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Economy
Jersey's economy is based on financial
services, tourism, internet trade and agriculture. Financial
services contribute approximately half of the Island's economy.
Major agricultural products are
potatoes and dairy produce. The source of milk is
Jersey cattle, a small breed of cow that has also been
acknowledged (though not widely so) for the quality of its meat.
Small-scale organic beef production has been reintroduced in an
effort to diversify the industry.
Farmers and growers often sell surplus food and flowers in
boxes on the roadside, relying on the honesty of those who pass
to drop the correct change into the money box and take what they
want.
On
February 18,
2005,
Jersey was granted
Fairtrade Island status.
The absence of
VAT has led to the recent growth of the 'fulfilment'
industry, whereby low-value luxury items, such as videos,
lingerie and contact lenses are exported to the UK, avoiding VAT
on arrival and thus undercutting UK prices on the same products.
The States of Jersey announced in 2005 limits on licences
granted to non-resident companies trading in this way.
Duty free goods are available for purchase on travel to and
from the Island.
Aside from its banking and finance underpinnings Jersey also
depends on tourism. Notable hotels include:
- the Pomme d’Or overlooking Liberation Square in St.
Helier, from whose balcony the Liberation force raised the
Union Flag on Liberation Day,
9
May
1945;
- the Hotel de France, formerly the Imperial and the
Jesuit college, in St. Saviour overlooking the town of
St. Helier;
- the Hotel L'Horizon in St. Brelade's Bay.
- La Grande Vere, in St. Helier overlooking St. Aubins
Bay, with views of
Elizabeth Castle and the Waterfront
Culture
Jèrriais, the island's
indigenous language is a
variety of
Norman. It is spoken by a minority of the population,
although it was the majority language in the
19th century. Though there are efforts to revive the
language in schools, it is still spoken mostly by older people
(most commonly in the country parishes, although the capital has
the highest number of declared Jèrriais speakers). The
dialects of Jèrriais differ in
phonology and, to a lesser extent,
lexis
between parishes, with the most marked differences to be heard
between those of the west and east. Many place names are in
Jèrriais, and French and English place names are also to be
found. Anglicisation of the
toponymy increased apace with the migration of English
people into the island.
Some
Neolithic carvings are the earliest works of artistic
character to be found in Jersey. Only fragmentary wall-paintings
remain from the rich mediaeval artistic heritage, after the
wholesale
iconoclasm of the
Calvinist reformation of the
16th century.
Printing only arrived in Jersey in the
1780s,
but the Island supported a multitude of regular publications in
French (and Jèrriais) and English throughout the 19th century,
in which poetry, most usually topical and satirical, flourished.
See
Jèrriais literature.
John Everett Millais,
Elinor Glyn, and
Wace
are among Jersey's artistic figures.
Lillie Langtry, the Jersey Lily, is the Island's most
widely recognised cultural icon. The famous French writer,
Victor Hugo, lived in exile in Jersey
1852-1855.
The Island is particularly famous for the
Battle of Flowers, a carnival held annually since
1902.
The Island's
patron saint is Saint
Helier.
Jersey's only newspaper, the
Jersey Evening Post, is widely read, being the main
printed source of local news and official notices.
BBC Radio Jersey provides a radio service, and television
news.
Channel Television is a regional
ITV
franchise shared with the Bailiwick of Guernsey but with its
headquarters in Jersey.
Channel 103 is a popular local radio station.
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