Jersey - what's so significant about 1204?
Listener's query
"I was on holiday in Jersey in August. Jersey had been celebrating 800 years of allegiance to the English crown. Can you explain it for me, because I could not quite get my head round what it was all about. Surely 1066 was when the English Crown got involved? William the Conqueror was Duke of Normandy and at the Norman Conquest the Channel Islands - which were already his - became allied to England. The events of 1204 - when, apparently, King John lost Normandy - seem minor in comparison. Can you sort it out for me? What's so special about 1204?"
Brief summary
The Channel Islands were annexed to Normandy in 933. In 1066, Duke William of Normandy invaded and conquered England, becoming King (William the Conqueror). In 1199 King John was invested as Duke of Normandy on the death of his brother, Richard I, and was crowned King of England. But in 1204 King John lost Normandy. The Capetian King of France, Phillipe Augustus, invaded Normandy and seized Maine, Touraine, Anjou and Brittany from King John who retreated to England. Thus John lost most of the French possessions which had come to the Plantagenets since the time of Henry II. The Normandy barons supported John's feudal lord, King Phillip II of France, who had declared the dukedom to be forfeit, while the English barons, dissatisfied with his rule, would do nothing to help the English king.
However, Jersey and the Channel Islands stayed with England. This was for two main reasons. First, King John poured money for defences into Jersey - fortifications against the French can still be seen all around the island. King John himself ordered Mont Orgueil Castle to be built to guard the approaches to the island's east coast. He built castles, posted garrisons and used the latest naval technology, all at the expense of the Crown and not the islanders.
The will of the islanders was also to maintain the Plantagenet allegiance. Their interest was to remain with King John, a calculation which they soon made. The constitutional relationship with the UK began then - the Channel Islands, Jersey and Guernsey, are not subject to the British Parliament but owe their allegiance to the monarch in council. The island's judicial system is independent of the English courts and Jersey is free from UK taxes. The relationship evolved over 800 years and some aspects of Jersey's life even predate 1204. Jersey is now governed under the British monarch in council by the Assembly of the States, in which the Bailiff presides over 12 Senators, 12 Constables and 29 Deputies, all elected by the people. The Lieutenant Governor and Crown Officers have seats but are not permitted to vote.
Further reading
Sir James Holt and Judith Everard, Jersey 1204 - the Forging of an Island Community (Thames and Hudson, 2004)
George Balleine, History of Jersey (Phillimore, 1998)
John Gillingham, The Angevin Empire (Hodder Arnold, 2000)
Jim Bradbury, Philip Augustus, King of France (Longman, 1997)
Stephen Church, editor, King John: New Interpretations (Boydell and Brewer, 1999)
John Le Patourel, Feudal Empires: Norman and Plantagenet (Hambledon and London, 1984)
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Vanessa has presented听science and current affairs programmes for 大象传媒, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5 and Discovery and has presented for 大象传媒 Radio 4 & Five Live and a regular contributor to the Daily Telegraph and the Mail on Sunday, Scotsman and Sunday Herald.听