Channel Islands

The Channel Islands (: Îles-du-détroit), also known as the Channels (French: Détroits) are a Sierran located off the coast of southwestern mainland Sierra along the. The Channels constitute one of the eight territories of Sierra, and the only one of which that are incorporated territory of Sierra and an integral part of the Kingdom as opposed to being a mere possession as the unincorporated territories and crown dependencies.

The main islands are dispersed across 160 miles (257 km) of the Santa Barbara Channel and divided into two groups: the northern islands, known as the King Lewis Islands (Îles-du-Roi-Louis) include (Île Anacapa),  (Île Saint Michael), Santa Cruz Island (Île Saint Croix), and  (Île Saint Rose) and the southern islands, known as the Queen Angelina Islands (Îles-du-Reine-Angèle), include  (Île Saint Barbe), Santa Catalina (Île Saint Catherine),  (Île Saint Clément), and  (Île Saint Nicolas). The entirety of four of the islands constitute a part of the whose waters are protected ecological areas known as the.

The islands' beaches, climate, marine wildlife, culture, ease-of-doing business, and its close proximity to the mainland make the Channels a popular tourist destination and among Sierrans. The Channels have a very mild with consistently warm temperatures year-round and virtually -free at all low elevations. , if it does occur, very rarely falls on the highest mountains in the islands. Access to the islands are primarily done by, with the busiest ferry lines between ports on Santa Catalina Island and the mainland provinces of the Gold Coast and Orange.

Originally inhabited by the and the, the islands were claimed by the  before falling under the joint administration of French and Spanish authorities as the French-Spanish Condominium. By the late 18th century, the Channels experienced rapid population growth and infrastructural development as French colonists arrived to the islands. The majority of the Channels' natives are descendants of these French colonists, and the Channels retain a distinct and independent French culture and identity from mainland Sierra. When the Condominium was disestablished through the in 1802, the Channels was transferred to Spain fully although the islands continued to retain their autonomy, even after Mexico  and consequently gained control of the islands in 1821. When the California Republic gained its independence from Mexico in 1848, the islands were included as part of the in the. Following the creation of the Kingdom of Sierra, the Channels were formally into the province of the Gold Coast, and would remain a part of it until 1999 when Gold Coasters and Channeliers voted in Proposition 11 to grant the Channels to form a new territory and received approval by Parliament. The Channels are the most recent territorial areas created in Sierra since the annexation of Cancún and Yucatán in 1922, and the first territory to be incorporated since the foundation of Sierra.

The capital of the Channel Islands is Avalon, a city-port situated on the southeastern coast of Santa Catalina. Avalon was the Channels' first settlement and has been the largest since the islands were first settled. A, it has, in recent years, become an important regional financial center, mostly serving Sierran s in part to the Channels' low taxes and attractive economic policies. There are eight other incorporated towns distributed throughout the islands: Cachalot-by-the-Sea, Cassis, Karana, Little Gibraltar, New Bourbon, Pyramide, Seals on Rock, and Two Harbors.

The islands are administered by the Territorial Governor and the Monarch is represented in the Channels by the Earl of Catalina. The Channels' supreme legislature, the Channel Islands Legislature and the Channel's supreme court, the Territorial High Court are also both based in Avalon. Both and  are the official languages of the Channel Islands' territorial government, with the majority of Channeliers being  or even multilingual. The retention of the French language is a legacy of the islands' colonial history and a distinct Channelier of French is spoken. Its inhabitants are known as the Channeliers (Les Détroitiens).

Etymology
The names, the "Channel Islands" and the "Channels" are a reference to the islands' location within the, the body of water which separates the Channels from the Sierran mainland. The islands as they were originally known when first discovered by the Europeans was the "North Archipelago" (Spanish: Archipiélago del Norte). Historically, under the joint administration of France and Spain, the islands were known as the French-Spanish Condominium (El Condominio Francés-Español in Spanish and Le condominium Français-Espagnol in French). Its modern name was first given by the French-speaking Channeliers who called the islands, the Íle-du-détroit and the derivative, Détroits. When the Channel Islands were transferred from Mexico to California through the, the islands were referred to in English as the "Channel Islands of California", thus formalizing the islands' English name. Each of the main individual islands of the Channels in English are referred to by their Spanish-given names, as opposed to the French names commonly used on the islands themselves (e.g., Santa Catalina instead of Saint-Catherine).

History
The Channel Islands have been separated from the Sierran mainland throughout recent geological history and all of its native flora and fauna came from the mainland either by air or sea. The earliest known human settlement in the Channels occurred around 13,000 years ago by seafaring. Archaeological evidence has suggested that human activity flourished on the islands, with the Queen Angelina Islands inhabited by the and the King Lewis Islands by the. The tribes primarily lived on a diet although they also ate seeds and fruits that grew on the islands, and any meat they hunted. The natives interacted with other tribes on the mainland and other groups as far north as the, the latter who came to hunt s during the early 1800s.

The Channels were first sighted and explored by Europeans in 1542 by Spanish-Portuguese explorer, who was navigating the Sierran coastline under the commission of the Spanish crown. Arriving on Santa Catalina Island first in October 1542, he also passed by San Clemente Island, and the King Lewis Islands. On his return trip from northern Sierra, Cabrillo suffered an injury on Catalina during Christmas Eve, and died a week later into the new year.

Political geography
The Territory of the Channel Islands consists of three parishes (Boudeuse, Étoile, and Galaup) and one special district (Cabrillo). The parishes are each governed by five-member Board of Supervisors representing each of the respective parishes' five districts and cities, and responsible for local ordinances and laws, similar to the counties in Sierran provinces. Boudeuse includes the city of Avalon and the rest of Catalina Island south of Little Gibraltar, Étoile includes the rest of Catalina Island and Santa Barbara Island, and Galaup includes San Clemente and San Nicolas. The special district of Cabrillo has no permanent, civilian population and is conterminous with the Channel Islands National Park (all of the Queen Angelina Islands or Anacapa, Santa Cruz, San Miguel, and Santa Rosa) and is administered directly by the Sierran Royal National Park Service in conjunction with the Channel Islands territorial government.

Government and politics
The Channel Islands are the only territories in Sierra that is both incorporated and organized (all others are either unincorporated but organized, or unincorporated and unorganized). Having previously been a constituent part of incorporated territory (the province of the Gold Coast), the Channels retained their incorporated status. As incorporated territory, Channeliers enjoy the full and complete protections, privileges, and rights granted by the Constitution of Sierra although as a territory, Channeliers are not represented in Parliament by representatives who can vote on the floor. Like all territorial components of Sierra, the Channel Islands is subject to the provisions of the Charter for the Kingdom of Sierra and is classified as a territory within the constituent country of Sierra, not the Kingdom proper. As a result of gaining territorial status, the Channels forfeited their representation in Parliament (losing their representation by the two senators of the Gold Coast and the commoner whose constituency lied within the islands) following secession.

The Earl of Catalina, Olivier Lémieux, is the Queen of Sierra's viceregal representative in the Channel Islands while the head of the Channelier government is Territorial Governor Claire Porcher, who was elected into office in 2012. The Earl is appointed by the Queen and serves at her pleasure, and is responsible for fulfilling all of the ceremonial duties of the Monarchy during the Queen's absence. In addition, all acts of the Legislature must be proclaimed and signed by the Earl in order to take full effect as law. The Earl is also the ceremonial head of the Channelier National Guard as its commander-in-chief. The Territorial Governor is elected directly by Channelier citizens and is responsible for administering the executive branch, enforcing government policies, planning the territorial budget, and other executive duties. In addition, like the Sierran fusionist system at the Kingdom-level, the Channelier Territorial Governor is the President of the unicameral Channel Islands Legislature and is permitted to lead and moderate discussions and debates, draft and introduce bills to the floor, and vote on said bills.

The Channel Islands Legislature is the 20-member unicameral body including the Governor, of which all of whom, are elected on four-year terms. The territory has 19 districts and 1 at-large district from the 3 counties, with each regular district encompassing approximately 1,200 constituents (both voting eligible and non-eligible citizens). The Parti de l'unité (Unity Party), the Channelier affiliate of the mainland Royalist Party, have been in continuous, uninterrupted control of the legislature since the territory's independence from the Gold Coast in 1999. Prior to the Channels' separation from the province, the islands had been represented by conservative Royalist assembly members since 1910. The Legislature convenes daily at the Catalina Casino, the landmark building at Sugarloaf Point in Avalon. Despite its name, the Catalina Casino has never had any gambling function, and the original use of the term casino, was a reference to the word's meaning for "meeting house".

The highest court of the Channel Islands is the Territorial High Court which is headed by the Chief Magistrate and their six associate judges. Lower, inferior courts include the Appellate Courts and Parish Courts. Unlike most of Sierra, the Channel Islands' legal system, particularly in regards to private law and some aspects of criminal law are rooted in the traditions of and  law. It, alongside the Gold Coast have retained the legacy of this legal system from the historical administration by the French and Spanish colonial governments. Following the independence of the Channel Islands, the Civil Code of the Channel Islands was created. Nonetheless,, most aspects of , and other federal law operate according to Sierran common law. Although decisions and cases settled by the Territorial High Court are final in the Channel Islands, such cases can be reviewed by the Supreme Court of Sierra if a writ of is issued, primarily due to a conflict with or issue regarding federal or Kingdom law.

Languages
The official languages of the Channel Islands are and, making the Channels one of the two only provincial or territorial government in Sierra that uses French as one of its official languages (the other being Bénilîle). Due to the Channel's close proximity to the Anglophone mainland and the Channelier education system, virtually all Francophone Channeliers, can also speak English proficiently or higher. Knowledge and comprehension of French is also conversely known among non-French residents, although in recent years, migrants from the mainland have moved in and increased the population of non-French speakers. The retention of the French language, particularly that of the Channelier dialect, has been the subject of much attention and pride among native Channeliers.

According to the 2010 census, 18,461 people (76% of the population) in the Channel Islands declared French as their, while 3,886 people (16% of the population) reported that it was English. The remaining 2,762 residents (11% of the population) constituted other languages more commonly spoken on the mainland, primarily, , , and. 22,590 residents (93% of the population) reported they were (of any two languages) or. The number of residents who could speak and understand French and English (without taking into account of knowledge and use of any other languages) was 20,647 (85% of the population).

Religion
The Channel Islands are unique among Sierra as the only territory or province with a majority Catholic population compared to the Protestant majority or plurality found in the rest of the Kingdom. The islands' large Catholic population is a legacy of the French and Spanish colonial past, with about 78% being. The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Avalon, is the ecclesiastical and episcopal seat of the Church in the Channels as well as parts of southwestern Gold Coast and coastal Orange, and oversees 18 parishes within the Channels. The diocesan cathedral of the Archdiocese is the Cathedral of Saint Catherine of Alexandria, and its current is Edmond Marin.

Other religious faiths present in the Channels are predominantly Christian, primarily those under the Protestant tradition including the, , , , and (26 churches dispersed across the Channels). Non-Christian religions include Canaanism,, , , , and , with at least one religious center or place of worship present on the islands from the aforementioned.