Isles of Scilly

The Isles of Scilly (ˈsɪli ; Syllan, Ynysek Syllan, or Ynysow Syllan) is an archipelago off the southwestern tip of Cornwall, England. One of the islands, St Agnes, is the most southerly point in the British Isles, being over further south than the most southerly point of the British mainland at Lizard Point. The total population of the islands at the 2011 United Kingdom census was 2,203. Scilly forms part of the ceremonial county of Cornwall, and some services are combined with those of Cornwall. However, since 1890, the islands have had a separate local authority. Since the passing of the Isles of Scilly Order 1930, this authority has had the status of a county council, and today it is known as the Council of the Isles of Scilly. The adjective "Scillonian" is sometimes used for people or things related to the archipelago. The Duchy of Cornwall owns most of the freehold land on the islands. Tourism is a major part of the local economy, along with agriculture—particularly the production of cut flowers. Historically, the Isles of Scilly were known in Latin as Insulae Sillinae, Silina or Siluruni, corresponding to Greek forms Σίλυρες and Σύρινες. In the Late Middle Ages they were known to European navigators as Sorlingas (Spanish, Portuguese) or Sorlingues (French). In the Cornish language, the Isles of Scilly is Syllan. The etymology is unknown. Some authors suggest the Latin Sillinae is derived or related to solis insulae, "the Isles of the Sun". The islands may correspond to the Cassiterides ('Tin Isles') believed by some to have been visited by the Phoenicians, and mentioned by the Greeks. While Cornwall is an ancient tin-mining region, there is no evidence of substantial tin mining activity on the islands. The isles were off the coast of the Brittonic Celtic kingdom of Dumnonia and later its offshoot, Kernow (Cornwall), until ca. 570 when the modern midlands, and in 577 the severn valley similarly both fell into Anglo Saxon control, splitting the remaining British into 3 separate regions of West, Wales and Cumbria/Ystrad Clyd (strathclyde).