Jersey C.I. - is this what The Shire would be like today?

[Eledhwen]

I needed to settle an argument. We could not agree whether the channel islands (Jersey, Gurnsey, Sark, Alderney etc.) are part of the UK, or part of the British Isles, or what? The one thing they are not is part of Great Britain (which is the name of the biggest of the British Isles; ie: England, Scotland and Wales). I already knew that they are autonymous Baliwicks (oh, look it up! ) and tax havens, but after that my knowledge gets woolly.

A search revealed this useful web page about Jersey. However, as I read it, I began to see a sort of modern, corrupted version of The Shire. I could go into essay mode, but I invite others to read it and comment. What do you think? Is Jersey a picture of how The Shire would have become if it had remained an entity under the protection it was offered by King Elessar?

 

[Shireman D]

We could not agree whether the channel islands (Jersey, Gurnsey, Sark, Alderney etc.) are part of the UK, or part of the British Isles, or what?

They are all that is left of the oldest part of the UK which is why they call HMQ 'the Duke' (note to US readers: this is not a reference to the late Mr. Wayne, because Elizabeth Regina is Monarch she cannot hold the lesser rank of Duchess and therefore has to be Duke) i.e. of Normandy. They are territories united with other nations of the UK in the person of the monarch which is why they got to send their own teams to the Commonwealth Games instead of having to be part of - say - England.