List of purpose-built capitals of country subdivisions

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This is a list of purpose-built capitals of country subdivisions.

List[edit]

City Capital of Date Notes
Subdivision Country
Adelaide  South Australia  Australia 1836
Amaravati Andhra Pradesh  India 2014 moved from Hyderabad[1]
Banjarbaru  South Kalimantan  Indonesia 2022 moved from Banjarmasin, construction of the city began in 1953 and official city status was given in 1999
Belo Horizonte  Minas Gerais  Brazil 1897 moved from Ouro Preto
Chandigarh Punjab
Haryana
 India 1947 because partition of India placed Punjab's capital, Lahore, in Pakistan; Haryana created out of part of Indian Punjab in 1966 and shares capital
Changwon South Gyeongsang  South Korea 1983 moved from Busan
Columbia  South Carolina  United States 1790 moved from Charleston
Columbus  Ohio  United States 1816 moved from Chillicothe
Gandhinagar Gujarat  India 1960 founded upon split of Bombay State into two states
Goiânia  Goiás  Brazil 1933 moved from Goiás Velho
Indianapolis  Indiana  United States 1825 moved from Corydon
Jackson  Mississippi  United States 1821 moved from Natchez
Jefferson City  Missouri  United States 1826 moved from St. Charles
La Plata  Buenos Aires Province  Argentina 1882 moved from Buenos Aires
Lansing  Michigan  United States 1847 moved from Detroit
Lelystad  Flevoland  Netherlands 1967 the province consists almost entirely of reclaimed land
Madison  Wisconsin  United States 1836 capital moved from Burlington, now part of Iowa in 1837
Magas  Ingushetia  Russia 2002 moved from Nazran
Maryborough Queen's County Kingdom of Ireland Ireland 1556 Named for Queen Mary I and founded as part of the Plantation of Laois and Offaly, an effort to replace the native Irish population of the region with English settlers. Today the town is known as Portlaoise and the county is County Laois.
Milledgeville  Georgia (U.S. state)  United States 1807 moved from Louisville; briefly moved to Macon in 1864, then back; moved to Atlanta in 1868
Molave Zamboanga  Philippines 1948 moved from Dipolog; ceased to be the capital after the division of the province into Zamboanga del Norte and Zamboanga del Sur in 1952
Neuquén Neuquén Province  Argentina 1904 moved from Chos Malal
Palayan  Nueva Ecija  Philippines 1965 moved from Cabanatuan; Cabanatuan retains the old provincial capitol and is still used by the provincial government
Palmas  Tocantins  Brazil 1990 founded as capital of the new state of Tocantins, formed in 1988 from part of the state of Goiás. Replaced the provisional capital of Miracema do Norte
Perth  Western Australia  Australia 1829 founded as the capital of the Swan River Colony, which, several years later, was enlarged and renamed Western Australia
Philipstown King's County Kingdom of Ireland Ireland 1556 Named for King Philip II and founded as part of the Plantation of Laois and Offaly, an effort to replace the native Irish population of the region with English settlers. It was replaced as the county town by Tullamore in 1883. Today Philipstown is known as Daingean and the county is County Offaly.
Pierre  South Dakota  United States 1889 when the Dakota Territory divided into North and South Dakota and gained statehood, moved from then territorial capital Bismarck, North Dakota which, by default, became state capital of North Dakota. Previous territorial capital before Bismarck was Yankton, South Dakota from 1861-1883.
Raleigh  North Carolina  United States 1794 moved from New Bern
Salt Lake City  Utah  United States 1847 de facto capital of Utah prior to 1856 and de jure capital since.
Sapporo  Hokkaidō  Japan 1870s from the early 1870s, moved from Hakodate
Savannah  Georgia (U.S. state)  United States 1733 founded as capital of new Georgia colony; remained capital until 1777 and was briefly again in 1782 and 1784-6
Shah Alam  Selangor  Malaysia 1978 moved from Kuala Lumpur when the latter became a Federal Territory
Tallahassee  Florida  United States 1824 from the capitals of the colonies of East Florida and West Florida Pensacola and St. Augustine
Teresina  Piauí  Brazil 1852 moved from Oeiras
Trece Martires  Cavite  Philippines 1954 moved from Cavite City; still the seat of the provincial government despite the capital having transferred to Imus making Trece Martires the de facto capital of Cavite while Imus is the de jure capital of the province.
Victoria  British Columbia  Canada 1849 nearby Fort Victoria had existed earlier, but in 1849 the town was specifically laid out to be the capital of the new Colony of Vancouver Island; became capital of the Colony of British Columbia in 1866 when united with the mainland; remained capital after British Columbia became Canadian province in 1871
Zhongxing New Village Taiwan Province  Republic of China 1956 moved from Taipei City. Not recognized by People's Republic of China, which still mark Taipei as capital (or not mark any capital) of its Taiwan Province on all its maps. It remained the capital until July 2018, when all remaining duties of the Taiwan Provincial Government were transferred to the National Development Council and other ministries of the Executive Yuan.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Kalavalapalli, Yogendra (2016-07-22). "Amaravati: A capital idea, but how feasible?". Livemint. Retrieved 2020-08-05.