Commonly understood to be sanctuary paths that allowed people accused of crimes safe passage from the Island, perquages are, according to Mike Bisson, an example of the misunderstandings that have been perpetuated about Jersey’s past.
While perquages undoubtedly exist as pathways, it is their status as ‘sanctuary paths’ that is disputed.
Mr Bisson, who created Jerripedia nine years ago, has now launched a Jerripedia Facebook group to increase the visibility of the website and to encourage people to debate relevant issues.
‘When I started Jerripedia, I did so because, at the time, the only resources for information about the Island were the library, the Société Jersiaise or the Jersey Archive, none of which had a great deal of information online,’ he said.
‘Since then, they have made great strides in that regard but none of them have the same level of information as Jerripedia.’
Another example of the kind of misinformation about Jersey that has persisted over the years, Mr Bisson said, was the idea that Jersey was formerly known as Caesarea.
‘This is a load of rubbish,’ he said. ‘There is no truth in it whatsoever.’
Mr Bisson said that Jerripedia currently has around 1,000 visitors a day, only a fifth of whom are resident in Jersey.
