French sociologist Dalido termed this cultural individualism imperméabilité (impermeability), which he said was characterised by the physically enclosed nature of Jersey fields.

This was originally confined to St Helier, but has since spread to the country parishes, particularly through compulsory education, which has always been delivered exclusively in English.

Jersey is a British Crown dependency and is not part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

[8]: 390  For example, during the 19th century, the ongoing process of anglicisation was criticised by the Island newspaper Chronique, who argued that Jèrriais was the bastion of Jersey nationality.

The historic social hierarchy consisted of the seigneurs at the top, the broad middle class of smallholder farmers, as well as tradesmen and merchants, and finally the landless poor.

Instead, it made it possible to maintain a smallholder-based system of land ownership, which leads to the patchwork of comparatively small fields which dominates the island's rural landscape today.

The Gaspé-Jersey-Guernsey Association is dedicated to the collection of artefacts, documents and other information about the history of Channel Island settlers on the Gaspé coast.

[10] There were modest Jersey settlements in the American colonies in the 17th century, driven by religion, trade and a wish to escape from poverty.

[10] An example of a famous person of Jersey descent in North America is William Cody, a bison hunter and showman.

[10] Otherwise, many young Jersey people have left the island since the 19th century, seeking education or employment opportunities elsewhere (particularly in the UK).

[13] The traditional language of the Jersey people is Jèrriais, a form of the Norman French[14] native and unique to the island.