Guernsey is still a British island nowadays.
I am French expatriated in USA for some times, and work a lot on my family history. My origins are from the
Vendee area, in the old Poitou province. This is to explain to you why I wrote a short historical summary for forum use, in order to provide some clues to explain the emigration from my country.
If you have any patience, read the following:
"First it is worth to point out that the
Vendee country of the old "
Bas Poitou" province, can be divided in two main areas.
- Along the Atlantic shore, a series of marshes. We usually recognize the "marais vendeen" or "marais breton" at the north, between the fishing harbor of Croix-de-Vie, and the village of Bourgneuf-en-Retz, and the "marais poitevin" at the south, creating a natural border between "Bas-Poitou" and "Charente".
- In the interior, a country of bocages and cow raising lands.
The two areas have experienced different types of history, and it may be worth to distinguish them when looking at the rationale for people to leave tha area and/or emigrate.
1. The "Reforme" and the 40-year war.
By "Reforme" we mean the changes made by the new ideas coming from Martin
Luther.
At "
La Rochelle", the famous place and harbor of Charente, the Reforme managed to gain a lot of adepts, by the means of
German traders, already Lutherians, coming at
La Rochelle by boat to purchase
clothes and fabrics. Craftsmen coming from
La Rochelle surroundings, in particular from the south of
Vendee, from the marais poitevin, as well as from the interior bocages, would listen the sermons, and spread them back home.
About the middle of the XVIth Century, Poitou was the biggest Calvinist center of West
Europe.
As soon as 1551, the roman catholic services have been canceled in "Mareuil-sur-Lay", a little village 35 miles north of
La Rochelle.
The January 17th 1562 Edict, gave the freedom of worship, when the Vassy massacre, on March 1st 1562, triggered 40 years of religion war.
At the beginning, huguenot gangs put fire the chuches and abbeys. The roman catholic worship locations are violated and desecrated. The holly vestments are sacked, the statues are maimed and defaced, and the golden works are melted.
The catholics react and push the huguenots from West to East, from the
Loire river to the
Vienne river, sink them in the river when the don't massacre them.
An interim peace treaty is signed in 1558.
The West is the main field of the religion wars. Cities are first taken off by the huguenots.
A catholic reaction at Jarnac and Moncontour looked to give them the victory.
Meanwhile, the huguenots reorganized themselves in "Aunis" (arround
La Rochelle), and "Saintonge" (arround Saintes).
At this point of the history, it is clear that the
Vendee, north of
La Rochelle, will have limited huguenot progression, when
La Rochelle will be even consider the "
Roma of Protestantism".
Vendean families where split between the two religions, and the huguenot siblings were pushed to move by the social intolerance.
That is in spite of the freedom of conscience provided to the huguenots by the King
Henri III.
Unfortunately,
Henri III, revised his position, signing the opposite edict at Neumours in 1585.
Huguenots are then forced to abjure; their goods are seized. Many find refuge in
La Rochelle, or out of France, in particular on the new continent (New France).
This is the actual first big wave of emigration.
The religion war was ended by the signature in 1598 of the
Nantes Edict by the King
Henri IVth.
2. The big draining works in the two marais.
As part of the royal policy, specified as early as 1589, big works have been organized all over the kingdom.
The two marais of
Vendee were subject to a specific program, contracted to Hunfroy Bradley, from the French Flandres region (at the limits of the current belgian border). Bradley would die in 1637 after having drained successfully more than 15,000 acres in the "marais poitevin",
between the harbor of Lucon and the Aunis area.
Many vendean workers were hired, and found in same time the possibility to emigrate to the north of France and
Dutch country.
3. France-Holland war
In 1676, Holland start a war with the King Louis XIVth. The
Dutch take off the island of Noirmoutier, in front of the "marais vendeen".
Michael
Jacobsen, settled on the island, restart the draining works in this north side of the vendean marais.
The works are very successful again.
In 1685, after "revocation" of the
Nantes Edict,
Dutch will massively rejoin their country, along with some more huguenots emigrants.
After 1685, it is worth to know that no mariage between huguenots could be made offical. The French royal administration would not recognize them.
Children born under these conditions would be thus considered as bastards. illegitimates, or orphans.
To be legitimated, the more fortunate could make a journey to the closets foreign country (the British
Channel Islands : Jersey and Guernesey, or Germany, or Holland). They would eventually stay there."