Today we invite you to return to the school geography curriculum for a couple of minutes to test your knowledge and possibly update it. We have compiled a list of cities that are most often mistakenly considered capitals. This article was prepared for a reason, even in the world-famous capital of the United States of America, people often cannot remember, or mistakenly call New York. But we remember that New York can be called the financial capital of the world, but the capital of the United States is Washington. Let’s take a look at the capitals of countries that are usually incorrectly defined.
The capital of Brazil is Rio de Janeiro or Brasilia
Many people, when asked about the capital of Brazil, almost without hesitation answer Rio de Janeiro. Indeed, until 1960, the city of Rio de Janeiro (which means January River in Portuguese) was the capital. However, it was subsequently decided to move the capital to the center of the country to promote the development of less densely populated areas. The new capital was named Brasilia, you see, it is not difficult to remember. By the way, the population of the capital is only 2.5 million people, the same figure in Rio in 2018 was 6.7 million.
Australian capital Sydney, Melbourne, or Canberra
The most popular answer to the question about the capital of Australia is Sydney. Sydney is the largest and oldest city in Australia, with a population of just over 5 million, but in reality, its capital is Canberra. The city of Canberra has only 410,000 inhabitants. The territory on which the modern capital is located was not chosen by chance. The confrontation between Melbourne and Sydney, two major cities in Australia, for the right to be called the capital, led to a compromise decision to build a new city in 1913. The word “Canberra” comes from the name of the dialect of the local Ngabri tribe, belonging to the Ngunnawal family group, namely, from the word “Kanbarra”, which can be translated from the ancient language of Ngunnawal as “a place for gathering”.
Capital of Spain Barcelona or Madrid
When asked about the capital of Spain, I sometimes mistakenly answer – Barcelona. Barcelona is the capital, but not of Spain, but of the autonomous region of Catalonia, which is part of it. Barcelona with a population of 1.6 million people is much more famous as it is one of the most significant tourist destinations in Europe, which is why Barcelona is confused and called the capital. The capital of Spain is Madrid, a city of over 3.1 million inhabitants. The city grew up on the site of the Majirit fortress, the mention of which can be found as far back as 932.
Capital of Turkey Istanbul or Ankara
Istanbul is the first thing that comes to mind when answering a question about the capital of Turkey. Istanbul, aka Constantinople, aka Byzantium, is a city that in its history has been the capital of several empires, including Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman. The population of Istanbul is over 15 million inhabitants. However, it is not the capital of Turkey, this title is assigned to Ankara, whose population does not exceed 5.5 million people. The city of Ankara has been known since the 7th century BC. called Angora (Ankira).
Capital of Canada Toronto or Ottawa
Toronto is the city that is most often called the capital of Canada, but this title belongs to Ottawa. Canada has a population of just over 37 million, 2.7 of whom live in Toronto. The capital of Canada, Ottawa, cannot boast of such a population, only in 2019, the city’s population reached 1 million inhabitants. By the way, Ottawa is only the fourth largest among all Canadian cities.