MASTER ISLAND

Maîtresse-Île is the only inhabitable islet of the Minquiers archipelago which contains about fifty islets, reefs and sandbars. And for good reason, at high tide, only this one island of less than 1 km2 (150 meters long by 40 meters wide) remains. An island that emerges five or ten meters above the sea. Although there are naturally a few fishermen's houses, they are uninhabited and are only used occasionally as a refuge during the peak fishing season in the archipelago. As early as the 18th century, the islet was occupied by about twenty Jersey fishermen, because the bad season, with its storms and terrible winds, obviously forbade any residence. Maîtresse-Île, which was also a den of smugglers in the 19th century, was also exploited for a long time as a granite quarry. A customs post was also built there by the inhabitants of Jersey. Here too, the houses protect each other from the elements. These constructions are of English origin. Note the tax house which bears the coat of arms of the States of Jersey and the inscription: taxes. Note that the Minquiers and Maîtresse-Île are mentioned at length by Victor Hugo in Quatre-Vingt-Treize (1874). The archipelago is also evoked in Les Travailleurs de la mer (1866) by the French writer who makes one of his heroes say that Les Minquiers "is a very bad rock". It must be said that having lived in Jersey and Guernsey, the novelist knew the place rather well.