Category CAPITAL CITIES

            Montevideo is the national capital of Uruguay. It is also the largest city and chief port of Uruguay. Among the cities of Uruguay, Montevideo is the only city with a population over 10 lakhs. With beautiful beaches and one of the most important harbours in the Americas, the city has a very high quality of life.

            Montevideo is the commercial, political, and intellectual centre of Uruguay. The architecture in the city shows a strong influence of European styles. The city is an important centre for learning and the arts. The Government House, the Museum of Natural History, the Salvo Palace, the Soils Theatre and the Victoria Plaza Hotel are some of the most important monuments of Montevideo.

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          Have you heard of Suriname, a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America? Paramaribo is the capital of the country. The city was the location for the first Dutch settlement. Much of its distinctive Dutch colonial architecture, as well as a canal system, can be found even today.

          The primary support of the city’s economy comes from exports. The city exports bauxite, sugarcane, rice, cacao, coffee, rum and tropical woods. Paramaribo also manufactures cement, paint, margarine and beer. The city’s centre was recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2002 for its fusion of European and local elements. The 17th-century Fort Zeelandia, built to protect the Dutch West India Company from European rivals, the St. Peter and Paul Cathedral and De Waag, where colonial agricultural products were once weighed and sorted before being shipped, are some of the most notable monuments of the city.

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          Lima is the capital of Peru. It is the country’s commercial and industrial centre. The city is a modern oasis, surrounded by the Peruvian coastal desert close to the western side of the Andes Mountains. The name Lima evolved from the Quechua name Rimac, meaning ‘talker’.

          Metropolitan Lima is a huge, city without a fixed form. Its shapelessness and varying concentration of population within has given it a nickname: El Pulpo, ‘the Octopus’! The city has been under the process of industrialization from the 1930s. Today, there are around 7,000 factories in the city, which manufacture and process textiles, clothing, food, chemicals, fish, and leather and oil derivatives. Lima’s historic centre is a UNESCO World Heritage site from 1988. The Cathedral and the Monastery of San Francisco, the Sanctuary of Las Nazarenes and its beaches are some of the major attractions of the city. Elevated levels of air pollution from automobiles and buses and by earthquakes threaten Lima’s historic monuments.

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            Paraguay’s capital, Asuncion, is the chief industrial and cultural centre of the country. The city is situated at the estuary where the Pilcomayo River joins the Paraguay River. A very important strategic point, the city served as a gateway to the South American heartland, and was thus crucial to Spain as a world power.

            The city has a rich agricultural and pastoral hinterland that produces cotton, sugarcane, corn, tobacco, fruits and cattle products. There are industrial plants that produce textiles, vegetable oils, footwear, flour, small river craft, and tobacco products within the city.

            Asuncion’s atmosphere dominates the social, cultural and economic currents of the nation. A charming city, Asuncion has beautiful flowering trees along its streets and large parks. The Metropolitan Cathedral, the National Pantheon of the Heroes, the old Senate building and Manzana de la Rivera re some of the tourist attractions of the city.

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          Quito is the capital of Ecuador, another South American country. The city is the oldest of all South American capitals. It is designated a UNESCO World Heritage for its well-preserved old town with narrow and winding cobblestone streets, spectacular churches and open squares.

          The Old City, the historic centre of Quito, represents the Spanish colonial past with its Spanish architecture. The exquisite Spanish style combined with indigenous art gives the city a magnificent appearance and it is often called the ‘Florence of America’.

          Quito is one of the industrial centres of Ecuador and relies on textiles, pharmaceuticals, light consumer goods and handcrafted objects of leather, wood, gold and silver for much of its economy. The weekly outdoor Indian fairs and small shops selling native crafts are some of the compelling sights of Quito.

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            Bogota is the national capital of the Republic of Colombia, a South American nation. It is also the largest and most populous city in the country. Various indigenous people were living in the city when Gonzalo Jimenez de Quesada, the Spanish conquistador, founded the city. Today, the city’s population is well over 7 million.

           Bogota is a city of diversity and multiplicity of cultures with great economic and cultural contrasts among the people. Due to its rich cultural diversity and the presence of the mixed flavours of its Spanish, English and indigenous heritage, the city is often called the ‘Athens of South America’. The National Library of Colombia, various museums, galleries and theatres contribute to the lure of the city.

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            Sucre is the capital of Bolivia, a South American country. The Supreme Court of Bolivia is located in the city. Sucre is also called the ‘City of Four Names’. During certain specific periods of the city’s history, it had many distinct names.

            Before the Spaniards built the city, the natives called it Charcas; when the city was in its initial period, it was known as La Plata; after independence, the city was called Chuquisaca; and the current name Sucre honours the great warrior, Antonio Jose de Sucre.

            Sucre is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, primarily because of the architectural innovations of blending indigenous styles with those brought from Europe. The city is the gateway to many small villages that came into existence in the colonial era. The House of Freedom, the National Library, the Metropolitan Cathedral, Archbishop’s Palace and the Supreme Court of Justice are some of the landmarks of the city.

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          Mexico City is the capital of Mexico, and its biggest metropolis. The city is located in a valley that was inhabited by several indigenous groups from 100 to 900 A.D. It has a fascinating history. The Mexicas – who were later known as the Aztecs- believed that their god would shove them where to build a great city by providing a sign, an eagle eating a snake while perched atop a cactus. When this vision came true on an island in Lake Tex-coco, they decided to build a city there. They expanded the island artificially by dumping soil into the lagoon. Then a beautiful city and fortress called Tenochtitlan was built on this island. Later, the Spaniards erected a second Mexico City atop the ruins of Tenochtitlan. Today, Mexico City is the country’s economic and cultural hub, as well as home to the offices of the federal government, museums and historic monuments.

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          The city of Port of Spain is the Capital of Trinidad and Tobago, a twin island country in the West Indies. The city is located on the west coast of the island of Trinidad, below the northern peninsula on the Gulf of Paria. Spain had made Trinidad a colony from the mid-16th century onwards. The early Spanish settlers who established a port there, and called it ‘Puerto de Espana’, which in English means the ‘Port of Spain’. Port of Spain has an interesting urban layout with parks and squares in geometric patterns.

          The city houses the business district at its centre. This business district is situated near the Gothic-style Holy Trinity Cathedral and the Queen’s Park Savannah, the city’s largest open space and a popular site for recreation. There are many monuments of historical and architectural interest in the city such as the President’s House, Whitehall, which houses the office of the prime minister, the house of the Roman Catholic archbishop of Port of Spain, the Knowsley Building, All Saints’ Church and the Neo-Renaissance Red House, which was rebuilt in 1906 and contains the Parliament and government offices.

          Which is the most powerful country in the world? Most people would, without any hesitation, answer, ‘The United States of America’. Being the capital of the most powerful country, Washington, D.C. is therefore the most powerful city too.    

          Washington, D.C. is formally known as the District of Columbia. Columbia is a reference to Christopher Columbus, an early European explorer of the Americas. The city is named after George Washington, the first president of the United States and military leader of the American Revolution. It was referred to as the Federal City or Washington City in the nineteenth century.

          The district houses the centres of all three branches of the U.S. Federal government. It is also the commercial and economic powerhouse of the world as the headquarters for the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the Organization of American States, the Inter-American Development Bank and other national and international institutions including labor unions and professional associations are located there.

          The city is also a major tourist destination. Some of the landmarks and monuments include the National Mall, the Washington Monument, the Jefferson Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial, National World War II Memorial, the Korean War Veterans Memorial, the White House and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

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