Sark

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Sark
Aerial view of Sark with Brecqhou at the bottom right
Aerial view of Sark with Brecqhou at the bottom right
Waters English Channel
Archipelago Channel Islands
Geographical location 49 ° 25 '54 "  N , 2 ° 21' 35"  W Coordinates: 49 ° 25 '54 "  N , 2 ° 21' 35"  W.
Location of Sark
length 4.6 km
width 2.7 km
surface 5.5 km²
Highest elevation Le Moulin
114  m
Residents 492 (2015)
89 inhabitants / km²
Flag of Sark
Sark coat of arms
flag coat of arms
“La Coupée” between the two parts of Sark
The Seigneurie - the mansion - on Sark
The gardens of the Seigneurie

Sark ( [sɑːk] , French Sercq [sɛʀk] , Sercquiais Sèr [sɛʀ] ) is the fourth largest of the Channel Islands with an area of ​​5.5 km² . The island, populated by around 500 inhabitants (as of 2015), belongs to the bailiwick ( bailiwick ) of Guernsey . The Channel Islands are not part of the United Kingdom still crown colonies , but as Kronbesitzungen (English crown dependencies : bailiwicks of Guernsey and Jersey) reports directly to the British Crown. To the west, in the immediate vicinity, lies the smaller island of Brecqhou , which is politically part of Sark and whose owners are striving for independence from Sark. Cars are not allowed on Sark and there are no paved roads either.

Sark is sometimes characterized as the “last bulwark of feudalism ”, which has, however, passed over to “democracy” in the past decade. "Until not long ago, until 2008, to be precise, the Sarkees [...] were ruled by the last feudal state in Europe." In fact, the fiefdom here is - and that has not changed to this day - the only form of land ownership; “There is no such thing as real property” . The practical relevance of this feudal system has been the subject of reforms in the last decade; in particular, since the first democratic elections in 2008, it no longer determines the composition of the island parliament (see below).

geography

Sark consists of two high rock islands, Great and Little Sark, which are only connected by a short ridge up to 100 m high, La Coupée . La Coupée has only had a railing since 1900 and was converted into a concrete road in 1945 by German prisoners of war.

The highest point on Sark is 114 m. The climate is uniform and similar to that of Devon and Cornwall . Frost rarely occurs in winter, but the winter storms are sometimes strong enough to disrupt boat traffic. The tides play an important role ; There are relatively strong tidal ranges and tidal currents on the Channel Islands. The installation of a tidal power plant is therefore under discussion on Sark .

There are no towns on Sark, just clusters of buildings along the streets or near important points.

fauna and Flora

The island location of Sarks can be traced back to special features in the fauna: There are neither reptiles nor larger mammals here ; Rabbits and rats are currently the largest wild mammals. The hedgehog wasn't introduced until 1986. In contrast, the garden shrew , which does not occur on Guernsey or in neighboring Normandy, occurs on Sark .

population

Around 500 people lived on Sark in 2015. A census was last carried out in 1999. Of the 591 inhabitants at that time, 37.7% were born on the island. The following age distribution resulted (for comparison also the data from the Bailiwick of Guernsey and the Federal Republic of Germany):

Sark
 (1999)
Guernsey
  (2008)
Germany
  (2008)
 0-14 16% 14.6% 13.8%
15-64 61.3% 67.5% 66.2%
≥ 65 22.8% 17.9% 20%

When comparing the percentages, pay attention to the respective date; the numbers for Sark are nine years older than the rest. The typical demographic changes (more elderly people etc.) can already be seen during this period; so the numbers are not entirely comparable. The significantly higher proportion of Sarks in residents over 65 is only more noticeable.

language

The colloquial language in Sark is English or the dialect of the Channel Islands. But the place names in particular indicate the French language. Sark's earlier language (Sercquiais) was a dialect of the Norman language , which, like French, is one of the Langues d'oïl spoken in France . The western variant of Jèrriais spoken in Jersey is closely related, as most of the original settlers on Sark came from Jersey. High-level French was used as the official and church language . In 1787, English is said to have been unknown on Sark. Sercquiais, originally divided into at least two dialect variants despite the small size of the language area, was the dominant colloquial language of the local population before the Second World War . Today, according to estimates from 1998, Sercquiais is said to be spoken by fewer than 20 people (3.3% of the population).

religion

The residents of Sark are predominantly Anglican. The Anglican Church of St. Peter (built in 1820, tower from 1883) is assigned to the Deanery of Guernsey, which in turn reports to the Bishop of Winchester . The seigneur, supported by the dean and the community leaders, de facto selects the priest. An important minority are the Methodists, who have been established on Sark since the end of the 18th century and have their own chapel (built in 1924) as well as rooms for the Sunday school .

Economy and Infrastructure

The ambulance pulled by a tractor

Tourism plays an important role. It allows the population (usually 600) to rise to over 1000 in summer, and appointments such as road repairs are also coordinated with it. There is no asphalt or lighting on the streets. Flying over the island is prohibited. Even before the Second World War, cars were declared inadmissible. Even tractors are only allowed for important business uses - passengers are not allowed to carry them outside of the steep Harbor Hill . Horse-drawn carriages and bicycles are used as an alternative. Even the ambulance is pulled by a tractor.

Attractions

The Avenue , the "main street" of Sarks, runs through the heart of the island . There are many shops in this area as well as some places of interest:

  • St. Peter's Church, built in 1820. By this time the British government had provided money to build new Anglican churches to help stem the spread of Methodism .
  • A Methodist Chapel, built in 1924 to replace an older building that had been demolished (less centralized in 1796)
  • The prison , built in 1856 as a replacement for an older building
  • A windmill , built in 1571, which the Seigneur used for his mill monopoly until 1920. Even after that, the grain was still ground by the seigneur, albeit with more modern methods.
  • Le Manoir, a building that used to be the residence of the seigneur. The building was built by the first Seigneur Hellier de Carteret (Seigneur 1564 / 65–1581); the facade dates from 1810. At right angles, there are other additions, including an even older house of the Seigneurs and rooms that housed the island's church and school until the 19th century.
  • Little Sark Dolmen

A little further afield, in the northwest of the island, is the Seigneurie, the current manor house. This building originally belonged to the La Perronerie fiefdom and only became a seigneurie in 1730 with the purchase of the island by the le Pelleys, the owners of La Perronerie. The original house on La Perronerie, an older one-story type of house on Sark, was demolished in 1927. The oldest part of the building still standing today has two floors and was built around 1675; its facade follows the usual Jersey pattern, as many of the houses that were built in the early 18th century and, compared to the older buildings, reflect the increased prosperity of the island. In 1854, significant additions were made, including a salon and the striking tower. For the most part, the very extensive outdoor facilities of the Seigneurie, which are accessible to tourists, date from the 20th century, where a partly symmetrical garden with numerous exotic plants and some historical objects (artillery, old telephone booth, fruit mill) can be visited.

Sark Henge

The small stone circle called Sark Henge in the southeast of the island was built in 2015 and is intended to commemorate the enfeoffment of Helier De Carteret by Queen Elizabeth I 450 years ago. From the stone circle, which is a few meters in diameter, the view of Derrible Bay opens up.

Political system

The constitution of the island goes back to royal documents from the 16th and 17th centuries (first in 1565) and changed slightly over the centuries. In the 20th and 21st centuries it was enshrined and modified in constitutional laws, for the first time in the Constitution of 1922, for the last time and crucially in the Reform Law of 2008, last changed in 2013.

The following regulations, officials and institutions are important:

  • The Seneschal and its representatives (whose court has "all judicial power")
  • The Chief Pleas as elected parliament (which has "all legislative and executive powers")
  • Individual officials with special functions, partly appointed by the Seigneur, partly by the Chief Pleas.

The history of the political system is discussed below; In the following, only the key data are mentioned which are relevant for the development of the respective element and which can be found below.

Fiefdom

Seigneur John Michael Beaumont on a visit to the Prince of Wales in 2012
The pigeon tower on the site of the Seigneurie - a symbol of the Seigneur's right to breed pigeons

A feudal system is still valid on Sark ; Feudal ties exist between the British Queen and the Seigneur on the one hand (legal form Fief Haubert ), on the other hand between the Seigneur and the subordinate landowners; all property is subject to this, and it determines the status of the island as a whole, as the seigneur only assumes his role as "head of state" of the island by having the land as a fiefdom from the queen; the limits of his fiefdom are at the same time the limits of the autonomous political body.

The Seigneur has the duty to the Queen to keep the island occupied by forty armed men at all times; He must also pay her one twentieth of a Knight's fee ; that's £ 1.79. He has a veto right on Chief Pleas and appoints certain officers; traditionally he is the only one who has the right to keep pigeons. Further privileges, such as the right to appoint a seneschal , to keep a non-sterilized bitch (generally prohibited on the island), to give his consent ( congé ) when selling land and to demand a tax ( treizième ), have been abolished in recent years (in the case of the treizième against a fixed payment from the public budget); the collecting of the grain tithe and the milling privilege had long since ceased to exist. The seigneur can inherit the island or sell it with the consent of the queen. It has been owned by the currently reigning family since 1852.

This fiefdom repeats itself on the next lower level between seigneur and tenants . Those tenants who own one of the 39 quarantaine tenements , which are supposed to ensure the colonization of the island by 40 men (French quarantaine ), play a special role . “There is no such thing as real property; all land is taken as fief for an indefinite period by the seigneur. Each of the forty [Quarantaine] Tenements into which the island is divided (as well as a few other fiefdoms) can only be inherited as complete units to a single heir, unless sold to an outsider. ” More often as these goods taken directly for fief, however, are leased land. The tenants of the Quarantaine Tenements (as well as certain other properties) are traditionally obliged to have one armed man (in individual cases two) ready to defend the island; thus the duty of the seigneur to the queen is realized.

The feudal system, as it applies to Sark, developed there in the 16th and 17th centuries. Practical consequences such as the privileges of the Seigneur and the automatic seats in the Chief Pleas for the tenants of the Quarantaine Tenements were reduced at the beginning of the 21st century. However, what was explicitly formulated in the law to abolish Congé and Treizième applies: Changes do not affect “ the feudal relationship and the duties connected with it ”, neither between the queen and the seigneur nor between the seigneur and the persons who “have any part Tenement [or] an after fief ”from Sark or an area related to it.

Legislation and Autonomy

The prison

As part of the Channel Islands , Sark is crown possession (English crown dependency ) and therefore not part of the United Kingdom , but directly subordinate to the British crown. The membership of the United Kingdom in the European Union therefore also did not extend to the Channel Islands. Politically, Sark is subordinate to Guernsey , but largely autonomous. Conversely, there are no MPs for Sark in the Guernsey Parliament.

Less important and only internal laws are passed by the Chief Pleas. Here the seigneur has the right to suspend veto . Such laws only require approval by the Royal Court of Guernsey. More important laws, however, require the approval of the British government after the decision by the Chief Pleas (formally: the Queen on the advice of the Privy Council ).

Similarly, the jurisdiction of the court, which can impose fines of up to 2,000 pounds and imprisonment for up to one month, is regulated by the royal court in Guernsey with the right of appeal of the court on Sark. Sark has his own prison, built in 1856, which is still in use today, but mainly as a sobering cell and for a maximum of two days in prison. Long-term prisoners are being moved to Guernsey at Sark's expense. There is also its own school with around 60 students between the ages of 4 and 16; The GCSE school leaving certificate , which is to be completed at the age of 16, is prepared today via distance learning, while the advanced level at Sark is not possible.

There is no income tax, social security, or social assistance on Sark.

The fact that the island is autonomous within the Bailiwick of Guernsey goes back to the conflict-ridden 16th century.

Chief Pleas

Meetings of the Chief Pleas and court hearings take place here.

The Chief Pleas holds and exists the legislative power

  • from the seigneur
  • an elected president
  • and 28 Conseillers

The latter are chosen by the residents. Anyone over 18 who has applied for entry in the electoral register has the right to vote; for this are u. a. 24 months of regular living on Sark is a requirement. British citizenship is also required to be eligible to stand for election; the office of Conseiller is incompatible with that of the Seigneurs, Seneschals, Prévôts, Greffiers, Treasurers and their respective representatives. The Conseillers hold office for four years; however, regular elections take place every two years and are staggered so that the term of office of half of the Conseillers always expires. The President of the Chief Pleas can be elected from among his own ranks, but then resigns from the office of Conseiller. Meetings take place three times a year: on the first Wednesday after Easter , Michaelmas and January 15th. However, additional sessions are not uncommon. The Douzaine, an elected group of twelve Conseillers, and other topic-related committees take on special tasks. Douzaine are also the names of the local councils on Guernsey and Jersey; on Sark this institution was introduced due to the welfare problem in 1770.

The first session of this parliament took place in November 1579. Its composition and functioning changed in 1604, 1922 and very significantly with the 2008/10 reform, which introduced the current system with elected councilors and an elected president instead of the older rule, according to which most of the seats were reserved for the owners of the Quarantaine Tenement and the Seneschal was also Chairman of the Chief Pleas.

Seneschal

The Seneschal is the island's judge and has all judicial powers. He is appointed by a committee made up of the Seigneur and two other members appointed by him. His term of office ends at the age of 65, or 75 if newly appointed; otherwise he can only resign at his own request or, if necessary, be removed from office by the Lieutenant Governor of Guernsey.

His office has existed since 1675. Apart from a first limitation of his tenure in 1922, the office changed fundamentally in 2010, when the Seneschal, who had previously also chaired Chief Pleas, was limited to his judicial functions and the appointment by a committee was introduced instead of the seigneur alone.

Other political offices

Special offices are also (along with deputies):

  • Prévôt (ensures the implementation of court decisions)
  • Greffier (Secretary to Chief Pleas and Court)
  • Treasurer (finance)
  • "The Constables": Constable ( police and administrative duties) and Vingtenier (helps the constable)
  • Procureur des Pauvres (aid to the poor)

Prévôt and Greffier are appointed by the Seigneur with the approval of the Lieutenant Governor of Guernsey, while Treasurer Constable, Vingtenier and Procureur of the Poor are elected by Chief Pleas.

With Prévôt, Greffier, Constable and two Vingteniers (among others), this system of offices was essentially created when the Chief Pleas first met. It was reduced in the following decades; Another significant shift occurred at the same time as the Seneschalsamt was introduced in 1575, when the appointment of Prévôt and Greffier passed from Chief Pleas to the Seigneur. Until 2008 the treasurer was also appointed by him.

Special laws

Due to the island's autonomous status and its own legislation, strange-looking but still valid laws have survived the centuries, some of which have disappeared in the last few decades. For example, the privileges of the seigneur were described above.

The relic of the Clameur de Haro is widespread on all Channel Islands , the - hardly used today - possibility of being able to postpone anything that is seen as a violation of his rights through a French prayer Our Father and a symbolic cry for help to the prince.

It was not until 2003 that another old law was changed by expanding the powers of the royal court in Guernsey, according to which a divorce was only possible if one of the two spouses left the island for a year. In Sark itself, however, there are still no regulations on divorce. A law prohibiting the inheritance of land and property to daughters was repealed in 1999. Today the previous owner can appoint any of his children to inherit his land; if he has not appointed one, the eldest, whether son or daughter, inherits. As with the parliamentary reforms (see above), this change was triggered by the Barclay brothers, who threatened to file a lawsuit with the European Court of Human Rights and advocated it in the British Home Office .

history

Before 1565

Very little is known about life on the island before the 16th century, but there is evidence of Neolithic settlement, as evidenced by numerous large stone graves. The Romans were also believed to have been on the island for at least two centuries.

In 565, Saint Magloire and 62 monks began to cultivate the island. The monastery survived looting by the Vikings in the ninth century. In 933 the Norman Jarl Wilhelm I was enfeoffed with the island. The Jarle (later dukes) gave the island different masters over the centuries, and until 1042 it belonged to the Mont-Saint-Michel Abbey . The monastery of St. Magloire was nominally restored around 1160, but comprised only a single monk from Montebourg who traded as the Prior of St. Magloire and was supposed to pray for the souls of the respective owners Sarks.

In 1274 Sark had about 400 inhabitants; until the end of the 14th century the English king received a considerable income from the island. Presumably depopulated by the Black Death , the now deserted and overgrown island was used by naval units in times of war in the 16th century and served as a hideout for pirates and other criminals in times of peace. In 1549 the French navy built fortresses here, whose crew of one hundred was not driven out by a Flemish corsair until 1553.

1565-1643

Windmill on Sark, built in 1571
(picture approx. 1905; today without wings)
Le Manoir: the mansion of the first centuries.
Le Manoir, extensions. This row of houses, of which only the beginning is visible here, housed the island's church and school. The Seigneur also lived in one of the houses before the main building was completed.

In 1563, Hellier de Carteret , Seigneur of St. Ouen in Jersey , leased the island and began to rebuild it with friends, relatives and tenants from Jersey. Following the example of a French aristocrat who had attempted a similar project for his king on Sark in 1560, which only lasted for a short period, he believed that he could defend the island cheaply by permanent, non-military settlement, and so not only English merchant ships , but also to protect St. Ouen from pirate raids. The surrender of the island was confirmed by a letters patent (patent letter) Elizabeth I in 1565, with the condition that he populated the island with 40 subjects of the queen for her defense within a period of two years. His settlers were mostly Presbyterians from Jersey, but also, for example, French Huguenots who had emigrated. These residents sought an independent government modeled on Jersey, which led to conflict with Guernsey. The trade strengthened the relationship with Guernsey in the following period.

Constitutional history

As a reward for the settlement of the island, Sark, previously part of the inherited fiefdom of St. Ouen , became an independent fiefdom (Fief Haubert) in 1572, which was linked to St. Ouen in personal union. St. Ouen himself held the status of Fief Haubert; and it brought with it the privileges of tax sovereignty and duty-free as well as a separate court. According to the letters patent of 1565, the Seigneurs seal was to have the same validity as the Guernsey and Jersey seals. Although the traditional affiliation to Guernsey was implicitly confirmed in the documents of 1565 and 1572, Seigneur Hellier de Carteret tried to interpret the elevation to Fief Haubert in his favor, spoke to Sark personally according to the morals of Jersey and ignored orders from Guernsey. On his advice, his son Philippe, who had since taken over the Sark government, agreed to a petition from residents who feared for their independence and wanted an independent system of government modeled on their home country Jersey. Philippe convened a meeting of the islanders in 1579, which decided to introduce a separate court and elected twelve (originally ten) jurats (jury), a bailiff (presiding judge) and nine additional officials. This was the first time that a Chief Pleas met.

After conflicts with the court and government in Guernsey, which did not agree to a new court in their sphere of influence, and a survey of the island population, in which the required number of 40 men was not present, two jurats and the bailiff were established in 1582 in the absence of the seigneur arrested and taken to Guernsey. This conflict was only settled by the British Privy Council , after whose resolution in 1583 the court on Sark, in view of the small population, was to be reduced to 4 jurats, a presiding judge (Juge) and four additional officials. The authority of this court was limited and should be decided according to the customs of Guernsey. It is ordered that the " said jurats and officials [...] meet three times a year [...] to hold their chief pleas and, with the consent of the seigneur and the general public [...]", to regulate public order. The meeting dates are still the same today. Above all, however, the relationship with Guernsey is regulated in a binding manner.

Over time the population grew; in addition to the original tenements, new properties were built, often without the knowledge of the absent seigneur. This had two formative consequences for the political system of the next few centuries: First, in 1604 the Chief Pleas decided that only the tenants of the Quarantaine Tenements should be considered heads of families with voting rights in Chief Pleas. Second, at the request of the seigneur in 1611, a royal charter ordered that the tenements should in future be subject to the same feudal conditions as the seigneury and thus be indivisible: this was to ensure economic viability. The latter point was not always heeded; in principle, however, both regulations were valid for the next centuries.

1643-1789

John Carteret , the last seigneur from the founding family until 1720

During the English Civil War the rights of the Seigneur were partially transferred to a judge. This allowed that fiefdoms were no longer completely inherited, but were forbidden to be divided. The partially fragmented parcels were quickly reunited after the restoration . Much more lasting was the increased self-confidence of the Presbyterian officials, who now refused to take the Anglican oath of allegiance.

Constitutional history

In response to this, the current system of public officials was created, according to which a single seneschal court helds instead of the elected jurats, who - like other formerly elected officials - is appointed by the seigneur. In 1675 the Privy Council ordered the court in Guernsey to dismiss the Jurats on Sark and to swear in place of them a seneschal, whom the seigneur should appoint, “ in a manner similar to that of the said Sir Philippe [Seigneur von Sark] in St. Ouen in Jersey does, and like other lords of Jersey and Guernsey appoint which on their respective estates and fiefs ”.

In 1720, Seigneur John Carteret , like his ancestors, also Seigneur of St. Ouen and also an active politician and diplomat in Great Britain and beyond, sold the island. After a decade under different English owners, it came to the Le Pelley family, who had previously resided on Sark and were responsible for relocating the Seigneurie to its current location - the property where the family had previously lived.

19th and 20th centuries

Abandoned silver mine on Little Sark (19th century)
Newspaper advertisement for a tourist excursion to Sark, 1888

The French Revolution also created a strong anti-feudal mood on Sark in the 1790s. The seigneur's mill was set on fire to break his mill monopoly.

An unsuccessful attempt to mine copper and silver on Little Sark later resulted in the seigneur's debt and the sale of his office in 1852 to the Collings family, of English origin but based in Guernsey for over a century, whose direct heir is the current seigneur.

The importance of tourism began as early as the 50s of the 19th century, which is evident from the introduction of the landing fee in the port in 1859, which is still common today. The importance of the English language in the population increased. Many foreigners also bought or leased land; The fact that the latter was not represented in the Chief Pleas was one of the reasons for the introduction of today's twelve elected representatives in 1920.

In World War II, Sark, as the other Channel Islands was also, from the German Wehrmacht occupied. In contrast to the inhabitants of many islands, who had previously evacuated to England (in Alderney, for example, there were still two households during the occupation), the inhabitants of Sark stayed on their island. Sibyl Hathaway , who at that time took the position of seigneur as Dame de Sercq, treated the occupiers in a friendly but authoritarian manner ( "Your word was law. Even for us [...]" , said a German soldier ). Besides the Guernsey Jurat (lay judge, similar to an arbitrator ) Lainé, Hathaway was the only politically influential person who refused to sign German orders. In September 1942, according to an order, all persons were to be deported from the Channel Islands to Germany who “did not have their permanent residence” there, as well as “men between 16 and 70 years of age [...] of English ethnicity ” and their families not born on the islands . On Sark, this initially affected nine people. After a British command raid on Sark, which was almost worthless from a military point of view, two weeks later, a further 63 people were deported from Sark in February 1943, including allegedly all former officers, but also women and children. This also included Sibyl Hathaway's husband, who had been a British aviation officer during World War I. Another British command failed completely because the cliffs were now fortified by minefields . After the Allies landed in Normandy in 1944, the Channel Islands were starving until they were liberated by British troops , which took place two days after the Wehrmacht surrendered. According to the verdict of the Jersey journalist Roy McLoughlin, Sark had “bad experiences” , but “the memories of the occupation were not as bitter as on the larger islands.” The “close community” of the people there helped one another and made the barter necessary during the siege easier. The government website also shares this view.

Constitutional history

At the beginning of the 20th century, 80% of the residents of Sark were not represented in the Chief Pleas; on the other hand, some tenants had several tenements and thus also more votes (the top was the Baker family with 9 tenements). By being appointed indefinitely, not being deposed, and being both judge and chairman of the Chief Pleas, the Seneschal had a great deal of power. A reform was started at the initiative of the population; Under pressure from the Guernsey bailiff, a written constitution was finally enforced in 1922, which above all codified the previous practice, but changed it to the effect that

  • 12 deputies were added to the tenants who could be elected by the residents ( active voting rights : men from 20 years of age, women, if not subject to tax, from 30 years of age, passive right to vote since 1925 for male taxpayers from 20 years of age),
  • each member of the Chief Pleas was entitled to only one vote, regardless of the number of tenements and
  • the Seneschal was only appointed for three years (several terms of office possible and also common).

Together with all the Channel Islands, Sark reformed his constitution again in 1951; The result of this process was the Reform Law, which was valid with changes throughout the rest of the century. Older customs were once again laid down and practical problems that had come to light in previous years were regulated. In addition, the seigneur was only granted a suspensive veto, he could no longer permanently block resolutions of the Chief Pleas. In 1952, two women applied for a seat as deputy; one of them was chosen.

Deputy Lanyon and Tenant Head criticized the island's politics in the 1950s. They wanted more democracy and transparency, demanded a review of the government by a British government commission and criticized the poor practicality of the Chief Pleas, in which the tenants were in some cases hardly willing to participate in politics. They were attacked in words and deeds: Lanyon's barn was set on fire and his business was boycotted. Both withdrew from politics.

Constitutional Reform in the 21st Century

In the first decade, concerns about the continued autonomy of the island and because the tenements and thus political influence can also be acquired by rich strangers pushed for a reform . An important factor was the pressure of the brothers David and Frederick Barclay , who bought the neighboring island of Brecqhou as a tenement and are striving for the island's independence. The admission of female succession also happened at her instigation.

The discussions about the constitutional amendment lasted for several years and in 2006 and 2007 led, among other things, to several unscheduled meetings of the Chief Pleas and to various resolutions:

  • According to a decision of March 8, 2006, 14 of 28 MPs would have to be tenants. This variant had already been rejected by the public in a survey that was only attended by a good 35 percent of the adult residents of Sark. On the other hand, after this controversial change, some voices advocated a full retention of the feudal system.
  • According to a resolution of October 4, 2006, there should be 28 completely freely elected MPs. The residents of Sark had previously voted for the same option in an opinion poll (56% of the valid votes). In the Chief Pleas it was agreed that the result of this survey would be taken into account if an option received a majority of at least 20%. Disagreements about the calculation of this majority led to the temporary annulment of the resolution of October 2006 on January 17, 2007: The majority, which had been presented in the Chief Pleas as 27% and thus led to the adoption of the approved option, was only 12 according to the usual calculation variant %.
  • A draft law of July 2007, which followed a non-final resolution in April of the same year, provided for 28 seats in Chief Pleas from December 2008 for a four-year transition period, 12 of which were reserved for tenants. After that, the population should decide by means of a binding referendum whether the transitional arrangement would be retained or whether all 28 seats should be "open". The British Privy Council , which has to pass laws in the Channel Islands, would have decided on November 14th on the final approval; the draft was withdrawn after a petition by the Barclay brothers (see below). In the following meeting of the Chief Pleas, a final decision was finally reached which, with regard to the election of the Chief Pleas, made the current regulations.

The first elections under the new system took place on December 10, 2008. Before the election, the Barclays had made numerous investments in Sark. Five of the seven hotels as well as an inn and a few shops belonged to them, and they invested five million annually in the island. They had also bought up a newspaper on the island, some of which took a polemical position on the candidates for election. However, the result of the election did not meet their expectations: only five of the 28 candidates elected were pro-reform , reported BBC News; Kevin Delaney, a senior executive with the Barclay companies on Sark and a tenant member of the Chief Pleas, was not among the elected. In response, the Barclays closed their businesses on the island the following day, resulting in a loss of approximately one hundred jobs. The Barclays had given the island a lot "not only to get no thanks, but also to be directly insulted and rejected," said their lawyer Gordon Dawes.

David and Frederick Barclay planned to take legal action against the current constitutional amendment, since with the veto power of the seigneur and the dual role of the seneschal as the sole body of the judiciary and chairman of the legislature, two elements of the feudal constitution still remain. The latter point of criticism was eliminated in 2010 with the introduction of an elected President of the Chief Pleas - the Seneschal now only leads the meetings in which a new President is elected. In 2014 the lawsuit was lost. In 2014, the Barclay brothers closed four hotels due to a lack of customer demand, one of which was reopened in 2019.

Sports

Sark has been taking part in the Island Games since 1987 , sports competitions in various disciplines between different non-sovereign islands that have been held every two years since 1985. According to a characterization of the island, which is included in the website of these games, team sports do not play a role on Sark. B. is only possible in the summer in the presence of many seasonal workers to put together two football teams. Accordingly, the silver medal and the two bronze medals for Sark at the Island Games 2007 were also won in shooting sports. Overall, with these results, Sark took 20th place out of 25 participants in the medal table for these games. In any case, athletes from Sark were only represented in shooting and athletics.

So far only at the Island Games of 2003 in Guernsey and Alderney played a national soccer team from Sark. Not a single victory could be achieved. This team is not recognized as an official member by either UEFA or FIFA. The national association is the English Football Association .

The British Olympic dressage champion Carl Hester spent the first ten years of his life with his grandmother on Sark and learned to ride there, first on a donkey and later on a horse.

See also

documentary

  • Bettina Borgfeld: What does the world cost , 2019

literature

  • Geoffroy Kursner: L'île de Sercq, Histoire du dernier état féodal d'Europe. Éditions du Menhir, 2015, ISBN 978-2-919403-27-1 (History of Sarks).
  • Lars Karbe: The political system of the island of Sark. Models of European dwarf states - the Norman Seigneurie Sark (Sercq). Lang, Frankfurt am Main a. a. 1984, ISBN 3-8204-7483-8 . ( European university publications. Series 31: Political Science 61), (At the same time: Munich, Univ., Diss., 1980), (Politics and society on Sark).
  • Alfred Harry Ewen, Allan R. de Carteret: The Fief of Sark. Guernsey Press, Guernsey 1969 (Sarks History).
  • Ken Hawkes: Sark. Newton Abbot 1974.
  • John Nettles : Hitler's island madness. The British Channel Islands under German occupation 1940–1945 . Osburg Verlag, Hamburg 2015, ISBN 978-3-95510-094-0 .

Web links

Commons : Sark  - collection of images, videos and audio files

swell

  1. a b c Too many people - or not enough? Jersey's population dilemma . In: Jersey Evening Post . April 9, 2015. Accessed April 18, 2016. (English)
  2. Article in the "Welt" of July 5, 2009
  3. Article in "Welt" from December 1, 2008
  4. ^ Article in the FAZ from October 6, 2012 .
  5. ^ "There is no true freehold" - Official website . Retrieved June 1, 2013.
  6. The census data for Sark are not published, but are archived and made available to the author on request (scans of the official data see here and here ). The data for Guernsey and Germany can be found in the CIA World Factbook , information on developments in these countries in publications by the German Federal Institute for Population Research (p. 28) and the States of Guernsey (p. 16).
  7. a b Anthony Liddicoat, A Grammar of the Norman French of the Channel Islands. The Dialects of Jersey and Sark , Mouton de Gruyter Berlin / New York 1994, ISBN 3-11-012631-1 , pp. 1, 7 u. 8th.
  8. a b Information from the BBC on various dialects and languages ​​in the British Isles
  9. ^ Website of the Anglican Parish . Archived from the original on July 19, 2013. Retrieved June 1, 2013.
  10. a b Ewen / de Carteret, p. 95 u. 119.
  11. ^ A b Sibyl Hathaway , Dame of Sark, The feudal Isle of Sark. Where Sixteenth-Century Laws Are Still Observed , in: National Geographic Magazine, July 1932, pp. 101-119.
  12. AH Ewen and AR de Carteret, The Fief of Sark (see literature), p. 97.
  13. Ewen / de Carteret, pp. 113-119.
  14. Brochure on the site of the Seigneurie and its history, undated, and Ewen / de Carteret, pp. 115–118.
  15. Sark Henge on the Sark Tourism website , accessed November 19, 2019.
  16. ^ Reform (Sark) Law 2008, consolidated text as effective from the 27th February 2013 ( Memento from April 21, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 315 kB) This is the source for the following chapter, unless otherwise stated.
  17. Michael Beaumont: Tributes paid to the Seigneur of Sark
  18. On Congé and Treizième: The tax introduced instead of the Treizième for the sale of land (4%) should flow into the public budget. In return, the seigneur is to receive an annual payment of £ 28,000  . The congé was factually irrelevant for a long time: According to his own statement, the current seigneur (since 1974) initially refused his approval. Minutes of the meeting of the Chief Pleas on January 17 and 18, 2007 (PDF; 276 kB) Archived from the original on April 21, 2013. Accessed on June 18, 2013. (Statement by the Seigneurs); "The Real Property (Transfer Tax, Charging and Related Provisions) (Sark) Law, 2007" . Retrieved June 18, 2013 .; Minutes of the meeting of the Chief Pleas on July 4 and 5, 2007 (PDF; 1.4 MB) Archived from the original on April 21, 2013. Retrieved on June 18, 2013., pp. 13–16 (adoption and discussion of the draft law ); for keeping a bitch: The law probably has its roots in an older hunting privilege ; But due to the dangers that would arise for keeping sheep with too many dogs , it was repeatedly confirmed in various forms by the Chief Pleas (prohibition of keeping more than one dog in 1680, prohibition of keeping bitches in 1698, renewal of both laws 1789, enactment of the final law 1820/1970). According to a decision of January 16, 2008 no one is allowed to keep a non-sterilized bitch, not even the owner. Bitches had not been tracked before. The story: Allan R. de Carteret, The Story of Sark. The Island where Time Stands Still , Peter Owen Limited, London, 1956, p. 126/127, for changes in 2008 the corresponding agenda (p. 21, no longer works) and minutes (PDF; 282 kB) Archived from the original on 21. April 2013. Retrieved June 18, 2013 (p. 21).
  19. ^ "There is no true freehold; all land being held in perpetual fief from the Seigneur. Each of the forty properties (tenements) into which the Island is divided (as well as a few other holdings in perpetual fief) can only pass as intact blocks of land by inheritance to one heir, unless sold outside of the family. " - Official Website . Retrieved June 1, 2013.
  20. ^ "By far the greater number of houses are leasehold" - Government website ( Memento from June 25, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
  21. Ewen / de Carteret, 134, 136 f.
  22. ^ The Real Property (Transfer Tax, Charging and Related Provisions) (Sark) Law, 2007 . Retrieved June 18, 2013. "(3) For the avoidance of any it doubt is hereby declared that subsection (1) does not in any way alter or affect - (a) the feudal relationship, including all rights and obligations appurtenant - (i) between Her Majesty and any person holding an interest in the fief, or (ii) between any person holding an interest in the fief and any person holding an interest in any part, tenement, sub-fief or dependency thereof; (b) the customary law immediately before the commencement of that section concerning the grant, obtaining and attestation of any requisite consent or permission for the transfer of or other dealing with the fief, including any rule of customary law as to the payment of fees or dues in connection therewith; and neither does that subsection affect: (c) any requirement or obligation attaching to particular reality, or incumbent on a particular person, by virtue of any charge, covenant, contract, agreement, judicial order or statute. "
  23. BBC News (as of September 29, 2006)
  24. ^ The Reform (Sark) (Amendment) (No. 2) Law, 2010 . Retrieved October 19, 2013.
  25. BBC News , November 25, 1999.
  26. Heather Sebire, The Archeology & Early History of the Channel Islands (Tempus 2005, ISBN 0-7524-3449-7 )
  27. Ewen / de Carteret, pp. 20-25.
  28. Ewen / de Carteret, pp. 30-34.
  29. Lars Karbe, p. 140.
  30. Karbe, pp. 63-67.
  31. Ewen / de Carteret, pp. 45–53 and 58.
  32. Ewen / de Carteret, pp. 153/154.
  33. ^ A b Roy McLoughlin, British Isles under the Swastika. The German occupation of the Channel Islands , Ch. Links, Berlin 2003, ISBN 3-86153-305-7 .
    (Originally Simon Watkins, Living with the enemy - what really happened , St. John, Jersey 1995, pp. 18, 31–40, 50, 51f, 90 ff., 120.)
  34. ^ Sibyl Hathaway, Dame of Sark. To Autobiography , Heinemann, London / Melbourne / Toronto 1961, pp. 140–159.
  35. According to the list of Seneschalls (see Ewen / de Carteret, p. 159), three out of four Seneschalls appointed between 1922 and 1968 held office for more than three years. The average tenure decreased from 13.72 years (1675-1922) to 11.75 years (1922-1969)
  36. Karbe, pp. 87-103.
  37. BBC News: For the constitutional amendment see [1] and [2] , for the female succession see [3]
  38. ^ Democracy in Europe: The Evil Twins von Sark , stern.de , December 12, 2008
  39. See minutes of the extraordinary meeting of the Chief Pleas on March 8, 2006 ( Memento of September 28, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
  40. Sark bids a reluctant farewell to more than 400 years of feudalism ( Memento from March 25, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) ( see the Wikipedia article on this )
  41. See archive link ( memento of April 21, 2013 in the Internet Archive ), accessed on March 25, 2014.
  42. For the exact results see here ( Memento of April 14, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
  43. See The Guernsey Press and Star ( Memento of September 27, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) and the http://www.sark.info/static/government/old_website/static/0701agenda.pdf ( Memento of September 28, 2007 in Internet Archive )
  44. Minutes of the Chief Pleas meeting on July 4 and 5, 2007 ( Memento of April 21, 2013 in the Internet Archive ), pp. 5–7, accessed on March 25, 2014.
  45. See minutes of the Easter meeting on April 11 and 12, 2007 ( Memento of April 21, 2013 in the Internet Archive ), pp. 7, 14, accessed on March 25, 2014.
  46. Agenda for the Chief Pleas Christmas meeting on January 16, 2008, p. 15.
  47. "Barclays shut down Sark interests" , BBC News, December 11th 2008, accessed March 25, 2014.
  48. ^ "Barclay brothers shut down Sark hotels and shops" ( Memento of May 31, 2010 in the Internet Archive ), The Times , December 12, 2008, accessed March 25, 2014.
  49. ^ "Sovereign kick in the ass" ( Memento from December 14, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) , Süddeutsche Zeitung , December 14, 2008, accessed on March 25, 2014.
  50. BBC News (as of April 9, 2008, accessed March 25, 2014)
  51. ^ The Reform (Sark) (Amendment) Law, 2010 . Retrieved March 25, 2014.
  52. Barclay Brothers loosely legal Fight over the Future of Sark , The Independent, October 22, 2014
  53. Barclay brothers' Sark hotel and restaurant to reopen , bbc.com, March 15, 2019
  54. www.islandgames.net : Characterization of Sarks , medal table ( Memento from July 4th, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) and results of the individual sports ( Memento from March 18, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
  55. An island and two billionaires: "What does the world cost?" , ttt, May 5, 2019
A source that is often used is the island's official website www.sark.info , especially the sub-pages collected under the heading “Government”. No individual references were made when using this page; The only exceptions are pages that are difficult to find, such as logs.
This version was added to the list of articles worth reading on November 13, 2006 .