A province is almost always an
administrative division
Administrative division, administrative unit,Article 3(1). country subdivision, administrative region, subnational entity, constituent state, as well as many similar terms, are generic names for geographical areas into which a particular, ind ...
within a
country or
state. The term derives from the
ancient Roman
In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom ...
''
provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the
Roman Empire's territorial possessions outside
Italy. The term ''province'' has since been adopted by many countries. In some countries with no actual provinces, "the provinces" is a metaphorical term meaning "outside the
capital city
A capital city or capital is the municipality holding primary status in a country, state, province, department, or other subnational entity, usually as its seat of the government. A capital is typically a city that physically encompasses the go ...
".
While some provinces were produced artificially by
colonial powers
Colonialism is a practice or policy of control by one people or power over other people or areas, often by establishing colony, colonies and generally with the aim of economic dominance. In the process of colonisation, colonisers may impose the ...
, others were formed around local groups with their own ethnic identities. Many have their own powers independent of central or
federal authority, especially
in Canada and
Pakistan. In other countries, like
China or
France, 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 , which itself comes from the
Latin word , which referred to the sphere of authority of a
magistrate, in particular, to a foreign territory.
A
popular etymology
A false etymology (fake etymology, popular etymology, etymythology, pseudo-etymology, or par(a)etymology) is a popular but false belief about the origin or derivation of a specific word. It is sometimes called a folk etymology, but this is also a ...
is from
Latin ("on behalf of") and ("to triumph" or "to take control of"). Thus a "province" would be a territory or function that a
Roman magistrate held control of on behalf of his government. In fact, the word ''province'' is an ancient term from public law, which means: "office belonging to a magistrate". This agrees with the Latin term's earlier usage as a generic term for a jurisdiction under
Roman law.
History and culture
In
France, the expression still means "outside the
Paris region". Equivalent expressions are used in
Peru (, "outside the city of
Lima"),
Mexico (, "lands outside
Mexico City"),
Romania (, "outside the
Bucharest
Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...
region"),
Poland (, "provincial"),
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Maced ...
(, , "in the provinces" and , , "provincial") and the
Philippines (, "from outside
Metro Manila", , "in the provinces", or "in the countryside"). Similarly, in Australia "provincial" refers to parts of a state outside of the state capital.
Before the
French Revolution, France comprised a variety of jurisdictions (built around the early
Capetian
The Capetian dynasty (; french: Capétiens), also known as the House of France, is a dynasty of Frankish origin, and a branch of the Robertians. It is among the largest and oldest royal houses in Europe and the world, and consists of Hugh Cap ...
royal
demesne
A demesne ( ) or domain was all the land retained and managed by a lord of the manor under the feudal system for his own use, occupation, or support. This distinguished it from land sub-enfeoffed by him to others as sub-tenants. The concept ori ...
), some being considered "provinces", though the term was also used colloquially for territories as small as a
manor (). Most commonly referred to as "provinces", however, were the , generally former medieval feudal principalities, or agglomerations of such. Today the expression is regularly replaced in the media by the more politically correct , now being the term officially used for the secondary level of government.
In
Italy, 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
In social psychology, a stereotype is a generalized belief about a particular category of people. It is an expectation that people might have about every person of a particular group. The type of expectation can vary; it can be, for example ...
of the denizens of the provinces to be less culturally aware than those in the capital.
The historic European provinces—built up of many small regions, called by the French and "
cantons
A canton is a type of administrative division of a country. In general, cantons are relatively small in terms of area and population when compared with other administrative divisions such as counties, departments, or provinces. Internationally, ...
" by the Swiss, each with a local cultural identity and focused upon a
market town—have been depicted by
Fernand Braudel as the optimum-size political unit in pre-industrial
Early Modern Europe
Early modern Europe, also referred to as the post-medieval period, is the period of European history between the end of the Middle Ages and the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, roughly the late 15th century to the late 18th century. Histo ...
. He asks, "Was the province not its inhabitants' true '
fatherland'?" Even centrally-organized France, an early
nation-state
A nation state is a political unit where the state and nation are congruent. It is a more precise concept than "country", since a country does not need to have a predominant ethnic group.
A nation, in the sense of a common ethnicity, may inc ...
, could collapse into autonomous provincial worlds under pressure, as during the sustained crisis of the
French Wars of Religion (1562–98).
The British colonies in North America were often named provinces. Most (but not all) of the
thirteen colonies
The Thirteen Colonies, also known as the Thirteen British Colonies, the Thirteen American Colonies, or later as the United Colonies, were a group of British colonies on the Atlantic coast of North America. Founded in the 17th and 18th centuri ...
that eventually formed the United States were called provinces. All declared themselves "states" when they became independent. The
Connecticut Colony
The ''Connecticut Colony'' or ''Colony of Connecticut'', originally known as the Connecticut River Colony or simply the River Colony, was an English colony in New England which later became Connecticut. It was organized on March 3, 1636 as a sett ...
, the
Delaware Colony,
Rhode Island and the
Colony of Virginia
The Colony of Virginia, chartered in 1606 and settled in 1607, was the first enduring English colony in North America, following failed attempts at settlement on Newfoundland by Sir Humphrey GilbertGilbert (Saunders Family), Sir Humphrey" (histor ...
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,
centralized government
A centralized government (also united government) is one in which both executive and legislative power is concentrated centrally at the higher level as opposed to it being more distributed at various lower level governments. In a national contex ...
was a sign of modernity and political maturity. In the late 20th century, as the
European Union drew
nation-state
A nation state is a political unit where the state and nation are congruent. It is a more precise concept than "country", since a country does not need to have a predominant ethnic group.
A nation, in the sense of a common ethnicity, may inc ...
s closer together, centripetal forces seemed simultaneously to move countries toward more flexible systems of more localized, provincial governing entities under the overall European Union umbrella.
Spain after
Francisco Franco has been a "State of Autonomies", formally unitary but in fact functioning as a federation of
Autonomous Communities
eu, autonomia erkidegoa
ca, comunitat autònoma
gl, comunidade autónoma
oc, comunautat autonòma
an, comunidat autonoma
ast, comunidá autónoma
, alt_name =
, map =
, category = Autonomous administra ...
, each exercising different powers. (See
Politics of Spain
The politics of Spain takes place under the framework established by the Constitution of 1978. Spain is established as a social and democratic sovereign countryFirst article. wherein the national sovereignty is vested in the people, from w ...
.)
While
Serbia, the rump of former
Yugoslavia, fought the separatists in the province of
Kosovo, the
United Kingdom, under the political principle of "
devolution", produced (1998) local
parliaments in
Scotland,
Wales and
Northern Ireland. In
ancient India
According to consensus in modern genetics, anatomically modern humans first arrived on the Indian subcontinent from Africa between 73,000 and 55,000 years ago. Quote: "Y-Chromosome and Mt-DNA data support the colonization of South Asia by m ...
, unlike the
Mauryas
The Maurya Empire, or the Mauryan Empire, was a geographically extensive Iron Age historical power in the Indian subcontinent based in Magadha, having been founded by Chandragupta Maurya in 322 BCE, and existing in loose-knit fashion until 1 ...
, the
Gupta Empire gave local areas a great deal of independence and divided the empire into 26 large provinces, styled as Bhukti, Pradesha and Bhoga.
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
A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed.
When these princi ...
. 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
enumerated powers can be quite important. For example,
Canadian provinces
Within the geographical areas of Canada, the ten provinces and three territories are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British Nort ...
are sovereign in regard to such important matters as
property,
civil rights,
education,
social welfare and
medical services
Health care or healthcare is the improvement of health via the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in people. Health care is delivered by health profe ...
. The growth of the modern
welfare state has resulted in these functions,
assigned to the provinces, becoming more important compared to those
assigned to the federal government and thus provincial governments have become more important than the
Fathers of Confederation
The Fathers of Confederation are the 36 people who attended at least one of the Charlottetown Conference of 1864 (23 attendees), the Quebec Conference of 1864 (33 attendees), and the London Conference of 1866 (16 attendees), preceding Canadia ...
originally intended.
Canada's status as a federation of provinces under the
Dominion of the British Empire rather than an independent country also had certain legal implications.
Provinces could appeal court rulings over the heads of the
Supreme Court of Canada to the
Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in
London. As well, provinces could bypass the Supreme Court and go directly to London from any
Provincial Court. The Canadian Supreme Court tended to support the view that the
Canadian Constitution
The Constitution of Canada (french: Constitution du Canada) is the supreme law in Canada. It outlines Canada's system of government and the civil and human rights of those who are citizens of Canada and non-citizens in Canada. Its contents ...
was intended to create a powerful central government, but the Privy Council in London held the distinctly opposite view that the Constitution provided for stronger provincial powers. This provided an opportunity for
forum shopping
Forum shopping is a colloquial term for the practice of litigants having their legal case heard in the court thought most likely to provide a favorable judgment. Some jurisdictions have, for example, become known as "plaintiff-friendly" and so h ...
for provinces who opposed federal laws. Until appeals from Canada to the Privy Council were abolished in 1949, in legal disputes the provincial governments tended to win powers at the expense of the federal government.
In addition, while the Canadian federal government has unlimited taxing power while province governments are restricted to imposing
direct taxes
Although the actual definitions vary between jurisdictions, in general, a direct tax or income tax is a tax imposed upon a person or property as distinct from a tax imposed upon a transaction, which is described as an indirect tax. There is a dis ...
, the Canadian government introduced an
income tax during
World War I, and since it is a direct tax it also became a major revenue generator for provinces. In most provinces, the federal government now collects income tax for both levels of government and transfers to the provincial governments whatever surcharge they ask for. The
sales tax
A sales tax is a tax paid to a governing body for the sales of certain goods and services. Usually laws allow the seller to collect funds for the tax from the consumer at the point of purchase. When a tax on goods or services is paid to a govern ...
also become a major revenue generator for provinces, so in 1991 the Canadian government introduced a
Goods and Services Tax (GST) to share the revenues, which proved unpopular both with provincial governments and taxpayers. The Canadian government has tried to harmonize the two levels of sales taxes, but three provinces continue to impose a separate sales tax (British Columbia after harmonizing it, and shortly thereafter de-harmonizing it after it was struck down by a referendum), while the province of Alberta still does not impose a provincial sales tax.
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 dispute
Internal may refer to:
*Internality as a concept in behavioural economics
*Neijia, internal styles of Chinese martial arts
*Neigong or "internal skills", a type of exercise in meditation associated with Daoism
*''Internal (album)'' by Safia, 2016
...
s that lead to
constitutional amendment
A constitutional amendment is a modification of the constitution of a polity, organization or other type of entity. Amendments are often interwoven into the relevant sections of an existing constitution, directly altering the text. Conversely, t ...
s 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 and not a
confederation, in practice it is among the world's more
decentralized federations.
Canadian Confederation
Canadian Confederation (french: Confédération canadienne, link=no) was the process by which three British North American provinces, the Province of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, were united into one federation called the Dominion ...
and the
Constitution Act, 1867
The ''Constitution Act, 1867'' (french: Loi constitutionnelle de 1867),''The Constitution Act, 1867'', 30 & 31 Victoria (U.K.), c. 3, http://canlii.ca/t/ldsw retrieved on 2019-03-14. originally enacted as the ''British North America Act, 186 ...
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. 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
Arab
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, No ...
countries, the first administrative level of government—called a ''muhafazah''—is usually translated as a "
governorate
A governorate is an administrative division of a state. It is headed by a governor. As English-speaking nations tend to call regions administered by governors either states or provinces, the term ''governorate'' is often used in translation from ...
." In
Poland, the equivalent of "province" is "''
województwo''," sometimes rendered in English as "
voivodeship."
[Also spelled "voivodship," "voi''e''vodship," "voi''e''vod''e''ship".]
Historically,
New Zealand was divided into
provinces
A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outsi ...
, 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 holiday
A public holiday, national holiday, or legal holiday is a holiday generally established by law and is usually a non-working day during the year.
Sovereign nations and territories observe holidays based on events of significance to their history, ...
s. 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
Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about It ...
,
Wellington
Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...
,
Christchurch
Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River ...
,
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
Netherlands—and a large constituent autonomous area, as in
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
,
Canada,
South Africa, and the
Democratic Republic of the Congo. It can also be a constituent element of a
federation,
confederation, or
republic. For example, in the
United States, no
state may
secede from the
federal Union
A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governi ...
without the permission of the
federal government.
In other nations—such as
Belgium,
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
,
Italy,
Peru, the
Philippines, and
Spain—a province is a second-level administrative sub-division of a
region (which is the first-order administrative sub-division of the nation).
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional It ...
provinces are mainly named after their principal town and comprise several administrative sub-divisions called ''
comuni
The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...
'' (communes). In Chile, they are referred to as ''
comunas''. Chile has
15 regions, subdivided into 53 provinces, of which each is run by a governor appointed by the president. Italy has
20 regions, subdivided into
14 metropolitan cities and
96 provinces. Peru has
25 regions, subdivided into 194 provinces. Spain has
17 autonomous communities and 2 autonomous cities, subdivided into
50 provinces.
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
Connacht ( ; ga, Connachta or ), is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, Conmhaícne, and Delbhn ...
(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
The Portuguese Empire ( pt, Império Português), also known as the Portuguese Overseas (''Ultramar Português'') or the Portuguese Colonial Empire (''Império Colonial Português''), was composed of the overseas colonies, factories, and the ...
were considered overseas provinces of
Portugal.
Similarly, some overseas parts of the
British Empire
The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...
bore the colonial title of "province" (in a more Roman sense), such as the
Province of Canada
The Province of Canada (or the United Province of Canada or the United Canadas) was a British colony in North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, in the Report on the ...
and the
Province of South Australia (the latter, to distinguish it from the penal "colonies" elsewhere in
Australia). Likewise, prior to the
American Revolution
The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...
, most of the original
Thirteen Colonies
The Thirteen Colonies, also known as the Thirteen British Colonies, the Thirteen American Colonies, or later as the United Colonies, were a group of British colonies on the Atlantic coast of North America. Founded in the 17th and 18th centuri ...
in
British America
British America comprised the colonial territories of the English Empire, which became the British Empire after the 1707 union of the Kingdom of England with the Kingdom of Scotland to form the Kingdom of Great Britain, in the Americas from 16 ...
were provinces as well, such as the
Province of Georgia and the
Province of New Hampshire
The Province of New Hampshire was a colony of England and later a British province in North America. The name was first given in 1629 to the territory between the Merrimack and Piscataqua rivers on the eastern coast of North America, and was na ...
.
Canada
The constituent entities of
Canada are known as provinces. Prior to confederation, the term province was used in reference to several British colonies situated in Canada; such as the colonial
Province of Quebec. In 1791, Quebec split into two separate colonies, the provinces of
Lower Canada
The Province of Lower Canada (french: province du Bas-Canada) was a British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence (1791–1841). It covered the southern portion of the current Province of Quebec and ...
, and
Upper Canada
The Province of Upper Canada (french: link=no, province du Haut-Canada) was a part of British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of th ...
. The two colonies were later merged in 1841 to form the
Province of Canada
The Province of Canada (or the United Province of Canada or the United Canadas) was a British colony in North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, in the Report on the ...
. From its separation from Nova Scotia in the 18th century,
New Brunswick was known as His/Her Majesty's Province of New Brunswick. After
Canadian confederation
Canadian Confederation (french: Confédération canadienne, link=no) was the process by which three British North American provinces, the Province of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, were united into one federation called the Dominion ...
in 1867, the term ''provinces'' continued to be used, in reference to the
sub-national governments of Canada.
Because Canada is the
second-largest country in the world by area, but has only 10 provinces, most Canadian provinces are very large—
six of its ten provinces are
larger than any country in Europe except
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eight ...
, and its largest province
Quebec——is almost two and a half times as large as
France—. Six provinces, including five of the oldest Canadian provinces—
Alberta
Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Terri ...
,
Ontario,
Quebec,
New Brunswick,
Nova Scotia and
Prince Edward Island—have "counties" as administrative sub-divisions. The actual local government form can vary widely. In New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and in 9 of the 18 counties of Nova Scotia, county government has been abolished and has been superseded by another form of local government. New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island also have parishes within counties. Since the
Canadian Constitution
The Constitution of Canada (french: Constitution du Canada) is the supreme law in Canada. It outlines Canada's system of government and the civil and human rights of those who are citizens of Canada and non-citizens in Canada. Its contents ...
assigns local government to provincial jurisdiction, the various provinces can create, dissolve, and reorganize local governments freely and they have been described as "creatures of the province".
The
Western provinces have more varied types of administrative sub-divisions than the
Eastern provinces. The province of
British Columbia has "regional districts" which function as county-equivalents.
Manitoba and
Saskatchewan are divided into rural municipalities.
Alberta
Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Terri ...
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 65,465 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
Balochistan ( ; bal, بلۏچستان; also romanised as Baluchistan and Baluchestan) is a historical region in Western and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline ...
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 (''
guberniyas'') of
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eight ...
. This terms also refers to the ''provinces'' (), which were introduced as the subdivisions of the governorates in 1719 and existed until 1775. In modern parlance, the term is commonly used to refer to the
oblasts and
krai
A krai or kray (; russian: край, , ''kraya'') is one of the types of federal subjects of modern Russia, and was a type of geographical administrative division in the Russian Empire and the Russian SFSR.
Etymologically, the word is rela ...
s of Russia.
Polities translated
Historic provinces
Ancient, medieval and feudal
* The
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Roman Republic, Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings aro ...
was divided into provinces (''
provinciae''); this is from which the term originated.
Later Eastern Half: see
Exarchate,
thema
*
Caliphate
A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...
and subsequent
sultanates: see
Emirate
An emirate is a territory ruled by an emir, a title used by monarchs or high officeholders in the Muslim world. From a historical point of view, an emirate is a political-religious unit smaller than a caliphate. It can be considered equivalen ...
*
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)
A nome (, from grc, νομός, ''nomós'', "district") was a territorial division in ancient Egypt.
Each nome was ruled by a nomarch ( egy, ḥrj tp ꜥꜣ Great Chief). The number of nomes changed through the various periods of the history ...
* Frankish (Carolingian) 're-founded'
Holy Roman Empire: see
gau and
county
* In the
Habsburg territories, the traditional provinces are partly expressed in the ''Länder'' of 19th-century
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1 ...
.
*
Mughal Empire:
subah
* The
provinces of the Ottoman Empire
The administrative divisions of the Ottoman Empire were administrative divisions of the state organisation of the Ottoman Empire. Outside this system were various types of vassal and tributary states.
The Ottoman Empire was first subdivided ...
had various types of governors (generally a
pasha
Pasha, Pacha or Paşa ( ota, پاشا; tr, paşa; sq, Pashë; ar, باشا), in older works sometimes anglicized as bashaw, was a higher rank in the Ottoman political and military system, typically granted to governors, generals, dignitari ...
), but mostly styled
vali, hence the predominant term ''
vilayet'', generally subdivided (often in
bey
Bey ( ota, بك, beğ, script=Arab, tr, bey, az, bəy, tk, beg, uz, бек, kz, би/бек, tt-Cyrl, бәк, translit=bäk, cjs, пий/пек, sq, beu/bej, sh, beg, fa, بیگ, beyg/, tg, бек, ar, بك, bak, gr, μπέης) is ...
liks or
sanjaks), sometimes grouped under a governor-general (styled
beylerbey
''Beylerbey'' ( ota, بكلربكی, beylerbeyi, lit=bey of beys, meaning the 'commander of commanders' or 'lord of lords') was a high rank in the western Islamic world in the late Middle Ages and early modern period, from the Anatolian Seljuk ...
).
* Achaemenid
Persia (and probably before in Media, again after conquest and further extension by Alexander the Great, and in the larger Hellenistic
successor states: see
satrapy
* In the Tartar
Khanate of Kazan: the five daruğa ('direction')
Colonial and early modern
*
Spanish empire, at several echelons:
**
viceroyalty above
**
intendencia
An intendant (; pt, intendente ; es, intendente ) was, and sometimes still is, a public official, especially in France, Spain, Portugal, and Latin America. The intendancy system was a centralizing administrative system developed in France. ...
* The former
Republic of the Seven United Provinces (
The Netherlands)
*
British colonies
A Crown colony or royal colony was a colony administered by The Crown within the British Empire. There was usually a Governor, appointed by the British monarch on the advice of the UK Government, with or without the assistance of a local Council ...
:
** American
Southern Colonies
***
Province of Carolina
Province of Carolina was a province of England (1663–1707) and Great Britain (1707–1712) that existed in North America and the Caribbean from 1663 until partitioned into North and South on January 24, 1712. It is part of present-day Alaba ...
(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
The Middle Colonies were a subset of the Thirteen Colonies in British America, located between the New England Colonies and the Southern Colonies. Along with the Chesapeake Colonies, this area now roughly makes up the Mid-Atlantic states.
M ...
***
Province of New Jersey
The Province of New Jersey was one of the Middle Colonies of Colonial America and became the U.S. state of New Jersey in 1783. The province had originally been settled by Europeans as part of New Netherland but came under English rule after the ...
(1664–1776)
***
Province of New York (1664–1783)
***
Province of Pennsylvania (1681–1783)
** American
New England Colonies
The New England Colonies of British America included Connecticut Colony, the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Massachusetts Bay Colony, Plymouth Colony, and the Province of New Hampshire, as well as a few smaller short-lived colo ...
***
Province of New Hampshire
The Province of New Hampshire was a colony of England and later a British province in North America. The name was first given in 1629 to the territory between the Merrimack and Piscataqua rivers on the eastern coast of North America, and was na ...
(1680–1686, 1692–1783)
***
Province of Massachusetts Bay
The Province of Massachusetts Bay was a colony in British America which became one of the thirteen original states of the United States. It was chartered on October 7, 1691, by William III and Mary II, the joint monarchs of the kingdoms of E ...
(1692–1776)
***
Province of Maine (various dates)
**
Canada (New France)
The colony of Canada was a French colony within the larger territory of New France. It was claimed by France in 1535 during the second voyage of Jacques Cartier, in the name of the French king, Francis I. The colony remained a French territory ...
***
Province of Quebec (1763–1791)
The Province of Quebec (french: Province de Québec) was a colony in British North America which comprised the former French colony of Canada. It was established by the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1763, following the conquest of New France by ...
***
Province of Lower Canada
The Province of Lower Canada (french: province du Bas-Canada) was a British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence (1791–1841). It covered the southern portion of the current Province of Quebec and ...
(1791–1841)
***
Province of Upper Canada
The Province of Upper Canada (french: link=no, province du Haut-Canada) was a part of British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of t ...
(1791–1841)
***
United Province of Canada (1841–1867)
**
Provinces of India
The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...
**
Provinces of the Philippines
**
Provinces of New Zealand
The provinces of the Colony of New Zealand existed as a form of sub-national government. Initially established in 1846 when New Zealand was a Crown colony without responsible government, two provinces ( New Ulster and New Munster) were establ ...
(1841–1876)
**
Provinces of Nigeria
The Provinces of Nigeria were administrative divisions in Nigeria, in use from 1900 to 1967 in Colonial Nigeria and shortly after independence. They were altered many times through their history. They were divided into divisions; some of these were ...
**
Province of South Australia (now an
Australian state)
* The former
provinces of Brazil
The provinces of Brazil were the primary subdivisions of the country during the period of the Empire of Brazil (1822 - 1889).
On February 28, 1821, the provinces were established in the Kingdom of Brazil (then part of the United Kingdom of Portuga ...
* The former
provinces of France
* The former
provinces of Ireland
* The former
provinces of Japan
* The
provinces of Prussia, a former
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
kingdom
Kingdom commonly refers to:
* A monarchy ruled by a king or queen
* Kingdom (biology), a category in biological taxonomy
Kingdom may also refer to:
Arts and media Television
* ''Kingdom'' (British TV series), a 2007 British television drama s ...
/
republic
* The
provinces of the Republic of New Granada
* The former
provinces of Sweden
* The former
United Provinces of Central America
The Federal Republic of Central America ( es, República Federal de Centroamérica), originally named the United Provinces of Central America ( es, Provincias Unidas del Centro de América), and sometimes simply called Central America, in it ...
* The former
United Provinces of the Río de la Plata
See also
*
Governor
*
Region
*
Provincialism
Parochialism is the state of mind, whereby one focuses on small sections of an issue rather than considering its wider context. More generally, it consists of being narrow in scope. In that respect, it is a synonym of " provincialism". It may, p ...
*
Regionalism (politics)
*
Rise: The Vieneo Province
*
-stan
The suffix -stan ( fa, ـستان, translit=''stân'' after a vowel; ''estân'' or ''istân'' after a consonant), has the meaning of "a place abounding in" or "a place where anything abounds" in the Persian language. It appears in the names of ...
References
External links
Etymology Online*
{{Authority control
Types of administrative division