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Revision as of 19:15, 25 December 2012

"Capital cities" redirects here. For the former media company, see Capital Cities Communications.

A capital city or capital town (or simply capital) is the municipality enjoying primary status in a state, country, province, or other region as its seat of government. A capital is typically a city that physically encompasses the offices and meeting places of its respective government and is normally fixed by its law or constitution.

Terminology

The word capital derives from the Latin caput meaning "head".

In several English-speaking states, the terms county town, county seat, and borough seat are also used in lower subdivisions. In unitary states, sub-national capitals are commonly known as "administrative centres".

An alternative term is political capital, but this phrase has a second meaning based on an alternate sense of the word capital. The capital is often, but not necessarily, the largest city of its constituent area.

Origins

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Historically, the major economic centre of a state or region often becomes the focal point of political power, and becomes a capital through conquest or federation. Examples are Ancient Baghdad, Berlin, Constantinople, London, Athens, Madrid, Moscow, Ancient Rome, Beijing, Stockholm, Tokyo, and Vienna. The capital city naturally attracts politically motivated people and those whose skills are needed for efficient administration of national or imperial governments, such as lawyers, political scientists, bankers, journalists, and public policy makers. Some of these cities are or were also religious centres, e.g. Constantinople (more than one religion), Rome (the Roman Catholic Church), Jerusalem (more than one religion), Ancient Baghdad, London (the Anglican Church), Moscow (the Russian Orthodox Church), Belgrade (the Serbian Orthodox Church), Paris, and Peking.

A capital city that is also the prime economic, cultural, or intellectual centre of a nation or an empire is sometimes referred to as a primate city. Examples are Athens, Beijing, Belgrade, Brussels, Bucharest, Budapest, Buenos Aires, Cairo, Copenhagen, Dublin, Lima, Lisbon, London, Madrid, Manila, Montevideo, Mexico City, Nairobi, Paris, Prague, Riga, Rome, Seoul, Skopje, Sofia, Stockholm, Tirana, Tokyo, Vienna, Vilnius, and Warsaw.

The convergence of political and economic or cultural power is by no means universal. Traditional capitals may be economically eclipsed by provincial rivals, e.g. Nanking by Shanghai, Quebec City by Montreal, and numerous US state capitals. The decline of a dynasty or culture could also mean the extinction of its capital city, as occurred at Babylon and Cahokia.

Although many capitals are defined by constitution or legislation, many long-time capitals have no legal designation as such: for example Bern, Edinburgh, Lisbon, London, Melbourne, Paris, and Wellington. They are recognised as capitals as a matter of convention, and because all or almost all the country's central political institutions, such as government departments, supreme court, legislature, embassies, etc., are located in or near them.

Modern capitals

Counties in England, Wales and Scotland have historic county towns, which are often not the largest settlement within the county and often are no longer administrative centres, as many historical counties are now only ceremonial, and administrative boundaries are different.

In Canada, there is a federal capital, and the ten provinces and three territories all have capital cities. The states of such countries as Mexico, Brazil (including the famous cities of Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, capitals of their respective states), and Australia all have capital cities. For example, the six state capitals of Australia are Adelaide, South Australia; Brisbane, Queensland; Hobart, Tasmania; Melbourne, Victoria; Perth, Western Australia; and Sydney, New South Wales. In Australia, the term "capital cities" is regularly used, to refer to the aforementioned state capitals plus the federal capital Canberra and Darwin, the capital of the Northern Territory.

In the Federal Republic of Germany, each of its constituent states (or Länder - plural of Land) has its own capital city, such as Wiesbaden, Mainz, Düsseldorf, Stuttgart, and Munich. Likewise, each of the republics of the Russian Federation has its own capital city.

Planned capital cities

Many capital cities were planned by government to house the seat of government of the nation or subdivision. Some planned capitals include Abuja, Nigeria (1991); Aracaju, Sergipe, Brazil (1855); Ankara, Turkey (1923); Austin, Texas (1839); Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil (1897); Dhaka, Bangladesh (1971); Brasília, Brazil (1960); Canberra, Australia (1927); Goiânia, Goiás, Brazil (1933); Islamabad, Pakistan (1960); Frankfort, Kentucky (1792); Jefferson City, Missouri (1821); Jhongsing New Village, Taiwan (1955); New Delhi, India (1911); Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (1889); Ottawa, Ontario, Canada (1857); Palmas, Tocantins, Brazil (1989); Quezon City, Philippines (1948–1976); Raleigh, North Carolina, USA (1792); Washington D.C., USA (1800); and Wellington, New Zealand (1865).

These cities satisfy one or both of the following criteria:

A deliberately planned city that was built expressly to house the seat of government, superseding a capital city that had been located in an established population center. There have been various reasons for this, including overcrowding in that major metropolitan area, and the desire to place the capital city in a location with a better climate (usually a less tropical one).
A town that was chosen as a compromise among two or more cities (or other political divisions), none of which was willing to concede to the other(s) the privilege of being the capital city. Usually, the new capital is geographically located roughly equidistant between the competing population centres.

Some examples of the second situation include:

Canberra, Australia, which was chosen as a compromise located between Melbourne and Sydney.
Frankfort, Kentucky, which is midway between Louisville and Lexington, Kentucky.
Ottawa, Canada, which is located along the boundary between the Province of Ontario and the Province of Quebec - the two most populous of the ten provinces, midway between their provincial capitals, Quebec City and Toronto.
Wellington, New Zealand, which is located at the southern tip of the North Island of New Zealand, the more populous island, immediately across the Cook Strait from the South Island. The capital city was moved there from Auckland, at the northern extremity of the North Island, due to fears that the then gold-rich South Island would decide to become a separate colony.

Changes in a nation's political regime sometimes result in the designation of a new capital. The newly independent Kazakhstan moved its capital to the existing city of Aqmola. Naypyidaw was founded in Burma's interior as the former capital, Rangoon, was claimed to be too overcrowded.

Washington, DC

When the United States established its present constitution in 1787, the question of its capital city arose. Several cities wished to be the national capital, including Boston; New York City; Philadelphia; and Richmond, Virginia; and none of these was willing to concede this honor to any of the others. There was also rivalry between the proposed thirteen states as to which one would contain the capital city. A compromise was reached to establish a federal district separate from any of the states, which would contain a new capital city. The capital district was given the name District of Columbia, and the capital city of Washington was founded within it. In 1800, Washington was ready to house the federal government.

The District of Columbia was the first such district to be set aside for a capital city, and this arrangement has been followed by Australia (Australian Capital Territory), Mexico (Federal District), Pakistan (Islamabad Capital Territory) and Brazil (Federal District).

Unusual capital city arrangements

A number of cases exist where states have multiple capitals, and there are also several states that have no capital.

Chile: Santiago is the capital even though the National Congress of Chile meets in Valparaíso.
Czech Republic: Prague is the sole constitutional capital. Brno is home to all three of the country's highest courts, making it the de facto capital of the Czech judicial branch.
Estonia: the Supreme Court and the Ministry of Education and Research are located in Tartu.
Finland: During the summer, the President resides at the Kultaranta in Naantali; presidential sessions of the government are held there as well.
France: The French constitution does not recognise any capital city in France. By law Paris is the seat of both houses of parliament (the national assembly and the senate), but their joint congresses are held at the palace of Versailles. In case of emergency the seat of the constitutional powers can be transferred in another town, in order for the houses of parliament to keep seating in the same location of the president and cabinet.
Germany: The official capital Berlin is home to the parliament and the highest bodies of the executive branch (consisting of the ceremonial presidency and effective chancellery). Various ministries are located in the former West German capital of Bonn, which now has the title Federal City. The Federal Constitutional Court has its seat in Karlsruhe, which as a consequence is sometimes called Germany's "judicial capital"; none of Germany's highest judicial organs are located in Berlin.
Malaysia: Kuala Lumpur is the constitutional capital and seat of parliament, but the federal administrative centre and judiciary were moved 30 kilometres south to Putrajaya.
Myanmar (Burma): Naypyidaw was designated the national capital in 2005, the same year it was founded, but most government offices and embassies are still located in Yangon (Rangoon).
Nauru: Nauru, a tiny country of only 21 square kilometres (8.1 sq mi), has no distinct capital city, and thus has a capital district instead.
Sri Lanka: Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte is the official capital and the location of the parliament, while the former capital, Colombo, is now designated as the "commercial capital". However, many government offices are still located in Colombo. Both cities are in the Colombo District.
South Africa: The administrative capital is Pretoria, the legislative capital is Cape Town, and the judicial capital is Bloemfontein. This is the outcome of the compromise that created the Union of South Africa in 1910.
Switzerland: Bern is the Federal City of Switzerland and functions as de facto capital. However, the Swiss Supreme Court is located in Lausanne.
Tanzania: Dodoma was designated the national capital in 1973, but most government offices and embassies are still located in Dar es Salaam.
Monaco, Singapore and the Vatican City are city-states, and thus do not have a capital city distinct from the country as a whole.

Capitals that are not the seat of government

There are several countries where the official capital and de facto seat of government are - for various reasons - separated:

Benin: Porto-Novo is the official capital, but Cotonou is the seat of government.
Bolivia: Sucre is still the constitutional capital, but most of the national government long ago abandoned that region for La Paz.
Côte d'Ivoire: Yamoussoukro was designated the national capital in 1983, but most government offices and embassies are still located in Abidjan.
Netherlands: Amsterdam is the constitutional national capital even though the Dutch government, parliament, supreme court, and the residential and work palace of the queen are all located in The Hague. (For more details see: Capital of the Netherlands).

International entities

European Union (see details): Brussels is generally considered as the capital of the European Union alongside Strasbourg where the European Parliament has its official seat and votes because it hosts the major institutions of the EU. The judiciary and some of the executive's work are located in Luxembourg and other bodies and agencies in other cities. Although the main seats are fixed in the EU's treaties which form its legal basis, they do not use the term "capital" for any city.
United Nations: New York City is the main meeting place of the highest bodies of the UN, but significant parts of its structure exist in other cities, such as Vienna, Geneva, Nairobi and The Hague.
African Union: Addis Ababa and Midrand
Union of South American Nations: Cochabamba and Quito
Interpol: Lyon
Europol: The Hague
UNESCO: Paris
World Bank: Washington, D.C
CERN: Geneva
HELCOM: Helsinki
International Organization for Standardization: Geneva
ASEAN: Jakarta
Asian Development Bank:Mandaluyong City, Metro Manila

Capitals in military strategy

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The capital city is almost always a primary target in a war, as capturing it usually guarantees capture of much of the enemy government, victory for the attacking forces, or at the very least demoralization for the defeated forces.

In ancient China, where governments were massive centralized bureaucracies with little flexibility on the provincial level, a dynasty could easily be toppled with the fall of its capital. In the Three Kingdoms period, both Shu and Wu fell when their respective capitals of Chengdu and Jianye fell. The Ming dynasty relocated its capital from Nanjing to Beijing, where they could more effectively control the generals and troops guarding the borders from Mongols and Manchus. The Ming was destroyed when the Li Zicheng took their seat of power, and this pattern repeats itself in Chinese history, until the fall of the traditional Confucian monarchy in the 20th century. After the Qing Dynasty's collapse, decentralization of authority and improved transportation and communication technologies allowed both the Chinese Nationalists and Chinese Communists to rapidly relocate capitals and keep their leadership structures intact during the great crisis of Japanese invasion.

National capitals were arguably less important as military objectives in other parts of the world, including the West, because of socioeconomic trends toward localized authority, a strategic modus operandi especially popular after the development of feudalism and reaffirmed by the development of democratic and capitalistic philosophies. In 1204, after the Latin Crusaders captured the Byzantine capital, Constantinople, Byzantine forces were able to regroup in several provinces; provincial noblemen managed to reconquer the capital after 60 years and preserve the empire for another 200 years after that. The British forces sacked various American capitals repeatedly during the Revolutionary War and War of 1812, but American forces could still carry on fighting from the countryside, where they enjoyed support from local governments and the traditionally independent civilian frontiersmen. Exceptions to these generalizations include highly centralized states such as France, whose centralized bureaucracies could effectively coordinate far-flung resources, giving the state a powerful advantage over less coherent rivals, but risking utter ruin if the capital were taken. In their military strategies, traditional enemies of France such as Prussia (in the Franco-Prussian War of 1871) focused on the capture of Paris.

Distances between capital cities (nearest and farthest)

Nearest capital cities

The closest capital cities of two sovereign countries are Vatican City, Vatican, and Rome, Italy, one of which is inside the other (the distance between the middle points, St. Peter's Square/Piazza Venezia is about 2 km).

The two second closest capital cities between two sovereign countries are Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo, which are about 1.6 km (0.99 mi) apart, one upstream from the other on different banks of the Congo River (the distance between the middle points is about 10 km).

Vienna and Bratislava, sometimes erroneously considered the two closest capitals, are 55 km (34 mi) apart.

Farthest away from each other

The capitals farthest away from each other are Wellington, New Zealand, and Madrid, Spain, which are 19,880 km (12,353 mi) apart. This is very nearly the maximum possible, since they are only 160 km (99 mi) away from being antipodes, or directly opposite each other on a globe.

Farthest away among two sovereign countries that share a border

The greatest distance between the capitals of two sovereign countries that share a border is 6,423 km (3,991 mi), between Pyongyang, North Korea and Moscow, Russia.

Farthest away from the closest other capital city (remoteness)

The longest distance from one capital of a sovereign country to the one closest to it is 2,330 km (1,448 mi) between Wellington, New Zealand, and Canberra, Australia. The relation is reciprocal - each one is nearer to the other than to the capital of any other sovereign country.

References

Pedrosa, Veronica (20 November 2006). "Burma's 'seat of the kings'". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 21 November 2006.
Ordonnance n° 58-1100 du 17 novembre 1958 relative au fonctionnement des assemblées parlementaires article 1
Demey, Thierry (2007). Brussels, capital of Europe. S. Strange (trans.). Brussels: Badeaux. ISBN 2-9600414-2-9.

Designations for types of administrative division

English terms

Common English terms

Area	Insular area Local government area Special area Unincorporated area Unorganized area
Borough	County borough Metropolitan borough
Canton	Half-canton
Capital	Federal capital Imperial capital
City	Autonomous city Charter city Independent city Incorporated city Imperial city Free imperial city Royal free city
Community	Autonomous community Residential community
County	Administrative county Autonomous county Consolidated city-county County seat County town Metropolitan county Non-metropolitan county Regional county municipality Viscounty
Country	Overseas country
Department	Overseas department
District	Capital district City district Congressional district Electoral district Federal district Indian government district Land district Local government district Metropolitan district Non-metropolitan district Military district Municipal district Police district Regional district Rural district Sanitary district Service district Educational service district Local service district School district Intermediate school district Special district in the US Urban district
Division	Census division Police division Subdivision of India
Indian reserve/reservation	Indian reservation (United States) Indian reserve (Canada)
Municipality	City municipality County municipality Direct-controlled municipality District municipality Neutral municipality Regional municipality Resort municipality Mountain resort municipality Rural municipality Specialized municipality
Prefecture	Autonomous prefecture Subprefecture Super-prefecture Praetorian prefecture
Province	Autonomous province Overseas province Roman province
Region	Administrative region Special administrative region Autonomous region Capital region National capital region Development region Mesoregion Microregion Overseas region Subregion
State	Proto-state City-state Federal state Free state Sovereign state
Territory	Capital territory Federal capital territory National capital territory Dependent territory Federal territory Incorporated territory Organized incorporated territory Overseas territory Union territory
Town	Census town Market town
Township	Charter township Civil township Paper township Survey township Urban township
Unit	Regional unit Territorial unit Autonomous territorial unit
Zone	Economic zone Exclusive economic zone Free economic zone Special economic zone Exclusion zone Military exclusion zone Free speech zone Neutral zone Self-administered zone Trade zone Free-trade zone

Other English terms

Current

Historical

Non-English terms or loanwords