Polity Bailiwick of Guernsey (Crown Dependency)

This article is about the specific polity Bailiwick of Guernsey (Crown Dependency) and therefore only includes events related to its territory and not to its possessions or colonies. If you are interested in the possession, this is the link to the article about the nation which includes all possessions as well as all the different incarnations of the nation.

If you are looking for the page with the statistics about this polity you can find it here: All Statistics

Is an island country and self-governing British Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west France. Since 1290 the Channel Islands have been governed as Crown dependencies of England (later the United Kingdom). The Channel Islands are the remnants of the Duchy of Normandy, once in Personal Union with England.

Establishment

  • March 1603: James VI of Scotland became King of England, joining Scotland with England in a personal union.

Chronology

Interactive Chronologies with maps are available in the section Changes Navigation

1. Personal Union of Scotland and England

In 1603, James VI of Scotland succeeded Elizabeth I, the last Tudor monarch of England and Ireland, who had died childless, joining Scotland with England in a personal union.

  • March 1603: James VI of Scotland became King of England, joining Scotland with England in a personal union.

2. Glorious Revolution

Was a revolution in England and Scotland that led to the deposition of Catholic King James II.

  • November 1688: By November 1688 William of Orange, who was Stadtholder of the Netherlands, and his wife Mary, were in control of England and Wales. They would later become King and Queen of Great Britain.

3. World War II

Was a global conflict that lasted from 1939 to 1945 (it started sooner in certain regions) between the Axis Powers (mainly Germany, Japan and Italy) and the Allies (mainly the Soviet Union, the U.S.A., the U.K., China and France). It was the war with more fatalities in history. The war in Asia began when Japan invaded China on July 7, 1937. The war in Europe began when Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939. The war ended with the complete defeat of the Axis powers, which were occupied by the Allies.

3.1. World War II (Western Front)

Was the Western European theatre of World War II.

  • June 1940: German occupation of the Channel Islands, which lasted for most of World War II.

3.2. End of World War II in Europe

Refers to the surrender of Axis forces and the end of World War II and to the territorial changes that were a direct consequence of World War II but happened after the traditional end of the War.

3.2.1. The Surrender of German forces

Surrender of German forces at the end of World War II.

  • May 1945: German forces on the Channel Islands surrender.

4. Further events (Unrelated to Any War)

  • March 1702: As William III of England was also the de facto ruler of the Dutch Republic (as Stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel in the Dutch Republic), the Personal Union between Netherlands and Great Britain ended at his death.

Selected Sources

  • Israel, J. I. (1995): The Dutch Republic: Its Rise, Greatness, and Fall, Clarendon Press, pp. 959-960