A Wisdom Archive on overseas territories

In addition there are the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia in Cyprus. Alphabetically: ^  Includes Ascension Island and Tristan da Cunha ...

Read more here: » British overseas territory: Encyclopedia II - British overseas territory - Current overseas territories

Canada was the the first to achieve Dominion status and served as the prototype for devolution elsewhere (Australia, New Zealand). That term has fallen into disuse for reasons of political correctness, and no longer applies to Canada since the 1982 Constitution, which repatriated powers above and beyond those already devolved through the previous Dominion status. The country remains a crown realm and part of the Commonwealth. Most other countries have become republics after independence, as a sort of sixth step, in which constitutiona ...

Read more here: » British overseas territory: Encyclopedia II - British overseas territory - Stages of colonial evolution

For a list of countries which were formerly crown colonies, or which include former crown colonies, see Commonwealth of Nations. Note that many Commonwealth countries were protectorates rather than colonies, such as Brunei. Some members were previously administered by other Commonwealth countries, such as Samoa (by New Zealand), Papua New Guinea (by Australia) and Namibia (by South Africa), while Mozambique was formerly a Portuguese colony. Colonies that did not join the Commonwealth are Burma, Aden (now part of Yemen), and the origin ...

Read more here: » British overseas territory: Encyclopedia II - British overseas territory - Former crown colonies

Contemporaneous documents almost always listed the colonies in geographical order, roughly from north to south, as follows (the division into three regions is a later construct of historians, though New England was always considered to be a distinct region): New England: Province of New Hampshire, later New Hampshire Province of Massachusetts Bay, later Massachusetts and Maine Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, later Rhode Island and Providence Plantations Connecticut Colony, l ...

Read more here: » Thirteen Colonies: Encyclopedia II - Thirteen Colonies - The Thirteen Colonies

The District of Keewatin was created as a separate territory from 1876 to 1905, after which it became a Northwest Territories administration district. There is also active interest within both Canada and the Turks and Caicos Islands, an overseas UK territory in the Caribbean, for the latter to enter into Confederation in some capacity. While no official negotiations are yet underway, the two have a long-standing relationship and formal committees of both governments are actively explor ...

Read more here: » Provinces and territories of Canada: Encyclopedia II - Provinces and territories of Canada - Other

Commonwealth - United States. Four states in the United States officially designate themselves "commonwealths": Kentucky, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. See Commonwealth or State? "Commonwealth" is also used in the U.S. to describe the political relationship between the United States and the overseas unincorporated territories of Puerto Rico and of the Northern Marianas (

Read more here: » Commonwealth: Encyclopedia II - Commonwealth - Subnational

France has 26 administrative régions: 21 metropolitan régions, the territorial collectivity of Corse (Corsica) (commonly referred to as a région), and four overseas régions. The régions are subdivided into 100 départements. The departments are numbered (mainly alphabetically) and this number is used in postal codes and vehicle number plates. The departments are subdivided into 342 arrondissements and 4,035 cantons which serve only administrative and electoral purposes, and 36,682 comm ...

Read more here: » France: Encyclopedia II - France - Administrative divisions

The Medieval Cholas rose to prominence when King Vijayalaya defeated the Pallavas and captured Thanjavur. In the early 10th century King Paranthaka I defeated the Pandyan king Rajasimha and also invaded Ceylon (Sri Lanka). Though his son, Rajaditya, was defeated and killed by the Rashtrakuta ruler Krishna III (c.949 CE), the setback proved only temporary. The Medieval Chola kings would go on to capture most of South India, Bengal, and some overseas territories in Ceylon (Sri Lanka) and Indonesia. Until the later 13th century, the Chola Em ...

Read more here: » Cholas: Encyclopedia II - Cholas - Medieval Cholas

Defining the relationship between ethnicity and the Chinese identity has been a very complex issue throughout Chinese history. In the 17th century, the Manchus invaded the Chinese heartland (see China proper) and set up the Qing dynasty. Over the next centuries they would incorporate groups such as the Tibetans, the Mongols, and the Uighur into territories which they controlled. The Manchus were faced with the issue of maintaining loyalty among the people they ruled while at the same time maintaining a distinctive identity. The main method b ...

Read more here: » Chinese nationalism: Encyclopedia II - Chinese nationalism - Chinese nationalism and ethnicity