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55-665: Also, as Scotland's capital city , Edinburgh is host to the Scottish Parliament and the main offices of the Scottish Government . The City of Edinburgh became a unitary council area in 1996, under the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 , with the boundaries of the post-1975 City of Edinburgh district of the Lothian region . As one of the unitary local government areas of Scotland,

110-562: A Labour / Scottish National Party coalition. Following the 2022 election, a minority Labour administration took control, with Cammy Day as the new council leader, replacing former leader Adam McVey. As of 2013, the Council was the second-largest employer in Edinburgh, with a total of 18,617 employees. Prior to the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 Edinburgh was administered by the single tier "Edinburgh Corporation", which covered

165-677: A classical European understanding of the known world : Europe , North Africa , and Southwest Asia . The phrase is related to the enduring power of the city first as the capital of the Republic and the Empire , and later as the centre of the Catholic Church . In several English-speaking states , the terms county town and county seat are also used in lower administrative divisions . In some unitary states , subnational capitals may be known as 'administrative centres'. The capital

220-497: A monarch held his or her court, the selection, relocation, founding, or capture of a modern capital city is a highly symbolic event. For example: The capital city is usually but not 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

275-445: A compromise between two or more cities or other political divisions, historical reasons, or enough land was needed to deliberately build a new planned city for the capital. The majority of national capitals are also the largest city in their respective countries. Modern examples are Beijing , Berlin , Cairo , London , Madrid , Mexico City , Moscow , Paris , Rome , Jakarta , Metro Manila , Seoul , and Tokyo . Counties in

330-405: A distinction is made between the official ( constitutional ) capital and the seat of government, which is in another place . English-language news media often use the name of the capital city as an alternative name for the government of the country of which it is the capital, as a form of metonymy . For example, the "relations between London and Washington " refers to the " relations between

385-511: A form of proportional representation . Until the 2005 United Kingdom general election , Edinburgh Scottish Parliament and Parliament of the United Kingdom constituencies were coterminous (shared the same geographical boundaries). The Scottish Parliament (Constituencies) Act 2004 , a piece of United Kingdom Parliament legislation, had removed the link, to enable Scottish Parliament constituencies to retain established boundaries despite

440-521: A margin of 61.1% No to 38.9% Yes. Turnout was 84.4%. Numerically, Edinburgh had the largest number of No votes out of all 32 council areas in Scotland with 194,638 No votes to 123,927 Yes votes. The difference between the number of Yes and No votes was largest in Edinburgh by comparison to any other council area in Scotland at 70,711. The results were in marked contrast to those in Glasgow , where each of

495-470: 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. Many modern capital cities are located near the centre of the country, so that they are more accessible to its population and have better protection from possible invasions. (See also § Capitals in military strategy ) The location may also be based on

550-522: A name does not in itself mean that a constituency's boundaries have been unaltered. Lists of constituencies: For elections to the Scottish Parliament , the city is divided among six of the nine constituencies in the Lothian electoral region. Each constituency elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the first past the post system of election, and the region elects seven additional members (also called MSPs ) to produce

605-736: A new body called the Burgess Association of Edinburgh was created to help oversee this. Applications are now adjudicated by a committee with representatives from both the Merchant Company and The Convenery of Trades and the City Council delegated the keeping of the Roll of Burgesses, and the authority to set and retain the civic dues associated with processing new Burgess Tickets, to the Association. It also required that

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660-536: A single-tier council area in 1996, under the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 , with the boundaries of the City of Edinburgh district of the Lothian region . The district had been created in 1975, under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, to include the former county of city of Edinburgh; the former burgh of Queensferry , the district of Kirkliston and part of Winchburgh formerly within

715-554: A territory: Plymouth in Montserrat . There are several countries where, for various reasons, the official capital and seat of government are separated: Some historical examples of similar arrangements, where the recognized capital was not the official seat of government: With the rise of the modern 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

770-466: Is an individual who has been granted a Burgess ticket in the City of Edinburgh , Scotland . Historically, to be a Burgess was to be a 'free man' or 'citizen' of the burgh , who could own land (known as a burgage ), contribute to the running of the town and not be under the jurisdiction of any feudal lord. With the transition of economic dominance from feudalism to the Mercantile economy in

825-500: Is often the largest city of its constituent, though not always . Historically, the major economic centre of a state or region has often become the focal point of political power, and became a capital through conquest or federation . Historical examples are ancient Babylon , ancient Athens , ancient Rome , Abbasid Baghdad , Constantinople , Chang'an , and ancient Cusco . The modern capital city has not always existed: in medieval Western Europe, an itinerant (wandering) government

880-637: Is that of the Scottish Parliament , which legislates on matters of Scottish "national interest", such as healthcare, education, the environment and agriculture, devolved to it by the Parliament of the United Kingdom . For elections to the Scottish Parliament (at the Scottish Parliament Building , in the Holyrood area of Edinburgh), the city area is divided among six Scottish Parliament constituencies , each returning one Member of

935-524: Is the municipality holding primary status in a country , state , province , department , or other subnational division , usually as its seat of the government . A capital is typically a city that physically encompasses the government's offices and meeting places; the status as capital is often designated by its law or constitution . In some jurisdictions , including several countries, different branches of government are in different settlements, sometimes meaning multiple official capitals. In some cases,

990-582: Is the case with Nanjing by Shanghai , Quebec City by Montreal , and several 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 . "Political nomadism" was practiced in ancient Near East to increase ties between the ruler and the subjects. Although many capitals are defined by constitution or legislation, many long-time capitals have no such legal designation, including Bern , Edinburgh , Lisbon , London , Paris , and Wellington . They are recognized as capitals as

1045-477: Is usually not a separate national capital, but rather the capital city of one constituent nation will also be the capital of the state overall, such as London , which is the capital of England and of the United Kingdom. Similarly, each of the autonomous communities of Spain and regions of Italy has a capital city, such as Seville and Naples , while Madrid is the capital of the Community of Madrid and of

1100-534: The Boundary Commission for Scotland . The Scottish Parliament (Constituencies) Act 2004 enabled Scottish Parliament constituencies to remain unaltered despite new arrangements for House of Commons constituencies, which resulted in the loss of one Edinburgh constituency and redrawing of boundaries for the others. As a result of the boundary review: Current political composition: Edinburgh has been used in ten different constituency names since 1708,

1155-523: 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

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1210-695: The Kingdom of Spain as a whole and Rome is the capital of Italy and of the region of Lazio . In the Federal Republic of Germany , each of its constituent states (or Länder , plural of Land ) has its own capital city, such as Dresden , Wiesbaden , Mainz , Düsseldorf , Stuttgart , and Munich , as do all of the republics of the Russian Federation . The national capitals of Germany and Russia (the Stadtstaat of Berlin and

1265-689: The Town Council and so to be a Burgess was to also be able to partake in the politics of the city. The burgesses' exclusive trading rights were abolished in 1846, and the Merchants and Incorporated Trades were decoupled from the council in 1973. Today, the burgess-ship of Edinburgh is still awarded but no longer carries many substantive rights and takes on a predominantly prestigious ceremonial function. The word "burgess" also lives on in Edinburgh institutions and place names, such as The Royal Burgess Golfing Society of Edinburgh or Burgess Road. From

1320-537: The United Kingdom 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. The number of new capitals in the world increased substantially since the Renaissance period, especially with the founding of independent nation-states since

1375-523: The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Naypyidaw was founded in Burma 's interior as the former capital, Rangoon , was claimed to be overcrowded. A few nation-states have multiple capitals, and there are also several states that have no capital. Some have a city as the capital but with most government agencies elsewhere. There is also a ghost town which is currently the de jure capital of

1430-457: The county of West Lothian ; and the district of Currie and the parish of Cramond formerly within the county of Midlothian . For elections to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom , the city is divided among five constituencies , each of which elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election. All five constituencies are entirely within

1485-492: The federal city of Moscow ) are also constituent states of both countries in their own right. Each of the states of Austria and cantons of Switzerland also have their own capital cities. Vienna , the national capital of Austria , is also one of the states, while Bern is the ( de facto ) capital of both Switzerland and of the Canton of Bern . Governing entities sometimes plan, design and build new capital cities to house

1540-553: The first past the post system of election. On 18 September 2014, Edinburgh voted "No" in the Independence referendum by 61.1% to 38.9% with an 84.4% turnout rate. The current Lord Provost of Edinburgh is Robert Aldridge, who replaced Frank Ross in 2022. In Scotland, the Lord Provost fulfils many similar roles to that of a Mayor in some other countries. Cllr Aldridge has been on the Council since 1984, previously leading

1595-615: The "City and Royal Burgh of Edinburgh". As such, the Edinburgh Corporation was responsible for local government services, such as the Edinburgh Corporation Transport Department ( Edinburgh Corporation Tramways until 1928). The Edinburgh Corporation had the power to make 'Burgess' (freemen) of the City of Edinburgh and to grant "Seals of Cause" to Guilds and trade organisations. The Edinburgh Corporation awarded Burgess Ticket through

1650-404: The City of Edinburgh has a defined structure of governance, generally under the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994, with The City of Edinburgh Council governing on matters of local administration such as housing, planning, local transport, parks and local economic development and regeneration . For such purposes the City of Edinburgh is divided into 17 wards . The next tier of government

1705-630: The Liberal Democrat group, and was elected unanimously. He was the first Lord Provost to welcome a new monarch (Charles III) to Edinburgh with the Ceremony of the Keys since 1952. Elections to the Council are held every four/five years electing 63 councillors. The most recent elections took place in May 2022 and the next election will be in May 2027 . Prior to May 2022, the Council was controlled by

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1760-756: The Lord Dean of Guild, an office in the Corporation. Like the Corporation of the City of London , Burgess Tickets were often awarded along with a 'Freedom Casket' – a container to hold the ticket. Bodies such as the Merchant Company of Edinburgh , the Incorporated Trades of Edinburgh and The High Constables of Edinburgh formed part of the corporation, contributing councilors and law enforcement officers. The Edinburgh Corporation had

1815-569: The Scottish Parliament (MSP), and is within the Lothians electoral region . The Parliament of the United Kingdom (at the Palace of Westminster ) legislates on matters such as taxation , foreign policy , defence , employment and trade . For elections to the House of Commons of this parliament, the city area is divided among five United Kingdom Parliamentary constituencies , with each constituency returning one Member of Parliament (MP) by

1870-538: The United Kingdom and the United States ". The word capital derives from the Latin word caput (genitive capitis ), meaning ' head ', later borrowed from Medieval Latin capitālis ('of the head'). The Latin phrase Roma Caput Mundi meaning 'Rome capital of the world' ( lit.   ' head of the world ' ) was already used by the poet Ovid in 1st century BC . It originates out of

1925-720: The capital has been changed for geopolitical reasons; Finland 's first city, Turku , which had served as the country's capital since the Middle Ages under the Swedish rule, lost its position during the Grand Duchy of Finland in 1812, when Helsinki was made the current capital of Finland by the Russian Empire. The convergence of political and economic or cultural power is by no means universal. Traditional capitals may be economically eclipsed by provincial rivals as

1980-461: The city area. Prior to the 2005 United Kingdom general election , Edinburgh House of Commons constituencies had exactly the same names and boundaries as the Scottish Parliament constituencies listed above. However, in order to reduce Scotland's historical over representation in the House of Commons, Scotland's share of constituencies was reduced from 72 to 59, in accordance with proposals drawn up by

2035-625: The city's constituencies voted Yes. In 2016, Edinburgh voted in the European Union membership referendum . While the United Kingdom as a whole voted to leave the EU, Edinburgh overwhelmingly voted to Remain, giving the ninth highest Remain vote share of any counting area. Only Gibraltar and seven boroughs in London had higher vote shares for Remain. Capital city This is an accepted version of this page A capital city or just capital

2090-475: The city, for example in the name of the members of Muirfield golf club, who were granted a charter by the corporation in 1800 becoming "The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers" . Many of Edinburgh's ceremonies and traditions date back to the days of the Edinburgh Corporation, such as the Edinburgh Ceremony of the Keys , where the Lord Provost symbolically hands the keys to the City of Edinburgh to

2145-464: 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. Burgess of Edinburgh A Burgess of Edinburgh

2200-478: The date of the first election to the Parliament of Great Britain (which was merged into the Parliament of the United Kingdom in 1801). There have been up to six Edinburgh constituencies at any one time. Two names, Edinburgh South and Edinburgh West have been in continuous use since 1885. One name, Edinburgh East , also first used in 1885, fell out of use in 1997 and returned to use in 2005. Survival of

2255-484: The eighteenth century. In Canada , there is a federal capital , while the ten provinces and three territories each have capital cities. The states of such countries as Mexico , Brazil (including the famous cities of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo , capitals of their respective states), and Australia also each have capital cities. For example, the six state capitals of Australia are Adelaide , Brisbane , Hobart , Melbourne , Perth , and Sydney . In Australia,

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2310-545: 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

2365-435: The introduction of new boundaries for United Kingdom Parliament constituencies. In the 2016 Scottish Parliament election , the six Edinburgh constituencies elected 4 Scottish National Party MSPs, one Labour and one Liberal Democrat MSP: The following additional members were elected to represent the Lothian electoral region: At the 2014 Scottish independence referendum voters in Edinburgh rejected independence by

2420-514: The late medieval era, Burgess tickets were issued by the Lord Dean of Guild (an ancient office within the City of Edinburgh). Burgesses qualified for admission by fulfilling the requirements to have residence in the town; being nominated by either an Incorporated Trade or the Merchant company, or be related by birth or marriage to an existing Burgess; and pay the required fees. After Burgess-ship

2475-436: The medieval era, it also brought with it the right to join the Merchant Company or Incorporated Trades , which held exclusive right to trade or practice a craft within the city. With the eventual power of the Merchant Company and Incorporated Trades, it was therefore essentially impossible to conduct business in Edinburgh without having been granted a Burgess ticket. The Merchants' Company and Incorporated Trades also sat within

2530-551: The monarch, who hands them back to the Lord Provost proclaiming "that they cannot be placed in better hands than those of the Lord Provost and Councillors of my good City of Edinburgh". In 1975, Edinburgh Corporation was abolished. The new two-tier system consisted of Lothian Regional Council (with responsibility for water, education, social work and transport) and the City of Edinburgh District Council (with responsibility for cleansing and libraries). The City of Edinburgh became

2585-408: The power to institute these organisations via the granting of a "Seal of Cause". This empowered the societies as "a legal corporation with power to hold property, make its own by-laws and regulations". Other organisations to receive the "Seal of Cause" include The Royal Burgess Golfing Society of Edinburgh , who received their seal on 2 July 1800. The history of the corporation lives on elsewhere around

2640-466: 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

2695-503: The respect and high esteem in which they are held by the people of Edinburgh". This is sometimes known as "Honorary Burgess-ship". Thus, those seeking to join the Incorporated Trades would be left with no choice but to first approach the Merchant Company. Edinburgh City Council arbitrated an agreement between the Merchants and the Incorporated Trades. Nominations for nurgess-ship are now accepted from either organisation, and

2750-445: The role of Lord Dean of Guild, and the office was transferred into the Merchant Company of Edinburgh. That created an issue where Burgess tickets could be issued by the City of Edinburgh Council or the Merchant Company but not the Incorporated Trades. The City of Edinburgh Council began to use only burgess-ship as a civic award and issued it only to individuals who had "distinguished themselves through their work or efforts, or to recognise

2805-424: The seat of government of a polity or of a subdivision. Deliberately planned and designed capitals include: These cities satisfy one or both of the following criteria: Some examples of the second situation (compromise locations) are: Changes in a nation's political regime sometimes result in the designation of a new capital. Akmola (renamed Astana in 1998) became the capital of Kazakhstan in 1997, following

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2860-677: The term "capital cities" is regularly used to refer to those six state capitals plus the federal capital Canberra , and Darwin , the capital of the Northern Territory . Abu Dhabi is the capital city of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and also of the United Arab Emirates overall. In unitary states which consist of multiple constituent nations, such as the United Kingdom and the Kingdom of Denmark , each will usually have its own capital city. Unlike in federations , there

2915-820: Was common. The capital city 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 / Vatican City (the Roman Catholic Church ), Jerusalem (more than one religion), Babylon, Moscow (the Russian Orthodox Church ), Belgrade (the Serbian Orthodox Church ), Paris, and Beijing. In some countries,

2970-632: Was destroyed when 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

3025-484: Was granted their name would be entered in the roll and they would consequently receive their Burgess ticket. Occasionally when someone of note was made a Burgessm such as a Lord Provost of Edinburgh , the Burgess ticket would be presented in a boxm known as a 'Freedom Casket'. It would often be silver or gold, be lavishly decorated and bear an engraving of the recipient's name. Local government reform in 1973 reformed

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