Editing Guernsey (section)

==History==
{{main|History of Guernsey}}
{{see also|Maritime history of the Channel Islands|Archaeology of the Channel Islands|German occupation of the Channel Islands}}

===Early history===
Around 6000&nbsp;BC, rising seas created the [[English Channel]] and separated the [[Normandy|Norman]] [[Promontory|promontories]] that became the bailiwicks of Guernsey and Jersey from [[continental Europe]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=La Cotte Cave, St Brelade |url=http://www.societe-jersiaise.org/whitsco/lacotte1.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080323050028/http://www.societe-jersiaise.org/whitsco/lacotte1.htm |archive-date=23 March 2008 |access-date=10 October 2007 |publisher=Société Jersiaise}}</ref> [[Neolithic]] farmers then settled on its coast and built the [[dolmen]]s and [[menhir]]s found in the islands today, providing evidence of human presence dating back to around 5000 BC.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Guernsey Attractions – Ancient Monuments |url=http://www.islandlife.org/ancient_monuments_gsy.htm |access-date=24 November 2017 |website=Island Life}}</ref>

Evidence of Roman settlements on the island, and the discovery of [[amphora]]e from the [[Herculaneum]] area and Spain, show evidence of an intricate trading network with regional and long-distance trade.<ref>{{harvnb|Sebire|2005|p=107}}</ref> Buildings found in La Plaiderie, [[Saint Peter Port|St. Peter Port]] dating from 100 to 400 AD appear to be warehouses.<ref>{{harvnb|Sebire|2005|p=110}}</ref> The earliest evidence of shipping was the discovery of a wreck of a ship in [[Saint Peter Port Harbour|St Peter Port harbour]], which has been named ''Asterix''. It is thought to be a 3rd-century Roman cargo vessel and was probably at anchor or grounded when a fire broke out.<ref>{{Cite web |date=19 July 2012 |title=Gallo-Roman Ship |url=http://museums.gov.gg/romanship |access-date=22 November 2017 |website=Guernsey Museums & Galleries}}</ref> Travelling from the [[Kingdom of Gwent]], Saint [[Samson of Dol|Sampson]], later the abbot of [[Dol-de-Bretagne|Dol]] in [[Brittany]], is credited with the introduction of [[Christianity]] to Guernsey.<ref name="HoG">{{Cite book |last=Marr |first=James |title=The History of Guernsey – The Bailiwick's Story |date=2001 |publisher=The Guernsey Press |isbn=978-0953916610}}</ref>

===Middle Ages===
In 933, the [[Cotentin Peninsula]], including [[Avranchin]], which included the islands, were placed by the French [[Rudolph of France|King Ranulf]] under the control of [[William I Longsword|William I]]. The island of Guernsey and the other [[Channel Island]]s represent the last remnants of the medieval [[Duchy of Normandy]].<ref name="HoG" />

About the year 1030, the fleet of [[Robert I, Duke of Normandy|Robert, Duke of Normandy]], which was to support the claim of his cousins [[Alfred Aetheling|Alfred]] and [[Edward the Confessor|Edward]] to the English crown against [[Cnut|Canute]], was scattered by a storm, and was driven down the Channel to Guernsey. The Duke was taken to St. Michael's Abbey. In gratitude for the abbot's hospitality, he gave all the lands within the Close of the Vale to the abbot forever as fief of St. Michael, with permission to extend this to the northwestern part of the island as soon as settlers could be found to clear and cultivate the land; and he gave them engineers and workmen to complete the castle of St. Michael and to erect such other forts as were deemed necessary.

Around the middle of the eleventh century, Guernsey was beset by a new breed of pirates who built a castle called Le Château des Sarrasins in the centre of the island near the present church of Catel; [[William the Conqueror|Duke William of Normandy (later the Conqueror)]] commissioned his Esquire Sampson d'Anneville to fight them. As a reward, in 1061 he received half of the western part of the island under the title of Fief d'Anneville. Sampson attracted many emigrants from Normandy to settle on his feudal estate, and Duke William distributed lands in Guernsey to other Norman landowners, such as the estates of Sausmarez, Les Bruniaux de St. Martin, Mauxmarquis, Rohais, etc.

Most of Guernsey was soon cultivated, and around this time the island was divided into ten parishes. Each free fief had a manorial court to hear disputes between tenants, and the Abbot of St. Michael and the Seigneur d'Anneville had the right of high jurisdiction and the privilege of trying and executing criminals, respectively, so that the civil order of the island was fully regulated even before the Norman conquest of England.<ref>{{cite web|work= British History Online|title=Guernsey|url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/topographical-dict/england/pp348-360/ |access-date=13 June 2022}}</ref>

In 1204, when [[John, King of England|King John]] lost the continental portion of the Duchy to [[Philip II of France]], the islands remained part of the Kingdom of England.<ref>{{harvnb|Crossan|2015|p=7}}</ref> The islands were then recognised by the [[Treaty of Paris (1259)|1259 Treaty of Paris]] as part of [[Henry III of England|Henry III]]'s territories.<ref name="Ogier">{{Cite book |last=Ogier |first=Daryl Mark |title=The Government and Law of Guernsey |publisher=The States of Guernsey |year=2005 |isbn=978-0954977504}}</ref>

During the [[Middle Ages]], the island was a haven for pirates that would use the "lamping technique" to ground ships close to the island. This intensified during the [[Hundred Years War]], when, [[English Channel naval campaign, 1338-1339|starting in 1339]], the island was occupied by the [[Capetian dynasty|Capetians]] on several occasions.<ref name="HoG" /> The [[Royal Guernsey Militia|Guernsey Militia]] was first mentioned as operational in 1331 and would help defend the island for a further 600 years.<ref>{{Cite web |date=19 July 2012 |title=Royal Guernsey Militia Regimental Museum |url=http://museums.gov.gg/rgm |access-date=24 September 2017 |website=Guernsey Museums & Galleries}}</ref>

In 1372, the island was invaded by [[Kingdom of Aragon|Aragonese]] mercenaries under the command of [[Owain Lawgoch]] (remembered as ''Yvon de Galles''), who was in the pay of the French king. Owain and his dark-haired mercenaries were later absorbed into Guernsey legend as invading [[Fairy|fairies]] from across the sea.<ref>{{Cite book |last=de Garis |first=Marie |title=Folklore of Guernsey |year=1986 |oclc=19840362}}</ref>

===Early modern period===
As part of the peace between England and France, [[Pope Sixtus IV]] issued in 1483 a [[papal bull]] granting the "Privilege of Neutrality'", by which "the Islands, their harbours and seas, as far as the eye can see," were considered neutral territory.<ref>{{harvnb|Cooper|2006|p=13}}</ref> Anyone molesting Islanders would be excommunicated. A [[Royal charters applying to the Channel Islands|royal charter]] in 1548 confirmed the neutrality. The French attempted to invade Jersey a year later in 1549 but were defeated by the [[Royal Militia of the Island of Jersey|militia]]. The neutrality lasted another century, until [[William III of England]] abolished the privilege due to [[privateer]]ing activity against Dutch ships.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wimbush |first=Henry |title=The Channel Islands |date=1924 |publisher=A&C Black |page=89}}</ref>

In the mid-16th century, the island was influenced by [[Calvinism|Calvinist]] reformers from Normandy. During the [[Marian persecutions]], three women, the [[Guernsey Martyrs]], were [[burned at the stake]] for their [[Protestant]] beliefs,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ogier |first=Daryl Mark |title=Reformation and Society in Guernsey |publisher=Boydell & Brewer |year=1997 |isbn=978-0851156033}}</ref> along with the infant son of one of the women. The burning of the infant was ordered by Bailiff Hellier Gosselin, with the advice of priests nearby who said the boy should burn due to having inherited moral stain from his mother.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://brill.com/view/book/edcoll/9789004364950/B9789004364950_009.xml |chapter=Pleading the Belly: A Sparing Plea? Pregnant Convicts and the Courts in Medieval England |first=Sara M. |last=Butler |title=Crossing Borders: Boundaries and Margins in Medieval and Early Modern Britain |pages=131–152 |editor-last1=Butler |editor-first1=Sara |editor-last2=Kesselring |editor-first2=K. J. |date=2018 |publisher=Brill |doi=10.1163/9789004364950_009 |isbn=978-90-04-33568-4}}</ref> Later on, Hellier Gosselin fled the island to escape widespread outrage.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |date=1972-07-18 |title=The Guernsey Martyrs were burned at the stake |url=https://history.gg/guernsey-martyrs-burned-stake/ |access-date=2024-10-06 |website=On this day in Guernsey}}</ref>

[[File:Jacob Knyff - An English Ship and other Shipping off Castle Cornet, Guernsey - WGA12219.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.35|[[Castle Cornet]] over the harbour of [[St Peter Port]] in the second half of the 17th century]]
During the [[English Civil War]], Guernsey sided with the [[Roundhead|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, [[Peter Osborne (1584-1653)|Sir Peter Osborne]], and Royalist troops. In December 1651, with full honours of war, Castle Cornet surrendered—the last Royalist outpost anywhere in the British Isles to surrender.<ref>{{Cite book |title=The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 65 |page=621}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=19 July 2012 |title=History of the Castle |url=http://www.museums.gov.gg/castlehistory |access-date=19 September 2017 |website=Guernsey Museums & Galleries}}</ref>

Wars against France and Spain during the 17th and 18th centuries allowed Guernsey shipowners and sea captains to exploit the island's proximity to mainland Europe by applying for [[Letter of marque|letters of marque]] and turning their [[cargo ships]] into [[privateer|privateering vessels]].<ref name="Hillman_2011">{{cite journal |last1= Hillman |first1= Henning |last2=Gathmann |first2=Christina |date=2013-03-22 |title=Overseas Trade and the Decline of Privateering |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/23018337 |journal=The Journal of Economic History |volume= 71 |issue= 3 |pages= 730–761 |jstor= 23018337 |access-date=2024-04-18}}</ref><ref name="Timewell_2013">{{cite journal |last1= Timewell |first1=H. C. |date=September 2011 |title=Guernsey Privateers |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00253359.1970.10658533 |journal=The Mariner's Mirror |volume= 56 |issue= 2 |pages= 199–214 |doi= 10.1080/00253359.1970.10658533 |access-date=2024-04-18}}</ref>

By the beginning of the 18th century, Guernsey's residents were starting to settle in North America,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Guernsey's emigrant children |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/legacies/immig_emig/channel_islands/guernsey/article_1.shtml |access-date=22 November 2017 |website=BBC Legacies}}</ref> in particular founding [[Guernsey County, Ohio|Guernsey County]] in Ohio in 1810.<ref>{{harvnb|Jamieson|1986|p=281}}</ref> The threat of invasion by [[Napoleon]] prompted many defensive structures to be built at the end of that century.<ref>{{Cite web |title=18th & 19th Century Defences |url=http://www.museums.gov.gg/defences |access-date=18 September 2017 |website=Guernsey Museums & Galleries|date=19 July 2012 }}</ref> The early 19th century saw a dramatic increase in the prosperity of the island, due to its success in the global [[maritime trade]], and the rise of the stone industry. Maritime trade suffered a major decline with the move away from sailing craft as materials such as iron and steel were not available on the island.<ref>{{harvnb|Jamieson|1986|p=291}}</ref>

[[Braye du Valle, Guernsey|Le Braye du Valle]] was a tidal channel that made the northern extremity of Guernsey, Le Clos du Valle, a [[tidal island]]. Le Braye du Valle was drained and reclaimed in 1806 by the British Government as a defence measure. The eastern end of the former channel became the town and harbour (from 1820) of [[Saint Sampson, Guernsey|St Sampson's]], now the second biggest port in Guernsey. The western end of La Braye is now Le Grand Havre. The roadway called "The Bridge" across the end of the harbour at St Sampson's recalls the bridge that formerly linked the two parts of Guernsey at high tide. New roads were built and main roads were metalled for ease of use by the military.<ref>{{harvnb|Crossan|2015|p=241}}</ref> Infrastructure was funded by [[Money creation|creating money]] debt-free starting in 1815.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Edward Holloway|url=http://archive.org/details/HowGuernseyBeatTheBankers|title=How Guernsey Beat the Bankers}}</ref>

===Contemporary period===
[[File:Guernsey by Sentinel-2.jpg|alt=|thumb|The islands of Guernsey, Herm and Sark (left to right) as seen from space]]
[[File:Guernsey bunker P1860645.jpg|thumb|A German bunker from the [[Atlantic Wall]]]]
During the [[First World War]], about 3,000 island men served in the [[British Expeditionary Force (World War I)|British Expeditionary Force]]. Of these, about 1,000 served in the [[Royal Guernsey Light Infantry]] regiment formed from the [[Royal Guernsey Militia]] in 1916.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Parks |first=Edwin |title=Diex Aix: God Help Us – The Guernseymen who marched away 1914–1918 |publisher=States of Guernsey |year=1992 |isbn=978-1871560855 |location=Guernsey}}</ref>

From 30 June 1940, during the [[Second World War]], the Channel Islands were [[German occupation of the Channel Islands|occupied by German troops]]. Seventeen thousand people from Guernsey's total population of 41,000 were evacuated to England before the German occupation.<ref name="Bunting">{{cite book |last1=Bunting |first1=Madeleine |title=The Model Occupation |date=1995 |publisher=Harper Collins |location=London |isbn=0002552426 |page=21}}</ref> The evacuees included 80 per cent of [[Evacuation of civilians from the Channel Islands in 1940|Guernsey children]] who lived with relatives or strangers in Great Britain during the war. Most children returned home after the war ended in 1945.<ref>{{Cite news |date=12 November 2010 |title=Evacuees from Guernsey recall life in Scotland |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-11708270 |access-date=12 November 2010}}</ref> The occupying German forces [[Deportations from the German-occupied Channel Islands|deported over 1,000 Guernsey residents]] to camps in southern Germany, notably to the [[Oflag V-B|''Lager Lindele'']] (Lindele Camp) near [[Biberach an der Riß]] and to [[Oflag VII-C]] in [[Laufen, Germany|Laufen]]. [[German fortification of Guernsey|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, particularly to Castle Cornet and around the northern coast of the island. Guernsey and Jersey were both liberated on 9 May 1945, now celebrated as [[Liberation Day (Channel Islands)|Liberation Day]] on the two islands.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Learn more about Liberation Day |url=https://www.visitguernsey.com/learn-more-about-liberation-day |access-date=22 November 2017 |website=Visit Guernsey |archive-date=3 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170703223818/https://www.visitguernsey.com/learn-more-about-liberation-day |url-status=dead }}</ref>

During the late 1940s, the island repaired the damage caused to its buildings during the occupation. The tomato industry started up again and thrived until the 1970s when the significant increase in world oil prices led to a sharp, terminal decline.<ref name="Tomato">{{Cite web |title=The tomato growing industry |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/guernsey/content/articles/2009/03/18/tomato_growing_feature.shtml |access-date=23 November 2017 |website=Local History Guernsey |publisher=BBC}}</ref> Tourism has remained important.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Guernsey Tourism Strategic Plan 2015–2025 |url=http://www.guernseytrademedia.com/sites/default/files/master_page_related_downloads/2015/Sep/vg_strategic_plan_2015_aw_web2.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201035822/http://www.guernseytrademedia.com/sites/default/files/master_page_related_downloads/2015/Sep/vg_strategic_plan_2015_aw_web2.pdf |archive-date=1 December 2017 |url-status=live |access-date=23 November 2017 |website=VisitGuernsey Trade and Media}}</ref> Finance businesses grew in the 1970s and expanded in the next two decades and are important employers.<ref name="Crossan17" /> Guernsey's constitutional and trading relationships with the UK are largely unaffected by [[Brexit]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Inside Brexit – Guernsey's Response |url=https://www.weareguernsey.com/media/2090/guernsey-and-brexit.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201031301/https://www.weareguernsey.com/media/2090/guernsey-and-brexit.pdf |archive-date=1 December 2017 |url-status=dead |access-date=23 November 2017 |website=We are Guernsey}}</ref>