Off the coast of the English Channel, Jersey and Guernsey, the two main Channel Islands, have a bit of Normandy in them.
If geography connects them to our continent, history connects them to the British crown and they are therefore governed by the kings and queens of England.
Torn between two nations
Victor Hugo, who lived there for a long time in exile, described the Channel Islands as "pieces of France fallen into the sea and picked up by England".
These islands were conquered by the Normans in 933, then became Anglo-Norman in 1066 with the accession of William the Conqueror to the throne of England.
When the Duchy of Normandy was annexed to the crown of France by Philippe Auguste in 1204, the islands remained the only independent lands.
They are divided into two bailiwicks (Jersey and Guernsey) which have their own governments, laws, tax system, currency……
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