Canton (country subdivision)

A canton is a type of administrative division of a country.^[1] In general, cantons are relatively small in terms of area and population when compared with other administrative divisions such as counties, departments, or provinces. Internationally, the best-known cantons - and the most politically important - are those of Switzerland. As the constituents of the Swiss Confederation, theoretically (and historically), the Swiss cantons are semi-sovereign states.

The term is derived from the French word canton, meaning corner or district (from which "Cantonment" is also derived).^[2]

In specific countries

Cantons exist (or existed) in the following countries:

Cantons of Belgium
Cantonal Government of Bohol
Cantons of Bolivia
Cantons of Bosnia and Herzegovina: federal units of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Canada: Canadian French equivalent for the English word "township", since the translation municipalité is already used for a different level of government (see township).
- Cantons of Quebec
Cantons of Costa Rica: subdivisions below the provinces of Costa Rica
Cantons of Ecuador: subdivisions below the provinces of Ecuador
Cantons of El Salvador: divisions of a municipality outside the more urban caserios, which border the town or city. Cantones can be thought as the more rural parts of a city or town, generally far from the actual urban population.
Cantons of France: a subdivision of 'arrondissements' and départements, grouping several 'communes'
Cantons of Lebanon, unofficial areas controlled by the various militias and factions during the Lebanese Civil War and afterwards. Most areas have been returned to Lebanese government control.
Cantons of Luxembourg: a subdivision of the districts of Luxembourg
Cantonal Government of Negros, short-lived provisional government in the Visayas during the Filipino-American Wars in the 19th-20th century Republic of Negros
Cantons of Rojava (Western Kurdistan): Afrin, Kobanî, Jazira, Shahba Canton
Cantons of Switzerland: each a semi-sovereign state within Switzerland
subdivisions of vingtaines in Jersey
subdivisions of the parishes of Guernsey
Juridical district in the Netherlands

In former countries

Cantons of Prussia: military enrollment districts between 1733 and 1813
Cantons of Eastern Rumelia, the subdivisions below the departments.
Cantons of the Soviet Union, subdivisions of several autonomous regions of the Soviet Union before 1941
In the Republic of New Granada, cantons were subdivisions below the provinces of the Republic of New Granada
In 1873, "Cantonalists" took over the city of Cartagena, Spain, a haven for the Spanish Navy, and declared the city independent (see Cantonal Revolution)

References

↑ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Canton". Encyclopædia Britannica. 5 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 221.
↑ Oxford English Dictionary cantonment and canton, v.

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[1] Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Canton". Encyclopædia Britannica. 5 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 221.

[2] Oxford English Dictionary cantonment and canton, v.