Music of the Channel Islands for hundreds of years. Song in Jèrriais celebrates the language and its survival. Songs derived from French mark geographic identity and proximity to France, while songs derived from the UK and Ireland re-present Jersey's wider heritage. The development of tourism in the 19th century brought a demand for dance music in tea-rooms and hotels. Some local composers supplied songs and sheet music aimed at a tourist market. Claude Debussy composed part of "La Mer" in Jersey. John Ireland settled for a time in Guernsey. The Channel Islands Music Council was founded in 1974 to promote music in the islands. In
History of Guernsey and Jersey were given certain privileges as the English crown needed the Islands to be loyal, not least of which was the Islands neutrality, allowing trade to be pursued with France and England, even when these were at war. The trade creating revenue from taxes to pay for the Island garrisons. During the English Civil War, Guernsey sided with the Parliamentarians, while Jersey remained Royalist. Guernsey's decision was mainly related to the higher proportion of Calvinists and other Reformed churches, as well as Charles I's refusal to take up the case of some Guernsey seamen who had been captured by