User:The Equalizer/Overseas cities
{{Short description|British overseas cities}}
File:Prince Charles in Aotearoa (cropped).jpg|left]]
{{Use British English|date=April 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2024}}
British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies cities are the remnants of the former far-reaching British Empire, which was a vast holding of many regions, countries, protectorates and territories. A number of notable settlements within England and constituent countries of the grouping from the medieval period onwards were granted city status by the British monarch. This is a honorific title only granting no additional privileges, but it could confer a sense of increased local pride, additional prestige along with international notability and recognition to an area.
Primarily from the 20th century many territories gained independence, and there was a reduction in the number of cities remaining within the Empire. These did not form part of the modern United Kingdom except for Ireland, and later Northern Ireland. Today, the British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies continue to not form part of the UK, but the power to designate cities in these locations continues to remain vested ultimately with the present sovereign. There are (to 2022) presently four cities in the Overseas Territories, and one on a Crown Dependency.{{Cite news |last=O'Connor |first=Mary |date=2022-05-20 |title=Platinum Jubilee: Eight new cities created in Queen's honour |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-61505857 |access-date=2022-05-20 |work=BBC News |language=en-GB}}
{{Clear}}
Current overseas cities
= Map of cities in Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies =
{{Location map+ |Earth |float=center |width=650 |caption=Location of cities in Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies:
8px Cities in Overseas Territories|places=
{{Location map~ |Earth|lat=36.133333|long=-5.35|label_size=80 |label={{lower|0.2em|Gibraltar}}|position=right|mark=Green pog.svg}}
{{Location map~ |Earth|lat=32.293|long=-64.782|label_size=80 |label={{lower|0.2em|Hamilton}}|position=right|mark=Green pog.svg}}
{{Location map~ |Earth|lat=-15.924|long=-5.718|label_size=80 |label={{lower|0.2em|Jamestown}}|position=right|mark=Green pog.svg}}
{{Location map~ |Earth|lat=-51.695|long=-57.850556|label_size=80 |label={{lower|0.2em|Stanley}}|position=right|mark=Green pog.svg}}
{{Location map~ |Earth|lat=54.145|long=-4.482|label_size=80 |label={{lower|0.2em|Douglas}}|position=left|mark=Blue pog.svg}}
}}
History
British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies cities began as settlements in foreign lands controlled by England during medieval times from the 12th century as English overseas possessions, later from 1707 after union with Scotland becoming termed as the British Empire comprising Crown Colonies, which after a reduction of these due to countries being granted independence, became known as the British Dependent Territories from 1981, and this was further renamed into the present British Overseas Territories in 2002 and Crown Dependencies. As these sometimes far-flung lands became established, locals and British settlers from the most notable settlements began to request privileges as a validation of their importance, and city status was one of the more dignified honours handed out to a select few communities, other title types including becoming a borough.
In England where city status began, a number of settlements which contained a cathedral initially were regarded as important places, especially after the Norman Invasion, with Norman leaders requesting that bishops base these within a recognisable location closer to the population. Later on, many of these notable towns were formally given city status with either a city charter and later using letters patent. Certain overseas territories such Ireland began to follow this trend until the later 1800s, after which the designation became disassociated to cathedrals and other merits came into play, such as population size.
=Ireland and Northern Ireland =
{{Further|City status in Ireland}}
The first English overseas expansion occurred as early as 1169, when the Norman invasion of Ireland began to establish English possessions in Ireland, with it initially styled as a lordship and later a dependent kingdom, before full union with the UK in 1800. City status there tended historically to be granted by royal charter. The criteria depended less on the presence of a cathedral, and there are many towns in Ireland with Church of Ireland cathedrals that have never been called cities. In 1923 Ireland was partitioned and became an independent state; Northern Ireland continues to be a part of the UK.
= France =
{{Further|Communes of France#Chartered cities|France in the Middle Ages#Cities and towns}}
Prior to the commune status that cities in France presently hold, in medieval times French Normans from the House of Normandy, English Angevin and Plantagenet kings held large swathes of territory such as the Duchy of Normandy as part of the wider Angevin Empire for which the ownership was continually disputed and culminated in the Hundred Years War. Normandy was held until 1204 but forfeited to French kings, and remaining French land was held with them being feudal tenants-in-chief, so any control of city privileges continued to lay with French nobility and monarchs.
During the period a number of towns were given charters with varying levels of self-government and status. The grant of city status was much like England, generally based on cathedral status. This was sometimes confirmed by the use of city seal
=Crown colonies and British overseas expansion=
As the English empire expanded into the New World and parts of the old at the end of the medieval age, there were calls from these early communities for self-governance and charters were issued occasionally, sometimes by local governors which were ratified by monarchs.{{Cite journal |last=McBain |first=Howard Lee |date=1925 |title=The Legal Status of the American Colonial City |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/2142273 |journal=Political Science Quarterly |volume=40 |issue=2 |pages=187 |doi=10.2307/2142273 |jstor=2142273 |issn=0032-3195}} Unlike England, these early grants did not depend on the settlement having an ecclesiastical centre. Although many settlements had begun to build churches, the Church of England had not begun to create overseas dioceses until 1787, and the Colonial Office were given the power to declare cities in Crown colonies by letters patent when appointing bishops. The first place in this period to have a diocese in place before a grant of city status was Quebec City. Later, Gibraltar, Jamestown in St Helena along with several others were bestowed the status at the same time as the establishment of the diocese with diocesan letters patent instead of city status letters patent.
However, after a number of court cases, from 1863 the Privy Council ruled that the Church of England did not have jurisdiction over overseas dioceses in many circumstances, and therefore deprecating this short-lived tradition of royal grant establishing bishop sees at the same time as granting city status in the Empire,{{Cite web |orig-date=Tuesday, 19 March 2013 |title=Title: ADJOURNMENT - Goulburn Sesquicentenary - Database: Senate Hansard |url=https://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/search/display/display.w3p;db=CHAMBER;id=chamber%2Fhansards%2Fc06d5112-f3de-47b9-88ce-ad5ee5a1a980%2F0170;query=Id%3A%22chamber%2Fhansards%2Fc06d5112-f3de-47b9-88ce-ad5ee5a1a980%2F0009%22 |page=2087 |quote=Senator STEPHENS (New South Wales) (19:05): Last Thursday, 14 March, Goulburn held a huge community celebration of its sesquicentenary. I was delighted that the Senate unanimously supported a motion of recognition of this event and that the Prime Minister sent a message of goodwill to the city because Goulburn holds the unique distinction of being proclaimed a city on two occasions. The first, unofficial, proclamation was claimed by virtue of royal letters patent issued by Queen Victoria on 14 March 1863 to establish the Diocese of Goulburn. It was a claim made for ecclesiastical purposes, as required by the traditions of the Church of England. The letters patent also established St Saviour's Church as the cathedral church of the diocese. This was the last time that letters patent were used in this way in the British Empire, because they had been significantly discredited for use in the colonies and were soon to be declared formally invalid and unenforceable in this context. Several legal cases had already established that the monarch had no ecclesiastical jurisdiction in colonies possessing responsible government, and this in fact had been granted to New South Wales in 1856—seven years earlier. So the letters patent held authority only over those who submitted to it voluntarily, and then only within the context of the church. It had no legal or civil authority or implications. So Goulburn was again officially proclaimed a city on 20 March 1885, removing any lingering doubts as to its status.}} causing concerns on the patents issued; Goulburn in Australia for example found itself declared a city twice - once by letters patent in 1863 and once by law in 1885 after doubts arose to its status.{{cite web |date=14 March 2022 |title=14 Mar 1863 - Goulburn proclaimed a City |url=https://www.records.nsw.gov.au/archives/magazine/onthisday/14-march-1863 |accessdate=1 September 2022 |website=NSW Government Records and Archives}} As core colonies obtained local legislatures and dominion
(brackets) contain former place names which the original grant may refer to
= Post British Empire =
The definition of the remaining overseas lands were changed to label them either British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies from 1981. The last sizeable populated city of these was Victoria, Hong Kong with its parent territory reverting to China in 1997, leaving relatively small resident populations in the remaining cities. Since the second Millennium, competitions have been arranged by the government to grant the status to UK settlements and this power remains delegated to it and the monarch. In 2021, submissions for city status were invited to mark the Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II, with Crown Dependencies and British Overseas Territories being allowed to take part for the first time.{{Cite web |title=Platinum Jubilee Civic Honours Competition |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/platinum-jubilee-civic-honours-competition |access-date=2024-03-24 |website=GOV.UK |language=en}} The applicants were George Town (in the Cayman Islands), Gibraltar, Stanley (in the Falkland Islands), Douglas and Peel (both in the Isle of Man).{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/dec/23/from-goole-to-gibraltar-the-towns-preparing-to-battle-for-city-status-in-2022|title=From Goole to Gibraltar: the towns preparing to battle for city status in 2022|first1=Alexandra|last1=Topping|first2=Jim|last2=Waterson|date=23 December 2021|accessdate=6 June 2022}} It was later discovered that Gibraltar had been previously named a city, researchers at The National Archives confirming that Gibraltar's city status was still in effect, with the territory missing from the official list of cities for the past 140 years.{{cite web|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-re-affirms-city-status-of-gibraltar|title=Government re-affirms city status of Gibraltar|date=29 August 2022|accessdate=29 August 2022|website=gov.uk}} Stanley and Douglas were later granted the honour, making a total of five cities.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/may/21/partying-with-penguins-joy-as-falklands-town-wins-coveted-city-status-to-mark-the-queens-jubilee|title='Partying with penguins': joy as Falklands town wins coveted city status to mark the Queen's jubilee|first1=Miranda|last1=Bryantt|date=21 May 2022|accessdate=6 June 2022}}
References
{{Reflist}}
Bibliography
- {{cite book |last1=Hallam |first1=Elizabeth M |title=Capetian France 987–1328 |last2=Everard |first2=Judith |publisher=Pearson |year=2001 |isbn=978-0582404281}}