Chausey
Encyclopedia
Chausey is a group of small island
s, islets and rocks off the coast of Normandy
, in the English Channel
. It lies 17 kilometres (10.6 mi) from Granville
, and forms a quartier of the Granville commune
, in the Manche
département. Chausey forms part of the Channel Islands
from a geographical point of view, but because it is under French
jurisdiction it is almost never mentioned in the context of the other Channel Islands. There are no scheduled transport links between Chausey and the other Channel Islands, although between two and four daily shuttles link Chausey to mainland France, depending on the season.
The -ey ending of the name Chausey may be assumed to be associated with the Norse -ey (meaning island) seen in Jersey
, Guernsey
and Alderney
.
annexed the Channel Islands
including Chausey, Minquiers
and Ecrehos. In 1022, Richard II, Duke of Normandy
, gave Chausey and the barony of Saint-Pair-sur-Mer
, to the Benedictine
monks of Mont Saint-Michel
, who built a priory
on the Grande île
.
The Islands became subject to the Kingdom of England
following the conquest of England
by William, Duke of Normandy in 1066. However, in 1202, in a conflict with King John, Philip Augustus of France, claiming feudal overlordship of Normandy, summoned the English King
to answer charges or forfeit all lands which he held in fee of the King of France. John refused to appear and, in 1204, Philip occupied continental Normandy although he failed in his attempts to occupy the islands in the Channel. The 1259 Treaty of Paris confirmed the loss of Normandy but the retention of the "islands (if any) which the King of England should hold" under Suzerainty
of the King of France. The vassalage requirement was extinguished in the Treaty of Calais of 1360.
Chausey was for a long time an object of rivalry between England
and France. Although the United Kingdom Government has contended that, until about 1764, Chausey belonged to England, Chausey, unlike its Channel Islands neighbours, has, in fact, been French for centuries. It was administered from Jersey
until 1499, when it was abandoned to the French for reasons unknown. The Jersey historian Alec Podger has suggested that it was too costly in terms of money and manpower to control and, as the Islands were not on the sea-lanes, it was decided that this cost was not justified by the benefits. As a site of piracy and smuggling
, this maze of islands was for a long time a den valued by seafarers engaged in illegal business. The Sound, the natural channel
running along the Grande île, or the Passe Beauchamp, were ideally secluded anchorages.
The fortress of Matignon was built in the mid-16th century, and was a quadrangular fort with a round tower, cellars, a bakery, and a cattle shed. This was expanded in 1740, and is today known as Château Renault, after the automobile engineer Louis Renault
who purchased it and restored it in the early 20th century. This fortress, however, was not considered sufficient to repel potential British invasions, and so Napoleon III ordered the construction of the present fort in 1859. It was complete by 1866, but ceased to be a military site in 1906. It was used to shelter 300 German and Austrian prisoners of war during the First World War, and was garrisoned by German soldiers during the Second World War. Today the fort serves as the homes of several fishermen.
is one of the largest in Europe, with up to 14 metres (45.9 ft) difference between low and high tide. The islands consist of a granitic
geological formation, which has been subjected to erosion by sea and wind. Sandbars connect several parts of Chausey.
Grand Île is the only inhabited island of the group, with a population of around 30. In summer the population increases, due to the tourism which constitutes an essential activity on the island, with nearly 200,000 annual visitors. Several tourist businesses operate on the island, including a hotel, restaurant and shop. Besides tourism, fishing is the main economic activity. Lobster, shrimp
, conger
, bass
and mullet
are caught, while mussel
s and oyster
s are farmed. Until 1989, a cattle farm operated on the island. The island's granite was formerly quarried, and the stone exported. Chausey stone was used in the construction of Mont Saint Michel.
The typical boats of Chausey are the doris (dory
), a flat-bottomed boat traditionally propelled by oars or nowadays an engine, used by the fishermen, and the canot chausiais, a small clinker-built
sailing boat used for pleasure. Every August, the Chausey Regatta takes place on the first weekend of the neap tide. The festivities last all weekend, during which several boat races are organized.
Island
An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...
s, islets and rocks off the coast of Normandy
Normandy
Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...
, in the English Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
. It lies 17 kilometres (10.6 mi) from Granville
Granville, Manche
-Sights:The old town preserves all the history of its military and religious past. The lower town was partly built on land reclaimed from the sea. The upper part of the old town is surrounded by ramparts from the fifteenth century...
, and forms a quartier of the Granville commune
Communes of France
The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. French communes are roughly equivalent to incorporated municipalities or villages in the United States or Gemeinden in Germany...
, in the Manche
Manche
Manche is a French department in Normandy named after La Manche , which is the French name for the English Channel.- History :Manche is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790...
département. Chausey forms part of the Channel Islands
Channel Islands
The Channel Islands are an archipelago of British Crown Dependencies in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two separate bailiwicks: the Bailiwick of Guernsey and the Bailiwick of Jersey...
from a geographical point of view, but because it is under French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
jurisdiction it is almost never mentioned in the context of the other Channel Islands. There are no scheduled transport links between Chausey and the other Channel Islands, although between two and four daily shuttles link Chausey to mainland France, depending on the season.
The -ey ending of the name Chausey may be assumed to be associated with the Norse -ey (meaning island) seen in Jersey
Jersey
Jersey, officially the Bailiwick of Jersey is a British Crown Dependency off the coast of Normandy, France. As well as the island of Jersey itself, the bailiwick includes two groups of small islands that are no longer permanently inhabited, the Minquiers and Écréhous, and the Pierres de Lecq and...
, Guernsey
Guernsey
Guernsey, officially the Bailiwick of Guernsey is a British Crown dependency in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy.The Bailiwick, as a governing entity, embraces not only all 10 parishes on the Island of Guernsey, but also the islands of Herm, Jethou, Burhou, and Lihou and their islet...
and Alderney
Alderney
Alderney is the most northerly of the Channel Islands. It is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a British Crown dependency. It is long and wide. The area is , making it the third-largest island of the Channel Islands, and the second largest in the Bailiwick...
.
History
In 933, the Duchy of NormandyDuchy of Normandy
The Duchy of Normandy stems from various Danish, Norwegian, Hiberno-Norse, Orkney Viking and Anglo-Danish invasions of France in the 9th century...
annexed the Channel Islands
Channel Islands
The Channel Islands are an archipelago of British Crown Dependencies in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two separate bailiwicks: the Bailiwick of Guernsey and the Bailiwick of Jersey...
including Chausey, Minquiers
Minquiers
The Minquiers are a group of islands and rocks situated 9 miles south of Jersey forming part of the Bailiwick of Jersey....
and Ecrehos. In 1022, Richard II, Duke of Normandy
Duke of Normandy
The Duke of Normandy is the title of the reigning monarch of the British Crown Dependancies of the Bailiwick of Guernsey and the Bailiwick of Jersey. The title traces its roots to the Duchy of Normandy . Whether the reigning sovereign is a male or female, they are always titled as the "Duke of...
, gave Chausey and the barony of Saint-Pair-sur-Mer
Saint-Pair-sur-Mer
Saint-Pair-sur-Mer is a commune in the Manche department in Normandy in north-western France.-References:* -External links:*...
, to the Benedictine
Benedictine
Benedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy. The most notable of these is Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by Benedict...
monks of Mont Saint-Michel
Mont Saint-Michel
Mont Saint-Michel is a rocky tidal island and a commune in Normandy, France. It is located approximately one kilometre off the country's north-western coast, at the mouth of the Couesnon River near Avranches...
, who built a priory
Priory
A priory is a house of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or religious sisters , or monasteries of monks or nuns .The Benedictines and their offshoots , the Premonstratensians, and the...
on the Grande île
Grande-Île, Normandy
Grande-Île is the largest of the islands of Chausey located near the Channel Islands off the coast of Normandy in France. The island is 1.5 kilometres long and 0.5 kilometres wide at its widest being approximately 45 hectares ) in area.- External links :*...
.
The Islands became subject to the Kingdom of England
Kingdom of England
The Kingdom of England was, from 927 to 1707, a sovereign state to the northwest of continental Europe. At its height, the Kingdom of England spanned the southern two-thirds of the island of Great Britain and several smaller outlying islands; what today comprises the legal jurisdiction of England...
following the conquest of England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
by William, Duke of Normandy in 1066. However, in 1202, in a conflict with King John, Philip Augustus of France, claiming feudal overlordship of Normandy, summoned the English King
John of England
John , also known as John Lackland , was King of England from 6 April 1199 until his death...
to answer charges or forfeit all lands which he held in fee of the King of France. John refused to appear and, in 1204, Philip occupied continental Normandy although he failed in his attempts to occupy the islands in the Channel. The 1259 Treaty of Paris confirmed the loss of Normandy but the retention of the "islands (if any) which the King of England should hold" under Suzerainty
Suzerainty
Suzerainty occurs where a region or people is a tributary to a more powerful entity which controls its foreign affairs while allowing the tributary vassal state some limited domestic autonomy. The dominant entity in the suzerainty relationship, or the more powerful entity itself, is called a...
of the King of France. The vassalage requirement was extinguished in the Treaty of Calais of 1360.
Chausey was for a long time an object of rivalry between England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and France. Although the United Kingdom Government has contended that, until about 1764, Chausey belonged to England, Chausey, unlike its Channel Islands neighbours, has, in fact, been French for centuries. It was administered from Jersey
Jersey
Jersey, officially the Bailiwick of Jersey is a British Crown Dependency off the coast of Normandy, France. As well as the island of Jersey itself, the bailiwick includes two groups of small islands that are no longer permanently inhabited, the Minquiers and Écréhous, and the Pierres de Lecq and...
until 1499, when it was abandoned to the French for reasons unknown. The Jersey historian Alec Podger has suggested that it was too costly in terms of money and manpower to control and, as the Islands were not on the sea-lanes, it was decided that this cost was not justified by the benefits. As a site of piracy and smuggling
Smuggling
Smuggling is the clandestine transportation of goods or persons, such as out of a building, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations.There are various motivations to smuggle...
, this maze of islands was for a long time a den valued by seafarers engaged in illegal business. The Sound, the natural channel
Channel (geography)
In physical geography, a channel is the physical confine of a river, slough or ocean strait consisting of a bed and banks.A channel is also the natural or human-made deeper course through a reef, sand bar, bay, or any shallow body of water...
running along the Grande île, or the Passe Beauchamp, were ideally secluded anchorages.
The fortress of Matignon was built in the mid-16th century, and was a quadrangular fort with a round tower, cellars, a bakery, and a cattle shed. This was expanded in 1740, and is today known as Château Renault, after the automobile engineer Louis Renault
Louis Renault (industrialist)
Louis Renault was a French industrialist, one of the founders of Renault and a pioneer of the automobile industry....
who purchased it and restored it in the early 20th century. This fortress, however, was not considered sufficient to repel potential British invasions, and so Napoleon III ordered the construction of the present fort in 1859. It was complete by 1866, but ceased to be a military site in 1906. It was used to shelter 300 German and Austrian prisoners of war during the First World War, and was garrisoned by German soldiers during the Second World War. Today the fort serves as the homes of several fishermen.
Geography
Grande Île, the main island, is 1.5 kilometre (0.93205910497471 mi) long and 0.5 kilometre (0.310686368324903 mi) wide at its widest (approximately 45 hectares (111.2 acre)), though this is just the tip of a substantial and complex archipelago which is exposed at low tide. The archipelago comprises 365 islands at low tide, compared to only 52 islands at high tide. From a few dozen hectares of ground above the high tide line, the archipelago increases to around 2000 hectares (4,942.1 acre) at low water, within an area roughly 6.5 by. The tidal rangeTidal range
The tidal range is the vertical difference between the high tide and the succeeding low tide. Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon and the Sun and the rotation of the Earth...
is one of the largest in Europe, with up to 14 metres (45.9 ft) difference between low and high tide. The islands consist of a granitic
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
geological formation, which has been subjected to erosion by sea and wind. Sandbars connect several parts of Chausey.
Shrimp
Shrimp are swimming, decapod crustaceans classified in the infraorder Caridea, found widely around the world in both fresh and salt water. Adult shrimp are filter feeding benthic animals living close to the bottom. They can live in schools and can swim rapidly backwards. Shrimp are an important...
, conger
Conger
Conger is a genus of marine congrid eels. It includes some of the largest types of eels, ranging up to 3 m in length, in the case of the European conger...
, bass
European seabass
The European seabass, Dicentrarchus labrax, also known as Morone labrax, is a primarily ocean-going fish that sometimes enters brackish and fresh waters. It is also known as the sea dace...
and mullet
Flathead mullet
The flathead mullet, Mugil cephalus, is a mullet of the genus Mugil, found in coastal tropical and subtropical waters worldwide. Its length is typically 30 to 75 centimeters...
are caught, while mussel
Mussel
The common name mussel is used for members of several families of clams or bivalvia mollusca, from saltwater and freshwater habitats. These groups have in common a shell whose outline is elongated and asymmetrical compared with other edible clams, which are often more or less rounded or oval.The...
s and oyster
Oyster
The word oyster is used as a common name for a number of distinct groups of bivalve molluscs which live in marine or brackish habitats. The valves are highly calcified....
s are farmed. Until 1989, a cattle farm operated on the island. The island's granite was formerly quarried, and the stone exported. Chausey stone was used in the construction of Mont Saint Michel.
The typical boats of Chausey are the doris (dory
Dory
The dory is a small, shallow-draft boat, about long. It is a lightweight and versatile boat with high sides, a flat bottom and sharp bows. They are easy to build because of their simple lines. For centuries, dories have been used as traditional fishing boats, both in coastal waters and in the...
), a flat-bottomed boat traditionally propelled by oars or nowadays an engine, used by the fishermen, and the canot chausiais, a small clinker-built
Clinker (boat building)
Clinker building is a method of constructing hulls of boats and ships by fixing wooden planks and, in the early nineteenth century, iron plates to each other so that the planks overlap along their edges. The overlapping joint is called a land. In any but a very small boat, the individual planks...
sailing boat used for pleasure. Every August, the Chausey Regatta takes place on the first weekend of the neap tide. The festivities last all weekend, during which several boat races are organized.
External links
- Chausey official site
- Chausey website
- Aerial photo of the archipelago, with the Grand Île at the bottom left
- "Chausey, Ile Anglo-Normande", 1962 video at the Institut national de l'audiovisuelInstitut national de l'audiovisuelThe Institut national de l'audiovisuel , is a repository of all French radio and television audiovisual archives. Additionally it provides customers with a free and immediate access to archives of countries such as Afghanistan and Cambodia...
website
