Province
A province is almost always an
While some provinces were produced artificially by
, provinces are the creation of central government, with very little autonomy.Etymology
The English word province is attested since about 1330 and derives from the 13th-century Old French province, which itself comes from the Latin word provincia, which referred to the sphere of authority of a magistrate, in particular, to a foreign territory.
A
History and culture
In France, the expression en province still means "outside the Paris region". Equivalent expressions are used in Peru (en provincias, "outside the city of Lima"), Mexico (la provincia, "lands outside Mexico City"), Romania (în provincie, "outside the Bucharest region"), Poland (prowincjonalny, "provincial"), Bulgaria (в провинцията, v provincijata, "in the provinces" and провинциален, provincialen, "provincial") and the Philippines (taga-probinsiya, "from outside Metro Manila", sa probinsiya, "in the provinces", or "in the countryside").
Before the
In Italy, in provincia generally means "outside the biggest regional capitals" (like Rome, Milan, Naples, etc.).
For the United Kingdom use of the word is often pejorative, assuming a stereotype of the denizens of the provinces to be less culturally aware than those in the capital.[1]
The historic European provinces—built up of many small regions, called pays by the French and "
The British colonies in North America were often named provinces. Most (but not all) of the Thirteen Colonies that eventually formed the United States were called provinces.[3] All declared themselves "states" when they became independent. The Connecticut Colony, the Delaware Colony, Rhode Island and the Colony of Virginia never used the title "province". The British colonies further north, which remained loyal to Britain and later confederated to form the original Canada, retained the title of "province" and are still known as such to the present day.
To 19th- and 20th-century historians, in Europe,
While
Legal aspects
In many federations and confederations, the province or state is not clearly subordinate to the national or central government. Rather, it is considered to be sovereign in regard to its particular set of constitutional functions. The central- and provincial-government functions, or areas of jurisdiction, are identified in a constitution. Those that are not specifically identified are called "residual powers". In a decentralized federal system (such as the United States and Australia) these residual powers lie at the provincial or state level, whereas in a centralized federal system (such as Canada) they are retained at the federal level.
Some of the
Canada's status as a federation of provinces under the
In addition, while the Canadian federal government has unlimited taxing power while province governments are restricted to imposing
The evolution of federations has created an inevitable tug-of-war between concepts of federal supremacy versus states' and provinces' rights. The historic division of responsibility in federal constitutions is inevitably subject to multiple overlaps. For example, when central governments, responsible for foreign policy, enter into international agreements in areas where the state or province is sovereign, such as the environment or health standards, agreements made at the national level can create jurisdictional overlap and conflicting laws. This overlap creates the potential for internal disputes that lead to constitutional amendments and judicial decisions that alter the balance of powers.
Though foreign affairs do not usually fall under a province's or a federal state's competency, some states allow them to legally conduct international relations on their own in matters of their constitutional prerogative and essential interest. Sub-national authorities have a growing interest in paradiplomacy, be it performed under a legal framework or as a trend informally admitted as legitimate by the central authorities.
In unitary states such as France and China, provinces are subordinate to the national, central government. In theory, the central government can create or abolish provinces within its jurisdiction. On the other hand, although Canada is now considered a federal state[4] and not a confederation, in practice it is among the world's more decentralized federations.[5] Canadian Confederation and the Constitution Act, 1867 conferred considerable power on the provincial governments which they often use to pursue their own goals independently of the federal government.
In Canada, local governments have been called "creatures of the province" because the authority of a local government derives solely from the provincial government. Provinces can create, merge, and dissolve local governments without the consent of the federal government or the people in the affected locality.[6] Alberta in particular dissolved and merged hundreds of local governments during the 1940s and 1950s as a consequence of the Great Depression. Other provinces have arbitrarily merged and annexed independent suburbs to major Canadian cities such as Toronto or Montreal without the approval of local voters.
Current provinces
Not all first-level political entities are termed "provinces." In
Historically, New Zealand was divided into provinces, each with its own Superintendent and Provincial Council, and with considerable responsibilities conferred on them. However, the colony (as it then was) never developed into a federation; instead, the provinces were abolished in 1876. The old provincial boundaries continue to be used to determine the application of certain public holidays. Over the years, when the central Government has created special-purpose agencies at a sub-national level, these have often tended to follow or approximate the old provincial boundaries. Current examples include the 16 Regions into which New Zealand is divided, and also the 21 District Health Boards. Sometimes the term the provinces is used to refer collectively to rural and regional parts of New Zealand, that is, those parts of the country lying outside some or all of the "main centres"—Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Hamilton and Dunedin.
Modern provinces
In many countries, a province is a relatively small non-constituent level of sub-national government, such as a county in the United Kingdom. In China, a province is a sub-national region within a unitary state; this means that a province can be created or abolished by the national people's congress.
In some nations, a province (or its equivalent) is a first-level administrative unit of sub-national government—as in the
In other nations—such as
The island of Ireland is divided into four historic provinces (see Provinces of Ireland), each of which is sub-divided into counties. These provinces are Connacht (in the west), Leinster (in the east), Munster (in the south) and, Ulster (in the north). Nowadays these provinces have little or no administrative function, though they do have sporting significance.
From the 19th century, the Portuguese colonies were considered overseas provinces of Portugal.
Similarly, some overseas parts of the British Empire bore the colonial title of "province" (in a more Roman sense), such as the Province of Canada and the Province of South Australia (the latter, to distinguish it from the penal "colonies" elsewhere in Australia). Likewise, prior to the American Revolution, most of the original Thirteen Colonies in British America were provinces as well, such as the Province of Georgia and the Province of New Hampshire.[citation needed]
Canada
The constituent entities of
Because Canada is the
The
Alberta is also divided into counties, albeit they are officially classified as "municipal districts" by the province, though in regular everyday parlance these entities are referred to as a "county". The province of Alberta has some unique local governance schemes formed in response to local conditions. For instance, Sherwood Park is an unincorporated "urban service area" of 72,017 within Strathcona County, which has most of the oil refining capacity in Western Canada; Fort McMurray was once a city but dissolved itself and became an "urban service area" of 70,964 people within the Regional Municipality (R.M.) of Wood Buffalo, which has several multibillion-dollar oil sands plants; and Lloydminster, a city of 31,483 which sits directly astride the provincial border between Alberta and Saskatchewan. Unlike most such cases, Lloydminster is not a pair of twin cities on opposite sides of a border, but is actually incorporated by both provinces as a single city with a single municipal administration. The residents objected to the federal government splitting the city in two when it created the two provinces, so the two provinces reunified it by declaring it to be a single city in two provinces, thereby bypassing the limitations of federal boundaries.
Pakistan
Pakistan is administratively divided into four provinces, which are:
- Punjab
- Sindh
- Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
- Balochistan
It also has two autonomous territories:
- Azad Jammu and Kashmir
- Gilgit Baltistan
Russia
The term "province" is sometimes used to refer to the historic governorates ( of Russia.
Polities translated
Historic provinces
Ancient, medieval and feudal
- The Roman Empire was divided into provinces (provinciae); this is from which the term originated. Later Eastern Half: see Exarchate, thema
- sultanates: see Emirate
- Khanate can also mean a province as well as an independent state, as either can be headed by a Khan
- Pharaonic Egypt: see nome (Egypt)
- Frankish (Carolingian) 're-founded' gau and county
- In the Habsburg territories, the traditional provinces are partly expressed in the Länder of 19th-century Austria-Hungary.
- subah
- The ).
- Achaemenid satrapy
- In the Tartar Khanate of Kazan: the five daruğa ('direction')
Colonial and early modern
- Spanish empire, at several echelons:
- viceroyalty above
- intendencia
- The former The Netherlands)
- British colonies:
- American Southern Colonies
- Province of Carolina (1629–1712)
- Province of North Carolina (1712–1776)
- Province of South Carolina (1712–1776)
- Province of Maryland (1632–1776)
- Province of Georgia (1732–1777)
- American Middle Colonies
- Province of New Jersey (1664–1776)
- Province of New York (1664–1783)
- Province of Pennsylvania (1681–1783)
- American New England Colonies
- Province of New Hampshire (1680–1686, 1692–1783)
- Province of Massachusetts Bay (1692–1776)
- Province of Maine (various dates)
- Canada (New France)
- Province of Quebec (1763–1791)
- Province of Lower Canada(1791–1841)
- Province of Upper Canada(1791–1841)
- United Province of Canada(1841–1867)
- Provinces of India
- Provinces of the Philippines
- Provinces of New Zealand (1841–1876)
- Provinces of Nigeria
- Province of South Australia (Australian state since 1901)
- American Southern Colonies
- The former provinces of Brazil
- The former provinces of France
- The former provinces of Ireland
- The former provinces of Japan
- The former provinces of Portugal
- The provinces of Prussia, a former German kingdom/republic
- The provinces of the Republic of New Granada
- The former provinces of Sweden
- The former United Provinces of Central America
- The former United Provinces of the Río de la Plata
See also
- Governor
- Region
- Provincialism
- Regionalism (politics)
- Rise: The Vieneo Province
- Pradesh
- -stan
References
- ^ "Definition of the word Province including the British English derivation". Lexico. Archived from the original on August 7, 2019. Retrieved August 7, 2019.
- ^ The Perspective of the World, 1984, p. 284.
- ^ "A chorographical map of the Province of New-York in North America, divided into counties, manors, patents and townships; exhibiting likewise all the private grants of land made and located in that Province". Library of Congress. Retrieved December 4, 2017.
- ^ "How Canadians Govern Themselves,. 7th ed". .parl.gc.ca. Archived from the original on April 5, 2011. Retrieved May 8, 2012.
- ^ "Collaborative Federalism in an era of globalization". Pco-bcp.gc.ca. April 22, 1999. Archived from the original on March 15, 2012. Retrieved May 8, 2012.
- ^ "Municipalities as creatures of the provinces". Archived from the original on September 15, 2018.
- ^ Also spelled "voivodship," "voievodship," "voievodeship".
- ^ 76 provinces + 1 special governed district (Phnom Penh). However, Cambodian usually presume Phnom Penh as another province for convenience.
- Fujian and HainanProvince.
- ^ 76 provinces + 1 special governed district (Bangkok). However, Thai people usually presume Bangkok as another province for convenience.
- ^ 24 oblasts, one autonomous republic, and two "cities with special status".
External links
- Etymology Online
- Frazer, James George (1911). . In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 22 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 513–514.