Access to the Duchy is via a rail line, ferry services, two main roads and several minor roads and lanes
------------------
What is Cornwall? Is it a mere administrative County of England? A Duchy with a unique constitutional status? A nation? Or a full-blown country?
a) County: Cornwall has long been referred to as a comitatus, a word which gave rise to the English word ‘county’ and often translated as such, but which, in the medieval period of the documents in which it is found, had a rather different meaning to that understood today. The meaning of the original Latin word is given as ‘retinue’ but, in the medieval period it described a “territory under a Count (comes)’. The British equivalent of a Count is Earl and, therefore, the “Comitatus of Cornwall” meant the “Earldom of Cornwall” which it was between 1066 and 1337.
Administrative county status placed on Cornwall stemmed from the Local Government Act of 1888, although curiously, it was not applied to Cornwall until the following year. The aforementioned Royal Commission on the Constitution 1973 highlighted the many doubts regarding the legality of this action and, indeed this was yet another Act of the Westminster Parliament imposed in contempt of the Cornish Parliament’s lawful Right of Veto.
A county is also defined as a “shire”, but Cornwall has never been a shire. In fact, several of its ancient internal divisions, known as keverangow (later redefined as “Hundreds”) have in the past had their own names appended with -shire. That a shire could contain shires is an absurdity.
b) Duchy: That the entire mainland territory of Cornwall, including the bed and waters of the River Tamar has been a Duchy since 1337 is beyond doubt. It is perpetual and enshrined in law. Moreover, it is a Duchy with unique standing, extra-territorial to the Crown and with a different Head of State, different laws and different privileges than England or the remainder of the UK. As the defined legal status of Cornwall is more reminiscent of both County Palatine and Crown Dependency, this removes Cornwall from the status of a mere “county of England”.
c) Nation: The Oxford Modern Dictionary gives the definition of ‘Nation’ as follows: “A community of people of mainly common descent, history, language, etc., forming a State or inhabiting a territory.” Cornwall ticks every single box and is most certainly a nation under this definition. The recent genetic findings confirm that its people are of mainly common descent; its history is unique in Britain, and it retains its own language with a history dating back 5,000 years. That it forms a State is confirmed by the existence and constitutional status of the territorial Duchy, and the territory inhabited by that community has been defined by sea and the River Tamar for more than a thousand years. That Cornwall is a nation in its own right is beyond all reasonable doubt.
d) Country: The Oxford Modern Dictionary defines “country” as follows: “1a. the territory of a nation with its own government; a State; 1b. a territory possessing its own language, people, culture, etc. 2 (often attrib.) rural districts as opposed to towns or the capital (a cottage in the country, a country town). 3. the land of a person’s birth or citizenship; a fatherland. 4a. a territory, esp. an area of interest or knowledge. 4b. a region associated with a particular person, esp. a writer (Hardy country). 5. (Brit.) a national population, esp. as voters (the country won’t stand for it).
Cornwall qualifies for appellation as a country, particularly under definitions 1a, 1b, and 5. It is a territory as a nation with its own government (as already established), even though that government may at present be held in abeyance, but remains intact at law. It is, again as established above, a territory possessing its own language, people, culture, etc., and it has a national population as evidenced by its inclusion as a protected National Minority. It can be argued that Cornwall can also claim to conform to definitions 3, 4a and 4b, although these are of less importance in the context of this submission.
Ref:-
(
visit link)
---------------------
The Duchy of Cornwall
(Owned by the Prince of Wales)
"A private estate established in 1337 which funds the public,charitable and private activities of the Prince of Wales and his family"
[http//duchyofcornwall.org]
----------------------
Cornwall is a proud independent Celtic kingdom but through historical events which lay outside both democratic and legal process, it has been counted, by London, as part of England since the mid 16th century; its people labelled as “English” and, since 1889, it has been administered as though it were a mere county of England.
Yet, being a Duchy funds the public, charitable and private activities of the Prince of Wales.
-----------------
Cornish heraldry is the form of coats of arms and other heraldic bearings and insignia used in Cornwall, United Kingdom. While similar to English, Scottish and Welsh heraldry, Cornish heraldry has its own distinctive features. Cornish heraldry typically makes use of the tinctures sable (black) and or (gold), and also uses certain creatures like Cornish choughs. It also uses the Cornish language extensively for mottoes and canting arms
(
visit link)
---------------------
Cornwall has its own Language
The Cornish language (Kernewek) dates back to pre-Roman times and the Celtic races that inhabited this part of Europe. The Cornish language faded out towards the end of the 18th century but several Celtic languages still survive and Cornish has undergone a revival over the past 100 years. Cornish is perhaps most closely related to Welsh and Breton, which have provided many clues to help resurrect the language.
As Britain was successively colonised by various invaders the Celts were pushed to the fringes - westwards into Wales and Cornwall. This move westward never really ceased and throughout the Middle Ages Cornish was pushed further and further west. Between 1400 and the mid 1500's the Cornish language had retreated from being universal to only being spoken west of Tintagel / Looe.
(
visit link)
---------------------
Cornwall is an administrative county of England. The constitutional basis for the administration of Cornwall as part of England is disputed as Duchy Charters of 1337 place the governance of Cornwall with the Duchy of Cornwall rather than the English Crown.
In ethnic and cultural terms, Cornwall and its inhabitants have at various times been referred to as "foreign" to England and the English people in various ways, including by the English themselves.One aspect of the distinct identity of Cornwall is the Cornish language, which survived into the early modern period and has been revived in modern times.
Cornish nationalists argue, whether from a legal, cultural or other basis, that Cornwall should have greater autonomy than the present administrative circumstances give. A manifestation of this is the campaign for a Cornish assembly, along the lines of the Welsh or Scottish legislative institutions. Those who assert that Cornwall is, or ought to be, separate from England do not necessarily advocate separation from the United Kingdom. An important aim is Cornwall's recognition as a British "home nation" in its own right similar to how Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are considered.
(
visit link)