Capital city

A capital city, or just capital, is the special city where a country's government is usually based. It is the municipality that holds primary status in a country, state, province, department, or other area, often acting as the seat of government. This means that important government buildings and offices are located there. The capital city is often chosen by law or a constitution, making it the official center for making decisions and running the country.

Sometimes, different parts of the government are in different cities, which can lead to multiple official capitals. For example, in some places, the main leader works in one city, while other important meetings happen in another. Even though this can happen, most countries have just one main capital city.

People often use the name of the capital city to talk about the government itself. For instance, when someone says "London–Washington relations," they mean the diplomatic ties between the United Kingdom and the United States. This way, the capital city becomes a symbol of the country's leadership and authority.

Terminology and etymology

The word capital comes from the Latin word caput, meaning 'head'. It was later used in Medieval Latin as capitālis. The idea of a capital city has deep roots, with the phrase Roma Caput Mundi meaning 'Rome head of the world' used long ago.

In some places, smaller areas also have important towns called county towns or county seats. Sometimes, the capital isn’t the biggest city in that area.

Origins

Historically, the main economic center of a state or region often became the place where political power was centered, turning it into a capital through events like conquest or federation. Important examples include ancient Babylon, ancient Athens, ancient Rome, Abbasid Baghdad, Constantinople, Chang'an, and ancient Cusco. In medieval Western Europe, governments often moved around instead of staying in one city.

Capital cities usually attract people with important skills needed to run a country or large government, such as lawyers, political scientists, bankers, journalists, and public policy makers. Some of these cities are also important for religions, like Constantinople, Rome/Vatican City, and Jerusalem. Sometimes, a country’s capital changes for important reasons — for example, Finland’s capital moved from Turku to Helsinki in 1812.

Not all capitals are the biggest or most important economic cities. For instance, Nanjing is smaller than Shanghai, and Quebec City is smaller than Montreal. Some old capitals disappear when their cultures change, like what happened to Babylon and Cahokia. Some capitals, such as Bern, Edinburgh, Lisbon, London, Paris, and Wellington, are capitals simply because that’s where most government buildings are located, even if there’s no law saying so.

The oldest known capital is Damascus, which has been a capital since around 2500 BC.

Modern capitals

Many modern capital cities are placed near the center of their countries. This helps make them easier for everyone to reach and can protect them from attacks. Sometimes, capitals are chosen as a balance between two or more cities, for historical reasons, or when there is enough space to build a new planned city for the capital. Most national capitals are also the biggest city in their country. Examples include Berlin, Cairo, London, Madrid, Mexico City, Moscow, Paris, Rome, Jakarta, Metro Manila, Seoul, and Tokyo.

Countries like Canada have a federal capital, while their provinces and territories each have their own capitals. Similarly, states in countries such as Mexico, Brazil, and Australia each have capital cities. For example, Australia's state capitals are Adelaide, Brisbane, Hobart, Melbourne, Perth, and Sydney, with Canberra serving as the national capital. In countries with multiple constituent nations, such as the United Kingdom and the Kingdom of Denmark, each nation usually has its own capital city, which often serves as the national capital as well. For example, London is the capital of both England and the United Kingdom. Germany, Russia, Austria, and Switzerland are examples of countries where each state, republic, or canton has its own capital city.

Planned capitals

Sometimes, leaders decide to build a brand new city to serve as the home for their government's offices. This happens for a few reasons. One reason is when a big city becomes too crowded, and leaders want a place with better weather to be their capital. Another reason is when no single city wants to be the capital, so they pick a spot in the middle as a compromise.

Some famous examples of compromise locations include Canberra, Australia, chosen between Melbourne and Sydney. In the United States, Washington, D.C. was created as a middle ground between the northern and southern parts of the country. Other cities like Ottawa, Canada, and Tallahassee, Florida, were also picked because they were in the middle of two bigger cities. These planned capitals show how countries sometimes create new cities to fairly share important government jobs.

Unusual capital city arrangements

See also: List of countries with multiple capitals

Some countries and regions have more than one capital city, or sometimes no capital at all. In a few places, the main city is named the capital, but many government offices are located somewhere else.

Examples include:

• Belize: Belmopan is the official capital, but many government offices and embassies are still in Belize City.
• Canary Islands: Both Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria are capitals.
• Chile: Santiago is the capital, but the country's parliament meets in Valparaíso.
• Czech Republic: Prague is the capital city, but important courts are in Brno.
• Estonia: Some government offices are in Tartu.
• France: Paris is where the main government buildings are, but some important meetings happen at the Palace of Versailles.
• Germany: Berlin is the capital, but some ministries are in Bonn and the top court is in Karlsruhe.
• India: Many states, like Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Jammu and Kashmir, have different cities for different parts of their government.
• South Korea: Seoul is the capital, but many offices are in Sejong City.
• Malaysia: Kuala Lumpur is the official capital, but the administrative centre is in Putrajaya.
• Montenegro: Podgorica is the capital, but the presidency is in Cetinje.
• Myanmar: Naypyidaw is the official capital, but most offices are still in Yangon.
• Nauru: This country doesn’t have a capital city, just a capital district.
• Philippines: The whole National Capital Region is the seat of government, with Manila as the capital city.
• Portugal: Lisbon is where the main government buildings are, even though the constitution doesn’t name it as the capital.
• Sri Lanka: Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte is the administrative capital, but many offices are in Colombo.
• South Africa: Different cities serve as capitals for different parts of the government: Pretoria for administration, Cape Town for laws, and Bloemfontein for the courts.
• Switzerland: Bern is the capital, but the top court is in Lausanne.
• Tanzania: Dodoma is the official capital, but many offices are still in Dar es Salaam.
• United States: Some states, like California and Illinois, have their main government buildings in one city but their top court in another.

Capital as symbol

With the growth of modern countries, a capital city often becomes a symbol of the nation and its government. Unlike older times when a king's court decided the capital, today choosing or moving a capital city is a big and meaningful event. For instance, Athens was chosen as the capital of Greece in 1834 to honor the country's ancient history. After World War II, Berlin became the capital of Germany again.

Sometimes, capitals are moved to new places for economic or strategic reasons. For example, Peter the Great moved Russia's capital from Moscow to Saint Petersburg to focus more on Europe. Other capitals were chosen to represent unity or to settle disagreements between regions, like Canberra in Australia and Brasília in Brazil.

Capitals in military strategy

Capital cities have often been important targets in wars because capturing them can weaken an enemy’s government and morale. In ancient China, taking the capital often led to the end of a ruling dynasty. For example, both Shu and Wu fell when their capitals, Chengdu and Jianye, were captured. The Ming dynasty moved its capital to Beijing to better manage its troops, but it still fell when their power center was taken.

In other parts of the world, such as Europe and America, capitals were sometimes less crucial because power was more spread out. After Constantinople was captured in 1204, the Byzantine forces regrouped and eventually reclaimed their capital. During wars between Britain and America, American forces kept fighting even after their capitals were attacked, thanks to support from local areas. However, in highly centralized countries like France, losing the capital could be especially dangerous because the government relied heavily on it to coordinate resources.