Free state (polity)

Last updated April 02, 2024

Free state is a term occasionally used in the official titles of some states throughout the world with varying meanings depending on the context. In principle, the title asserts and emphasises a particular freedom of the state in question, but this is not always reflected in practice. Some states use the title to assert sovereignty or independence from foreign domination, while others have used it to assert autonomy within a larger nation-state. Sometimes "free state" is used as a synonym for "republic".

The republican sense of the term derives from libera res publica (literally, "the free public thing/affair"), a term used by Latin historians for the period of the Roman Republic, though not all "free states" have been republics. The historical German free states and the Orange Free State of Southern Africa were republican in form, however the Congo Free State and Irish Free State were governed under forms of monarchy.

Overview

Republican England

English Parliament, in the act forming the Commonwealth of England of 1649 to 1660, declared that "England is confirmed to be a Commonwealth and Free State and shall from henceforth be Governed as a Commonwealth and Free State."^[1] The Commonwealth had a republican constitution.

Germany

In Germany, the term free state (in German, Freistaatpronounced [ˈfʁaɪ̯ˌʃtaːt] ^ⓘ) comes from the 19th century as a German word for republic. After the German Revolution of November 1918, when Imperial Germany became a democratic republic, most of the German states within the German Reich called themselves a Free State. Others used expressions like Republik or Volksstaat (people's state) – though unpopular, as that term was associated with the enemy France. According to the Versailles Treaty, Danzig was split off from Germany in 1919, becoming the Free City of Danzig.

After the Nazis came to power, they abolished the concept of a federal republic and all the states and re-organized Germany into Gaue , with appointed leadership.

The states were re-established within the reduced German borders after World War II; however, from 1952 only Bavaria (successor (but not de jure) to the Kingdom of Bavaria) still called itself a Free State and that made Freistaat a synonym for Bavaria. After the reunification, the reestablished Saxony (successor (but not de jure) to the Kingdom of Saxony) used the name again in 1992 and Thuringia began to use it for the first time in 1993.

Free Cities

Historically, Germany had Imperial Free Cities, who were subject only to the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. In 1871 Germany knew three Free Cities, Hamburg, Bremen and Lübeck; the last lost its status in 1937. Since 1949, the Federal Republic of Germany has Hamburg (Freie und Hansestadt, Free and Hanseatic City) and Bremen (Freie Hansestadt), as well as Berlin, as a city which is also a state. Like the Free States these three cities have no special rights in the federation.

Africa

In South Africa, the term free state was used in the title of the nineteenth century Orange Free State (Oranje Vrystaat in Afrikaans) and is today used in the title of its successor, Free State; both entities were established as republican in form.

In contrast, the Congo Free State came into being between 1877 and 1884 as a private kingdom or dictatorship of King Leopold II of Belgium. In this case, the term free emphasised the new state's freedom from major colonial powers and the Belgian parliament, as the colony was ruled only by the king.

Irish Free State

The Irish Free State of 1922–1937 was a dominion of the British Empire. The term free state was deliberately chosen as a literal translation of the Irish word saorstát. At the time in which Irish nationalist leaders (who generally favoured a republican form of government) were negotiating the secession of most of Ireland from the United Kingdom, the word saorstát was a commonly used Irish-language word for republic. The British government was opposed to the Free State being established as a republic (which would mean severing Ireland's links with the British Crown) and so insisted that the literal translation of saorstát be used in the new state's English title instead.^[2] The term saorstát thus represented a compromise in terminology: British officials could accept it as a less explicit rejection of Ireland's links to the Crown than the term republic itself, while Irish republicans could choose to interpret it as signifying a republic by any other name.^{[ citation needed ]}

Puerto Rico

The official Spanish name of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico is Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, literally, "Associated Free State of Puerto Rico", expressing a "politically organized community” or “State,” which is simultaneously connected by a compact to a larger political system and hence does not have an independent and separate status. However, according to the United States Supreme Court, Puerto Rico is not free or associated; it is only a state in the general sense, not as a state of the Union in the U.S. constitutional sense. According to consistent U.S. Supreme Court jurisprudence, Puerto Rico belongs to but is not an integral part (Organized incorporated territory) of the United States. Moreover, the said jurisprudence has determined that regardless of what nominal or cosmetic veneer has moted Puerto Rico's political status, it is essentially a U.S. colonial territory, since it is under the plenary powers of the U.S. Congress. At its most basic, this Supreme Court doctrine expresses that Puerto Rico is more like property, far from a free-governing community or nation, and thus "domestic in a foreign sense" (not for the taking or meddling by free foreign nations), but "foreign in a domestic sense" (not a partner or an equal). In the Insular Cases, the Court ruled that the United States Constitution does not automatically apply in Puerto Rico.

List of 'free states'

Related Research Articles

A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase, it comes from the old meaning of "wealth", which is "well-being", and is itself a loose translation of the Latin res publica. The term literally meant "common well-being". In the 17th century, the definition of "commonwealth" expanded from its original sense of "public welfare" or "commonweal" to mean "a state in which the supreme power is vested in the people; a republic or democratic state".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colony</span> Territory governed by another country

A colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, the rule remains separate to the original country of the colonizers, the metropolitan state, which together have often been organized as colonial empires, particularly with the development of modern imperialism and its colonialism. This coloniality and possibly colonial administrative separation, while often blurred, makes colonies neither annexed or integrated territories nor client states. Colonies contemporarily are identified and organized as not sufficiently self-governed dependent territories. Other past colonies have become either sufficiently incorporated and self-governed, or independent, with some to a varying degree dominated by remaining colonial settler societies or neocolonialism.

The politics of Puerto Rico take place in the framework of a democratic republic form of government that is under the jurisdiction and sovereignty of the United States Congress as an organized unincorporated territory. Since the 1898 invasion of Puerto Rico by the United States during the Spanish–American War, politics in Puerto Rico have been significantly shaped by its status as territory of the United States. The nature of Puerto Rico's political relationship with the United States is the subject of ongoing debate in Puerto Rico, in the United States, the United Nations and the international community, with all major political parties in the archipelago calling it a colonial relationship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Westphalia</span> State part and historic region of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Westphalia is a region of northwestern Germany and one of the three historic parts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has an area of 20,210 square kilometres (7,800 sq mi) and 7.9 million inhabitants.

The Irish Free State, also known by its Irish name Saorstát Éireann, was a state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-year Irish War of Independence between the forces of the Irish Republic – the Irish Republican Army (IRA) – and British Crown forces.

A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate, so-called as an assembly of the senior and therefore considered wiser and more experienced members of the society or ruling class. However the Roman Senate was not the ancestor or predecessor of modern parliamentarism in any sense, because the Roman senate was not a de jure legislative body.

The Irish Republic was an unrecognised revolutionary state that declared its independence from the United Kingdom in January 1919. The Republic claimed jurisdiction over the whole island of Ireland, but by 1920 its functional control was limited to only 21 of Ireland's 32 counties, and British state forces maintained a presence across much of the north-east, as well as Cork, Dublin and other major towns. The republic was strongest in rural areas, and through its military forces was able to influence the population in urban areas that it did not directly control.

The resident commissioner of Puerto Rico is a non-voting member of the United States House of Representatives elected by the voters of the U.S. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico every four years, the only member of the House of Representatives who serves a four-year term. Because the commissioner represents the entire territory of Puerto Rico irrespective of its population, and is not subject to congressional apportionment like those House members representing the 50 states, Puerto Rico's at-large congressional district is the largest congressional district by population in all of the United States.

People's republic is an official title that is mostly used by current and former communist states, as well as other left-wing governments. It is mainly associated with soviet republics, socialist states following the doctrine of people's democracy, sovereign states with a democratic-republican constitution that usually mentions socialism, as well as some countries that do not fit into any of these categories.

In the law of the United States, an insular area is a U.S.-associated jurisdiction that is not part of a U.S. state or the District of Columbia.

Commonwealth is a term used by two unincorporated territories of the United States in their full official names, which are the Northern Mariana Islands, whose full name is Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and Puerto Rico, which is named Commonwealth of Puerto Rico in English and Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico in Spanish, translating to "Free Associated State of Puerto Rico." The term was also used by the Philippines during most of its period under U.S. sovereignty, when it was officially called the Commonwealth of the Philippines.

The governor of Puerto Rico is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and commander-in-chief of the Puerto Rico National Guard.

Antonio Fernós Isern was the first Puerto Rican cardiologist and the longest serving Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico in the United States Congress.

The Free State of Schaumburg-Lippe was created following the abdication of Prince Adolf II of Schaumburg-Lippe on 15 November 1918, following the German Revolution. It was a state in Germany during the Weimar Republic and Nazi Germany. The democratic government was suppressed during Nazi rule. At the end of the Second World War, the British military occupation government decreed on 1 November 1946 the union of Schaumburg-Lippe, Hannover, Braunschweig and Oldenburg to form the new state of Lower Saxony.

Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico is the official name in Spanish of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Its literal translation is "Associated Free State of Puerto Rico". The official name was suggested by its architect Luis Muñoz Marín and adopted by a constitutional assembly on 25 July 1952. Puerto Rico is an unincorporated territory of the United States.

The Free State of Oldenburg was a federated state that existed during the Weimar Republic and Nazi Germany. It was established in 1918 following the abdication of the Grand Duke Frederick Augustus II after the German Revolution and was abolished by the Allies following the Second World War.

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Puerto Rico:

The political status of Puerto Rico is that of an unincorporated territory of the United States officially known as the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. As such, the island of Puerto Rico is neither a sovereign nation nor a U.S. state.

The flag of Puerto Rico represents Puerto Rico and its people. It consists of five equal horizontal stripes, alternating from red to white, with a blue equilateral triangle based on the hoist side bearing a large, white, upright five-pointed star in the center. The white star stands for the island, the three sides of the triangle for the three branches of the government, the blue for the sky and the coastal waters, the red for the blood shed by warriors, and the white for liberty, victory, and peace. The flag is popularly known as La Monoestrellada, meaning having one star, a single star, or a lone star. It is in the Stars and Stripes flag family.

References

↑ Greenfeld, Liah (1992). Nationalism: Five Roads to Modernity. Harvard University Press. p. 41. ISBN 9780674603196.
↑ Jackson, Alvin (2010-03-16). Ireland 1798-1998: War, Peace and Beyond. John Wiley & Sons. p. 258. ISBN 9781444324150.

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[1] Greenfeld, Liah (1992). Nationalism: Five Roads to Modernity. Harvard University Press. p. 41. ISBN 9780674603196.

[2] Jackson, Alvin (2010-03-16). Ireland 1798-1998: War, Peace and Beyond. John Wiley & Sons. p. 258. ISBN 9781444324150.

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Free state (polity)

Contents

Overview

Republican England

Germany

Free Cities

Africa

Irish Free State

Puerto Rico

List of 'free states'

Contemporary

Historical

Germany

See also

Related Research Articles

References