London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, Oct 25, 2025

How tiny Jersey has played an outsized role in English history

How tiny Jersey has played an outsized role in English history

The last time the English and French fought over Jersey, the English won.

For an island of just 45-square-miles that is mere spitting distance from the shores of mainland France, Jersey has often played an outsized role in British history.

During the English Civil War, it was Jersey that offered sanctuary on two occasions to King Charles II after the execution of his father, Charles I, by Oliver Cromwell’s parliamentarians. In 1649, Charles II was proclaimed King of England in St Helier’s Royal Square.

Charles II’s son, James, later granted the island’s governor, George De Carteret, a vast tract of land in North America which, named for the island, would become the state of New Jersey.

Jersey’s neighbouring island and rival, Guernsey, supported the parliamentarians during the English Civil War and, as such, has arguably remained in the shadow of its royalist neighbour ever since.

Jersey residents often hark even further back for the island’s links with England. The island, a mere 14 miles from France, became part of England after the Norman Conquest in 1066.

After King John lost his family’s vast French empire in 1204, Jersey was given the option of remaining part of England or joining France with the rest of Normandy. Jersey chose England and in return, was given the power to raise its own taxes independent of the crown.

Tax haven


In doing so, John - one of England’s most-maligned monarchs, not least in the stories of Robin Hood - invented the tax haven, a status that continues to enrich the tiny island 800 years on.

More recently, in June 1940 Jersey became the only part of the British Isles to be occupied by the Nazis, and remained under German occupation until May 1945. Jersey became something of an obsession for Adolf Hitler, who heavily fortified the island with military bunkers and tunnels.

The liberation of the island by British forces on May 9, 1945, is celebrated on May 9 every year in Jersey while everything from the local beer, Liberation Ale, to St Helier’s bus station, the poetic ‘Liberation Station’, pays homage to its freedom from the Nazi yoke 75 years ago.

But despite its patriotism, Jersey has always retained close cultural links with France, its closest neighbour. Although almost extinct, the island’s patois is a dialect of Norman French known as jèrriais and its roads, boroughs and many of its people have French rather than English names.

St Helier, the capital of Jersey.


Daily ferries connect Jersey from the port of St Malo, in Brittany, and there is a less frequent service to Granville, in Normandy. Many islands have second homes on the French coast and the short hop across the water to France is rarely taxing for an experienced sailor.

But in May 2021, it is not yachts but fishing boats that have pulled Jersey into the centre of a political storm. French fishermen, angered by new regulations since Brexit, blockaded the island’s harbour, prompting the UK to send two Royal Navy vessels to Jersey waters.

Meanwhile, France has sent two military vessels, the Athos and the Themis, according to French maritime authorities, following the arrival of the HMS Severn and HMS Tamar from Britain. Around 50 boats remain outside the port at St Helier in protest.

Dimitri Rogoff, who heads a grouping of fishermen, told Associated Press news agency: “This isn't an act of war,” Rogoff said in a phone interview. “It's an act of protest.”

This is good because when it comes to war between the French and the English in the Channel Islands, the English have traditionally had the upper hand.

The Battle of Jersey, by John Singleton Copley


In 1781, French forces attempted to invade the island but were seen off by a contingent of troops led by 24-year-old Major Frances Peirson, who took command of the British forces after the French took Governor Major Moses Corbet captive and forced him to surrender.

Peirson wasn’t going to take it lying down. He led the British in a furious battle in St Helier’s Royal Square, at the end of which the British were triumphant but both Peirson and the leader of the French forces, Baron de Rollecourt, were dead.

The bullet that killed Peirson remains lodged in the wall of a shop just off the square to this day, opposite the building in which De Rollecourt died having been taken injured.

That building is now a popular island pub, called The Peirson.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
China and Russia Deploy Seductive Espionage Networks to Infiltrate U.S. Tech Sector
Apple’s ‘iPhone Air’ Collapses After One Month — Another Major Misstep for the Tech Giant
Graham Potter Begins New Chapter as Sweden Head Coach on Short-Term Deal
Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa Alleges Poison Plot via Chocolate and Jam
Lakestar to Halt External Fundraising as Investor in Revolut and Spotify
U.S. Innovation Ranking Under Scrutiny as China Leads Output Outputs but Ranks 10th
Three Men Arrested in London on Suspicion of Spying for Russia
Porsche Reverses EV Strategy as New CEO Bets on Petrol and Hybrids
Singapore’s Prime Minister Warns of ‘Messy’ Transition to Post-American Global Order
Andreessen Horowitz Sets Sights on Ten-Billion-Dollar Fund for Tech Surge
US Administration Under President Donald Trump Reportedly Lifts Ban on Ukraine’s Use of Storm Shadow Missiles Against Russia
‘Frightening’ First Night in Prison for Sarkozy: Inmates Riot and Shout ‘Little Nicolas’
White House Announces No Imminent Summit Between Trump and Putin
US and Qatar Warn EU of Trade and Energy Risks from Tough Climate Regulation
Apple Challenges EU Digital Markets Act Crackdown in Landmark Court Battle
Nicolas Sarkozy begins five-year prison term at La Santé in Paris
Japan stocks surge to record as Sanae Takaichi becomes Prime Minister
This Is How the 'Heist of the Century' Was Carried Out at the Louvre in Seven Minutes: France Humiliated as Crown with 2,000 Diamonds Vanishes
China Warns UK of ‘Consequences’ After Delay to London Embassy Approval
France’s Wealthy Shift Billions to Luxembourg and Switzerland Amid Tax and Political Turmoil
"Sniper Position": Observation Post Targeting 'Air Force One' Found Before Trump’s Arrival in Florida
Shouting Match at the White House: 'Trump Cursed, Threw Maps, and Told Zelensky – "Putin Will Destroy You"'
Windows’ Own ‘Siri’ Has Arrived: You Can Now Talk to Your Computer
Thailand and Singapore Investigate Cambodian-Based Prince Group as U.S. and U.K. Sanctions Unfold
‘No Kings’ Protests Inflate Numbers — But History Shows Nations Collapse Without Strong Executive Power
Chinese Tech Giants Halt Stablecoin Launches After Beijing’s Regulatory Intervention
Manhattan Jury Holds BNP Paribas Liable for Enabling Sudanese Government Abuses
Trump Orders Immediate Release of Former Congressman George Santos After Commuting Prison Sentence
S&P Downgrades France’s Credit Rating, Citing Soaring Debt and Political Instability
Ofcom Rules BBC’s Gaza Documentary ‘Materially Misleading’ Over Narrator’s Hamas Ties
Diane Keaton’s Cause of Death Revealed as Pneumonia, Family Confirms
Former Lostprophets Frontman Ian Watkins Stabbed to Death in British Prison
"The Tsunami Is Coming, and It’s Massive": The World’s Richest Man Unveils a New AI Vision
Outsider, Heroine, Trailblazer: Diane Keaton Was Always a Little Strange — and Forever One of a Kind
Dramatic Development in the Death of 'Mango' Founder: Billionaire's Son Suspected of Murder
Two Years of Darkness: The Harrowing Testimonies of Israeli Hostages Emerging From Gaza Captivity
EU Moves to Use Frozen Russian Assets to Buy U.S. Weapons for Ukraine
Europe Emerges as the Biggest Casualty in U.S.-China Rare Earth Rivalry
HSBC Confronts Strategic Crossroads as NAB Seeks Only Retail Arm in Australia Exit
U.S. Chamber Sues Trump Over $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
Shenzhen Expo Spotlights China’s Quantum Step in Semiconductor Self-Reliance
China Accelerates to the Forefront in Global Nuclear Fusion Race
Yachts, Private Jets, and a Picasso Painting: Exposed as 'One of the Largest Frauds in History'
Australia’s Wedgetail Spies Aid NATO Response as Russian MiGs Breach Estonian Airspace
McGowan Urges Chalmers to Cut Spending Over Tax Hike to Close $20 Billion Budget Gap
Victoria Orders Review of Transgender Prison Placement Amid Safety Concerns for Female Inmates
U.S. Treasury Mobilises New $20 Billion Debt Facility to Stabilise Argentina
French Business Leaders Decry Budget as Macron’s Pro-Enterprise Promise Undermined
Trump Claims Modi Pledged India Would End Russian Oil Imports Amid U.S. Tariff Pressure
×