Capital
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robot Adding: [[mi:Tāone matua]]
{{otheruses}}
A '''capital''' is the area of a country, province, region, or state, regarded as enjoying primary status; it is almost always the city which physically encompasses the offices and meeting places of the [[seat of government]] and fixed by [[law]], but there are a number of [[Capital#Unorthodox capital city arrangements|exceptions]]. Alternate terms include '''capital city''' and '''political capital'''; the latter phrase has [[Political capital|a second meaning]] based on an alternative sense of "capital".
The word ''capital'' is derived from the [[Latin]] ''caput'' meaning "head," and, in the [[United States]], the related term ''[[Capitol]]'' refers to the building where government business is chiefly conducted.
Seats of government in major sub-state jurisdictions are often called "capitals", but this is typically the case only in countries with some degree of [[federalism]], where major substate jurisdictions have an element of [[sovereignty]]. In [[unitary state]]s, "administrative center" or other similar terms are typically used. For example, the seat of government in a [[U.S. State|state of the United States of America]] is usually called its "capital", but the main city in a region of England is usually not. At lower administrative subdivisions, terms such as [[county town]], [[county seat]], or [[borough seat]] are usually used.
Historically, the major economic center of a state or region often becomes the focal point of political power, and becomes a capital through conquest or amalgamation. This was the case for [[London]] and [[Moscow]]. The capital naturally attracts the politically motivated and those whose skills are needed for efficient administration of government such as [[lawyer]]s, [[journalist]]s, and [[public policy]] researchers. A capital that is the prime economic, cultural, or intellectual center is sometimes referred to as a [[primate city]]. Such is certainly the case with [[London]] and [[Buenos Aires]] among national capitals, and [[Irkutsk]] or [[Phoenix, Arizona|Phoenix]] in their respective state or province.
Capitals are sometimes sited to discourage further growth in an existing major city. [[Brasília]] was situated in [[Brazil]]'s interior because the old capital, [[Rio de Janeiro]], and southeastern Brazil in general, were considered over-crowded.
The convergence of political and economic or cultural power is by no means universal. Traditional capitals may be economically eclipsed by provincial rivals, as occurred with [[Nanjing]] by [[Shanghai]]. The [[societal collapse|decline]] of a dynasty or culture could also mean the extinction of its capital city, as occurred with [[Babylon]] and [[Cahokia]]. Many present-day capital cities, such as [[New Delhi]], [[Abuja]], Brasília, [[Canberra]], [[Islamabad]], [[Ottawa]] and [[Washington, D.C.]] are [[new town|planned cities]], purposefully located away from established population centres for various reasons, and have become gradually established as new business or commercial centres.
== Unorthodox capital city arrangements ==
{{seealso|List of countries with multiple capitals}}
A number of cases exist where states have multiple capitals, and there are also several states that have no capital. In other cases, the ''official'' capital is not the ''effective'' one for pragmatic reasons. That is, the city known as ''the capital'' is not the seat of government. Occasionally, the official ''capital'' may host the seat of government, but is not the geographic origin of political decision-making.{{Fact|date=June 2008}}<!-- Or give at least an instance, otherwise remove --> The following list specifies the details observed in sovereign states.
* [[Bolivia]]: [[Sucre, Bolivia|Sucre]] is still the [[constitution]]al capital, but most of the national government long abandoned that region for [[La Paz, Bolivia|La Paz]].
* [[Chile]]: [[Santiago, Chile|Santiago]] is the capital even though the [[National Congress of Chile]] is in [[Valparaíso]].
* [[Côte d'Ivoire]]: [[Yamoussoukro]] was designated the national capital in 1983, but most government offices and embassies are still located in [[Abidjan]].
* [[Czech Republic]]: [[Prague]] is the sole constitutional capital. However, [[Brno]] is home to all three of the country's highest [[court]]s, making it the ''de facto'' capital of the [[Judiciary of the Czech Republic|Czech judicial branch]].
* [[France]]: The French constitution does not recognize any capital city in France. [[Paris]] is ''de facto'' capital of France (seat of the Presidency, the Government, the National Assembly and the Senate), but the parliament holds its joint congresses in [[Versailles]].
* [[Germany]]: The official capital [[Berlin]] is seat to the parliament the government. However, various ministries are located in the former [[West German]] capital of [[Bonn]], which has now the title [[Federal City]]. The judicial branch is divided between [[Karlsruhe]] and [[Leipzig]].
*[[Malaysia]]: [[Kuala Lumpur]] is the constitutional capital but the federal administrative centre was moved 30 kilometres south to [[Putrajaya]] in the late 1990s. The parliament remains in Kuala Lumpur.
*[[Montenegro]]: [[Cetinje]] is the constitutional capital, but much greater [[Podgorica]] is the administrative center.
* [[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 sq mi), has no distinct capital city, and thus has a capital district instead.<!-- It looked like it meant that anarchy reigned over Nauru, so I clarified it. -->
* The [[Netherlands]]: [[Amsterdam]] is the constitutional national capital even though the Dutch government, parliament, [[Hoge Raad der Nederlanden|supreme court]] and the [[Huis ten Bosch|residential palace]] of the [[Beatrix of the Netherlands|queen]] are all located in [[The Hague]]. (For more details see: [[Capital of the Netherlands]]).
* [[South Africa]]: The administrative capital is [[Pretoria]], the legislative capital is [[Cape Town]], and the judicial capital is [[Bloemfontein]], 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 [[Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland|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]].
* [[United Kingdom]]: The locations of various courts of the judicial systems have no direct ties with the coincident towns or cities, the highest level courts and their administrative offices merely having settled within a convenient distance of the legislatures and not all within the same local government area.
* [[Singapore]] has no capital city distinct from the country as a whole.
===Supra-national entities===
* [[European Union]]: [[Brussels]], [[Belgium]] is generally treated{{Fact|date=June 2008}} as the 'capital' of the European Union, and the institution of the EU's executive, the [[European Commission]], and the legislative and executive [[Council of Ministers]], both have their seats there. However, a protocol attached to the [[Treaty of Amsterdam]] requires that the [[European Parliament]] have monthly sessions in [[Strasbourg]], [[France]]. Financial and legal centres are also located outside of Brussels. However, the EU is not a country, and hence calling any city its capital is disputable.
* [[United Nations]]: [[New York]] is the main meeting place of the highest bodies of the UN, but significant parts of its structure exist in other cities, such as [[Geneva]] and [[The Hague]].
== Capital as symbol ==
With the rise of modern [[empire]]s and the [[nation-state]], the capital city has become a [[symbol]] for the [[state]] and its [[government]], and imbued with political meaning. Unlike [[medieval]] capitals, which were declared wherever a [[monarch]] held his or her court, the selection, relocation, founding or capture of a modern capital city is an emotional affair. For example:
* Ruined and almost uninhabited [[Athens]] was made capital of newly independent [[Greece]] with the romantic notion of reviving the glory of [[Ancient Greece]]. Similarly, following the [[Cold War]] and [[German reunification]], [[Berlin, Germany|Berlin]] is now once again the capital of Germany. Other restored capital cities include [[Moscow]] after the [[October Revolution]].
* A symbolic relocation of a capital city to a geographically or demographically peripheral location may be for either [[economic geography|economic]] or [[military geography|strategic]] reasons (sometimes known as a "forward capital" or spearhead capital). [[Peter I of Russia]] moved his government from [[Moscow]] to [[Saint Petersburg]] to give the [[Russian Empire]] a [[The West|western]] orientation, while [[Kemal Atatürk]] did the same by moving to [[Ankara]], away from more [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] [[Istanbul]]. The [[Ming]] Emperors moved their capital to [[Beijing]] from more central [[Nanjing]] as to better supervise the border with the Mongols and Manchus. During the 1857 war of independence, [[India|Indian rebels]] considered [[Delhi]] their capital and [[Bahadur Shah Zafar]] was proclaimed emperor, though the ruling [[British India|British]] had their capital in [[Calcutta]]. In 1877 the British formally held a '[[Delhi Durbar|Durbar]]' in Delhi, proclaiming [[Victoria of the United Kingdom|Queen Victoria]] as '[[Empress of India]]'. Delhi finally became the colonial capital after the [[Delhi Durbar|Coronation Durbar]] of King-Emperor [[George V of the United Kingdom|George V]], continuing as Independent India's capital from 1947. Other examples include [[Abuja]], [[Astana|Astaná]], [[Brasília]], [[Helsinki]], [[Islamabad]], [[Naypyidaw]] and [[Yamoussoukro]].
* The selection or founding of a "neutral" capital city — i.e. one unencumbered by regional or political identity — was meant to represent the unity of a new state when [[Bern]], [[Canberra]], [[Madrid]], and [[Washington, D.C.]] became capitals. The British-built town of [[New Delhi]] represented a simultaneous break and continuity with the past — the location of [[Delhi]] being where many imperial capitals were built e.g. Indraprastha, Dhillika and Shahjahanabad, but the actual capital being the new British built town designed by Edwin Lutyens.
* During the [[American Civil War]], tremendous resources were expended to defend [[Washington, D.C.]], which bordered the [[Confederate States of America]], from Confederate attack, even though the then-small [[Federal Government of the United States|federal government]] could have been moved relatively easily in the era of [[railroad]]s and [[telegraph]].
== Strategic importance of capitals ==
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 [[Chinese Dynasties|dynasty]] could easily be toppled with the fall of its capital. In the [[Three Kingdoms]] period, both [[Shu Han|Shu]] and [[Kingdom of Wu|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 technologies allowed both the [[Chinese Nationalists]] and [[Chinese Communists]] to rapidly relocate capitals and keep their leadership structures intact during the great crisis of [[Second Sino-Japanese War|Japanese invasion]].
National capitals were arguably less important as military objectives in other parts of the world, including the West, due to 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 [[Fourth Crusade|Crusaders]] captured the [[Byzantine Empire|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 Empire|British]] forces sacked various [[United States|American]] capitals repeatedly during the [[American Revolutionary War|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 frontiersmen-civilians. 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 is taken; in their military strategies, traditional enemies of France such as [[Germany]] focused on the capture of [[Paris]].
== Largest national capital cities ==
The largest national capitals in each region, by urban/metropolitan area population, are:
* Africa: [[Cairo]] (7,933,236)
* Asia: [[Tokyo]] (12,790,000)
* Europe: [[Moscow]] (10,654,000)
* North America: [[Mexico City]] (8,658,576)
* Oceania: [[Wellington]] (445,400)
* South America: [[Bogota]] (7,554,000)
* [[European Union]]: [[London]] (8,278,251)and as much as 14,000,000 within the [[metropolitan area]]
== Distance to the capital ==
The greatest distance between a capital and the remotest part of the country is from
[[Paris]] to [[New Caledonia]], [[France]] with {{convert|16760|km|mi|abbr=on}}.
Other great distances are
* [[London]] to [[Pitcairn Islands]], [[UK]], {{convert|14900|km|mi|abbr=on}}
* [[Washington, DC]] to [[Attu Island]], [[US]], {{convert|7800|km|mi|abbr=on}}
* [[Moscow]] to [[Kunashir Island]], [[Russia]], {{convert|7050|km|mi|abbr=on}}
== Distances Between Capital Cities (Nearest & Farthest) ==
* Nearest
:The closest two 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 second closest two 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 (1 mile) 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 actually 55 km (34 miles) apart.
* Farthest
:The longest distance from one capital of a sovereign country to the one closest to it is 2330 km (1448 miles) between [[Wellington]], [[New Zealand]] and [[Canberra]], [[Australia]]. Each is nearer to the other than to the capital of any other sovereign country.
:The greatest distance between the capitals of two sovereign countries that share a border is 6423 km (3991 miles), between [[Pyongyang]], [[North Korea]] and [[Moscow]], [[Russia]].
== Lists of capitals ==
*Lists of national capitals
**[[List of national capitals|by name]]
**[[List of capitals by country|by country]]
**[[List of capitals and larger cities by country|by country (with also the largest city)]]
**[[List of countries by continent|by continent and country]]
*[[List of historical national capitals]]
*[[List of multiple capitals]]
*[[List of countries whose capital is not their largest city]]
*[[List of purpose-built capital cities]]
*[[List of capitals outside of the territories they serve]]
*[[List of capitals of multiple countries or territories simultaneously]]
== References ==
{{reflist|2}}
== See also ==
*[[Temporary capital]]
* [[Capital City]] (TV show)
{{Types of administrative country subdivision}}
[[Category:Capitals]]
[[Category:Political geography]]
[[Category:Administrative divisions]]
[[af:Hoofstad]]
[[als:Hauptstadt]]
[[am:ዋና ከተማ]]
[[ang:Hēafodburg]]
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[[be:Сталіца]]
[[be-x-old:Сталіца]]
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[[ca:Capital]]
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[[eu:Hiriburu (politika)]]
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[[gu:રાજધાની]]
[[got:𐌷𐌰𐌿𐌱𐌹𐌳𐌰𐌱𐌰𐌿𐍂𐌲𐍃/Haubidabaurgs]]
[[zh-classical:京]]
[[ko:수도]]
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[[ilo:Capitolio]]
[[id:Ibu kota]]
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[[it:Capitale (città)]]
[[he:עיר בירה]]
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[[ka:დედაქალაქი]]
[[csb:Stolëca]]
[[sw:Mji mkuu]]
[[ht:Kapital]]
[[ku:Paytext]]
[[la:Caput (urbs)]]
[[lv:Galvaspilsēta]]
[[lt:Sostinė]]
[[li:Houfsjtad]]
[[lmo:Capitala]]
[[hu:Főváros]]
[[mk:Главен град]]
[[mg:Renivohitra]]
[[mt:Belt Kapitali]]
[[mi:Tāone matua]]
[[ms:Ibu negara]]
[[mn:Нийслэл хот]]
[[nl:Hoofdstad]]
[[ja:首都]]
[[no:Hovedstad]]
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[[oc:Capitala]]
[[uz:Poytaxt]]
[[nds:Hööftstadt]]
[[pl:Stolica]]
[[pt:Capital]]
[[crh:Paytaht]]
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[[rmy:Sherutno foro]]
[[rm:Chapitala]]
[[qu:Uma llaqta]]
[[ru:Столица]]
[[sc:Capitale]]
[[simple:Capital (city)]]
[[sk:Hlavné mesto]]
[[cu:Стольнъ градъ]]
[[sl:Glavno mesto]]
[[sr:Главни град]]
[[su:Ibu kota]]
[[fi:Pääkaupunki]]
[[sv:Huvudstad]]
[[tl:Kabisera]]
[[ta:தலைநகரம்]]
[[th:เมืองหลวง]]
[[vi:Thủ đô]]
[[tpi:Kapitol]]
[[tr:Başkent]]
[[uk:Столиця]]
[[ur:دارالحکومت]]
[[vec:Cavedal]]
[[vo:Cifazif]]
[[yi:הויפטשטאט]]
[[yo:Oluilu]]
[[zh-yue:首都]]
[[bat-smg:Suostėnė]]
[[zh:首都]]