Why doesn't France own the Channel Islands? (Short Animated Documentary)

The Channel Islands lie just over a dozen miles off the coast of France and six times closer to it than England. In spite of its proximity and the centuries of warfare between the two, it remained in English and later British hands. So why? To find out watch this short and simple animated history documentary.

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[phillipsesate]

The islands did fall to Germany during WW2 which was the only main British territories to be occupied

[Edmonton-ofec]

Despite the lack of overlapping claims, the Channel Islands are still peculiar. They’re organized into the Bailiwicks of Guernsey and Jersey (the Jersey that makes New Jersey new) while the island of Sark (under the Bailiwick of Guernsey) has its own seigneur or dame (hereditary lord or lady) that has passed through 3 families since the middle of the 19th century, currently in the hands of the 23rd seigneur, Christopher Beaumont

[wariodude]

I like how he called one of the British monarchs King John the Only. Makes sense, since just about every other monarch had a number after their names.

[zibbitybibbitybop]

The story of how the Dame of Sark resisted the Nazis when they occupied the Channel Islands is great. She spoke fluent German, and basically stymied them with all kinds of aristocratic decorum, a combination of genteel persuasion, constant veiled jabs, and bureaucratic harassment. The German officers didn't want to admit to being some sort of uncultured barbarians, so they never outright did anything about it.

[charlesrichardson]

As someone from Jersey, it’s a welcome surprise seeing one of my favourite YouTubers covering our little islands.

[MiguelPerez-zxwg]

You forgot that during WW2, when France fell to Germany, the Germans were able to take over the island. They had about a minimum of 5000 troops stations on those islands, and even after D-day, the allies didn't bother to liberate the island until after Germany finally surrendered in May 1945. And after the news about the fall of the Third Riech, the remaining garrisons soon surrender.

[ObliviAce]

This was probably the most simplest reason for Britain owning an island in some random area in the world ever.

[guilainlepiouffle]

Guy living in Jersey here. Finally a video about our very interesting Channel islands. Thank you.

[ash]

Strictly speaking they don't belong to the United Kingdom per se, they're Crown Dependencies and therefore technically belong to the Monarchy

[HeisenbergFam]

History Matters's 7 years of dedication educating people with occasional humor and dope commentary is respectable

[canadasharm]

I live in Normandy just next to those islands. The best part is before WW2, both the people of these islands and the people of Normandy used to share the same culture and even close languages.
Everything changed because at that time, speaking a local language was a bag no-no in France, and many children of Channel Islands were educaced in England due to the war.
Centuries of conflicts between France and England did not changed the fact we were Norman on the continent or the islands. Then came the 20th century

[roguenetwork]

Can you do a video on the Continuation War and the repercussions of it for Finland?

[cedricl.marquard]

2:26 that is actually kind of wild. The fact that he anglo-french rivalry that so many of us see as ageold and everpresent in history, largely stopped over 200 years ago is interesting.

[AudieHolland]

For those interested, two tv-series I watched set on the Channel Islands:
- Bergerac (1981-1991) about a police detective, later private investigator, solving crimes;
- Enemy At The Door (1978-1980), detailing how the local population and the German occupiers try to get along;

I watched Bergerac back in the 1980s and it's a decent English crime series, showing a lot of the island of Jersey, though later seasons it's more and more in France.
The other tv-series I caught on the internet and it's a bit like Colditz (1972-1974) although not confined to a single location.
I mean, serious British WW2 tv-series, like Secret Army (1977-1979).

[dougmhd]

Fun fact: there is a statue of Duke Rollo in Fargo, North Dakota. It's one of three replicas of a statue finished in 1865 by a French sculptor. It currently stands at the entrance of Fargo's Sons of Norway Lodge.

[anttibjorklund]

0:13

I love the determination for the accuracy of even the smallest details.


Also: *insert obligatory James Bissonette joke here*

[CrazyCrapaud]

Thank you for this. So great to see one of the Channel Islands.

Just to say the French tried again in 1781 in the Battle of Jersey.
Also there was a legal claim made in 1950s for Les Minquiers and Les Échrehous. The French did manage to hold onto Chausey

[NorseNorman]

As a Channel Island historian, I wish to make a few comments about the territorial sovereignty of the Channel Islands:
Despite some claiming that the Channel Islands had at some point 'belonged' to France and was 'stolen' by England. Firstly, the Channel Islands were a part of the duchy of Normandy, which never took their allegiance to the French king with any degree of seriousness (and often fought against France to assert its sovereignty).
Secondly, England did not take the Channel Islands from France. If anything, it was the Normans who conquered England in 1066. When the author William Thackeray asked the famous Jersey painter John Millais "when did England conquer Jersey", Millais replied "Never! It was Jersey that conquered England!". Indeed, the claim of historical French sovereignty over Jersey can be debunked by the 1204 plebiscite, where the landowners of Jersey and Guernsey pledged allegiance to the King of England over the King of France, after the latter conquered mainland Normandy. France did temporarily occupy each Channel Island for very short periods (for only a couple of years at a time, 2 or 3 times during the middle ages) and conducted numerous raids (and fun war crimes) throughout the years. The last attempt was not long before Napoleon, in 1781 during the famous battle of Jersey when the French invaded Jersey and were beaten off the island by a British counterattack. This battle was technically a part of the American war of independence and was the only land battle of the war that took place in Europe.
Thirdly, the French have actually disputed the sovereignty of the Channel Islands up until the 1950s, when the dispute about the ownership of some of fishing hut islands on Jersey's reefs. The International Court of Justice ruled against France's claims and awarded the islands to Jersey (although French far-right and nationalist groups have made illegal incursions to the islands to this day). Nowadays, the jurisdiction of Jersey's territorial waters are still very much in dispute, especially with regards to fishing rights, with French trawlers still being caught on an irregular basis illegally fishing in our waters.

Also, a quick correction; the Channel Islands were never 'English' as they were never a part of England. Because of this, the monarch of Britain is known in the Channel Islands as the Duke of Normandy (even the Queen was called the duke, as there is no title of 'duchess' in Norman Law). Indeed, when Queen Elizibeth visited French Normandy, she was greeted with chants of "Vive la Duchesse!", to which she corrected them by stating that she was in fact the DUKE!

[amb]

Nicely timed video, I've just come back from a holiday in Guernsey, one the channel islands. Forts everywhere, medieval, Napolionic or German. Thoroughly enjoyed my time there. But most importantly the residents are staunchly British!

[soly-dp-colo]

French here. Fun fact: the Hundred Years' War was actually 116 years long, and it was mostly on and off conflict. So no one knows exactly how much fighting there was.