A capital is a city where a region's government is located. This is where
government
buildings are and where
government
leaders work. A region can be defined as a nation, state, province, or other political unit. At the county level,
capitals
are usually called "county seats."
In some countries, there are two cities that serve as
capitals
. For instance, Santiago is the
capital
of Chile but the National Congress of Chile is located in Valparaso. In Tanzania, Dar es Salaam is the official
capital
, but most of the
government
is located in Dodoma.
A
capital
is frequently a country's business, cultural, and population center.
Capital
cities are often historical centers of trade, communication, and transportation. London, England, and Paris, France, developed hundreds of years ago around large, busy rivers (the Thames in London and the Seine in Paris). Baghdad, Iraq, and Damascus, Syria, have been thriving urban centers for thousands of years.
Rarely, a
capital
city
is constructed just to be a
capital
city
. Brazil's
government
built its
capital
, Brasilia, purely to serve as a
government
city
.
Brasilia was
constructed
as a
capital
city
between 1956 and 1960. Brazil's previous
capital
, Rio de Janeiro, was crowded. Its design hindered
government
work because buildings were located far apart from one another and traffic was heavy. Brasilia was
constructed
in the countrys interior, to spur development there and lay a plan for an ideal
capital
city
. City planners, architects, and political scientists worked with Brazils leaders on the design of Brasilia.
Fast Fact
City of Brotherly Love
Until 1801, when the District of Columbia was established as the nation's capital, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was the capital of the United States.
