Capital

This article is about capital cities used in roleplay. For the Capital City option in Nation Settings, see Capital City.

In politics, a capital (also called capital city or political capital — although the latter phrase has an alternative meaning based on an alternative meaning of "capital") is the principal city or town associated with its government. It is almost always the city which physically encompasses the offices and meeting places of the seat of government and is usually fixed by law. The word capital is derived from the Latin caput meaning "head," and possibly related to Capitoline Hill, the tallest hill in Ancient Rome and that city's religious and historic center.

As in real life, capital cities in NationStates are the seat of government for most nations, and as such they feature prominently in most diplomacy-based roleplay. However, a number of players will have nations with many cities, towns and other areas of population, so it does not always follow that all action will take place there. They are not automatically important; the owner has to make that so.

If you are engaging another nation in roleplay and you need to mention a city from their nation, it is normally safe to start with their capital city.

Unorthodox capital city arrangements

There are a number of cases where states or other entities have more than one capital city or where there is no official capital city. In other cases, the official capital may not be the actual seat of government for security or other reasons. In still other cases, the capital might be the seat of the government but not the actual geographical location for decision-making.

• The Amish Collective: The Amish Collective has no national capital as it is so small and due to the nature of the government. Instead, each town has a council which then has a representative sent to whichever of the three largest towns is hosting the Supreme Council meeting that month.

• Bubosia: Arcara is the capital as it is the founding city, although Bubon is the seat of government as it is where Bubosia became a country.

• Red Jello City: Red Jello City is a city-state, so it is comprised of only the capital city of Red Jello City and the surrounding urban sprawl, farmland, and parks.

• The National Parliament of Errinundera is located in First Creek Falls, however there is no head of government or head of state. Very little activity of importance takes place in the National Parliament. Most decisions are made at the local community level in this decentralised, communitarian nation.

• Free Outer Eugenia: Like many other anarchist societies, Free Outer Eugenia has no administrative center. Centralization is replaced with a high level of local autonomy and bottom-up rule in the form of direct industrial democracy.

• Uninhabited Kiravian Empire posessions may have their de jure capital in any city of the Empire. Thus, numerous villages have become the capitals of desolate atolls.

• Pa'atua: De jure, the capital is Ufanua. De facto, the latter is almost a ghost town, and Ufanua Fo'u is the country's real administrative centre.

• Paranoian Mundia: Has two capitals, Irulu being the administrative center and Wheyton the social welfare distribution center.

• Of the Quendi: In the Most Serene Republic four cities has been designated capitals Armenelos, Pristina, Xanth, and Charn are all seats of important government agencies and bureaus

• San Adriano: The country is so small that its entire territory is also its de facto capital.

• Shinobi Villages has three capitals. The political capital is Sparrow City, the industrial capital is kota-Ryongyang, and the military capital is Nova Konohagakure.

• Siberian Wastelands is a centralized alliance of numerous kingdoms lead by a central duma in karkenkough, with the kingdoms capitals spread out, and the city of tungusta, which houses the national parliment of the nation, and kakeroun, which houses the supreme congress of judical acts.

• Sophia City is a city-state, so there is no designated capital city. The Old Sophia district is often considered the de facto capital, as it is where all the government buildings are located.

• Yurozea has two capitals as a result of a compromise between the two factions of the 2009 Revolution. While Omata was capital of the nation for centuries under theocratic rule, Havra was constructed as a new capital for the Kingdom. The two currently share equal status.

• Iievius maintains two separate capitals, one for the huge space colonies in the star system of Polaris B and one for the Empire on Earth. Iupitus, the seat of power on the homeworld, is considered more important on the scale of power. Stirya, the de facto capital of the Space colonies, can however claim to be the industrial capital of the Empire.