen intoprivateers.
![467_guernsey_06]( "467_guernsey_06")
By the beginning of the 18th century, Guernsey’s residents were starting to settle in North America. The 19th century saw a dramatic increase in prosperity of the island, due to its success in the global maritime trade, and the rise of the stone industry.
During World War I, approximately 3,000 island men served in the British Expeditionary Force. Of these, about 1,000 served in theRoyal Guernsey Light Infantry regiment formed from the Royal Guernsey Militia in 1916.
For most of World War II, the Bailiwick was occupied by German troops. Before the occupation, many Guernsey children had been evacuated to England to live with relatives or strangers during the war. Some children were never reunited with their families. The occupying German forces deported some of the Bailiwick’s residents to camps in the southwest of Germany, notably to the Lager Lindele (Lindele Camp) near Biberach an der Riß. Guernsey was very heavily fortified during World War II out of all proportion to the island’s strategic value. German defences and alterations remain visible.
Text from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Filed under:
British,
Ephemera,
Holidays,
Traveling Tagged:
British Railways,
Geurnsey ![]()
![]()
The State of New York may justly congratulate itself on the fact that the barbaric punishment of death by hanging is to be abolished in favour of a more humane and scientific method of execution: as from 1st January 1889, criminals will be put to death by electrocution. The engraving gives an impression of what the ‘electric chair’ will probably look like. The poles of a dynamo are connected by a switching device to a metal electrode clamped round the condemned man’s head, and to the metal seat of the chair, sponges or wet cloths being applied at the points of contact to ensure a perfect electrical connection. Extensive experiments carried out with dogs have shewn that electrocution causes almost instantaneous death, eliminating the gruesome writhing movements of the hanged in the moments before death ensues. There is no doubt that for a civilised country which wishes to put an end to the barbaric horrors of the past the electric chair represents the best method of inflicting the death penalty. 
