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{{short description|Administrative division in some English-speaking countries}}
{{distinguish|burrow|bureau (disambiguation)|borrow (disambiguation)}}
{{World city population tables}}
A '''borough''' is an [[administrative division]] in various [[English language|English-speaking]] countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely.

{{TOC limit|3}}

==History==
[[File:Beowulf - burg.jpg|thumb|A burg (at the time spelled using the [[insular G]]) in the ''[[Beowulf]]'']]
In the [[Middle Ages]], boroughs were settlements in England that were granted some [[self-government]]; [[burgh]]s were the Scottish equivalent. In [[medieval England]], boroughs were also entitled to elect members of [[Parliament of England|parliament]]. The use of the word ''borough'' probably derives from the burghal system of [[Alfred the Great]]. Alfred set up a system of defensive strong points ([[Burh]]s); in order to maintain these particular settlements, he granted them a degree of autonomy. After the [[Norman Conquest]], when certain towns were granted self-governance, the concept of the burh/borough seems to have been reused to mean a self-governing settlement.

The concept of the borough has been used repeatedly (and often differently) throughout the world. Often, a borough is a single town with its own local government. However, in some cities it is a subdivision of the city (for example, [[Borough (New York City)|New York City]], [[London]], and [[Montreal]]). In such cases, the borough will normally have either limited powers delegated to it by the city's local government, or no powers at all. In other places, such as the [[U.S. state]] of [[Alaska]], ''borough'' designates a whole [[region]]; Alaska's largest borough, the [[North Slope Borough, Alaska|North Slope Borough]], is comparable in area to the entire [[United Kingdom]], although its population is less than that of [[Swanage]] on England's south coast with around 9,600 inhabitants. In [[Australia]], a ''borough'' was once a self-governing small town, but this designation has all but vanished, except for the only remaining borough in the country, which is the [[Borough of Queenscliffe]].

Boroughs as administrative units are to be found in [[Republic of Ireland|Ireland]] and the United Kingdom, more specifically in England and [[Northern Ireland]]. Boroughs also exist in the [[Provinces and territories of Canada|Canadian province]] of [[Quebec]] and formerly in [[Ontario]], in some states of the United States, in [[Israel]], formerly in [[New Zealand]] and only one left in Australia.

==Etymology==
The word ''borough'' derives from the [[Old English]] word {{lang|ang|burg}}, {{lang|ang|burh}}, meaning a [[fortress|fortified]] settlement; the word appears as modern English ''bury'', ''-brough'', [[Scots language|Scots]] {{lang|sco|burgh}},<ref>The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition (2000)</ref> {{lang|gmq|borg}} in Scandinavian languages, {{lang|nl|-bert}} in Dutch and {{lang|de|Burg}} in German.

A number of other European languages have cognate words that were borrowed from the Germanic languages during the [[Middle Ages]], including {{lang|ga|brog}} in [[Irish language|Irish]], {{lang|cy|bwr}} or {{lang|cy|bwrc}}, meaning "wall, rampart" in [[Welsh language|Welsh]], {{lang|fr|bourg}} in [[French language|French]], {{lang|ca|burg}} in [[Catalan language|Catalan]] (in Catalonia there is a town named ''Burg''), {{wikt-lang|it|borgo}} in [[Italian language|Italian]], {{lang|pt|burgo}} in Portuguese, Galician and Castilian (hence the castilian place-name {{lang|es|[[Burgos]]}}, galician place-names {{lang|gl|[[O Burgo]]}} and {{lang|gl|[[Malburgo]]}}), the {{lang|pl|-bork}} of {{lang|pl|[[Lębork]]}} and {{lang|pl|[[Malbork]]}} in Polish and the {{lang|sl|-bor}} of {{lang|sl|[[Maribor]]}} in Slovenian.

The 'burg' element, which means "castle" or "fortress", is often confused with 'berg' meaning "hill" or "mountain" (cf. [[iceberg]], [[inselberg]]). Hence the 'berg' element in [[Bergen]] or [[Heidelberg]] relates to a hill, rather than a fort. In some cases, the 'berg' element in place names has converged towards burg/borough; for instance Farnborough, from ''fernaberga'' (fern-hill).

A quite distinct word ''borough'', a variant of ''borgh'' or ''borow'', was sometimes used historically in south-east England (the county of [[Kent]], and parts of [[Surrey]] and [[Sussex]]), to mean what was elsewhere called a ''[[tithing]]'', a subdivision of a [[Manorialism|manor]] or [[civil parish]].<ref>{{cite book |editor1-first=David |editor1-last=Parsons |editor2-first=Tania |editor2-last=Styles |title=The Vocabulary of English Place-Names (Á–Cox) |publisher=Centre for English Name Studies |place=Nottingham |year=1997 |page=129 |isbn=0952534355 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Baker |first=A. R. H. |url=http://www.bahs.org.uk/AgHRVOL.html?YEAR=1966&MOD=this |title=Field Systems in the Vale of Holmesdale |journal=Agricultural History Review |volume=14 |issue=1 |year=1966 |page=11 (note)}}</ref> The head of such a unit might be known as a ''[[headborough]]''. This usage is not to be confused with the more widespread meaning of ''borough'' as a privileged town.

==Definitions==

===Australia===
In [[Australia]], the term "borough" is an occasionally used term for a local government area. Currently there is only one borough in Australia, the [[Borough of Queenscliffe]] in [[Victoria (Australia)|Victoria]], although there have been more in the past. However, in some cases it can be integrated into the council's name instead of used as an official title, such as the [[Kingborough Council]] in [[Tasmania]].

===Canada===
{{main|Municipal government in Canada}}
In [[Quebec]], the term '''borough''' is generally used as the English translation of {{lang |fr |[[arrondissement]]}}, referring to an administrative division of a municipality, or a district. Eight municipalities are divided into boroughs: See [[List of boroughs in Quebec]].

In [[Ontario]], it was previously used to denote suburban municipalities in [[Metropolitan Toronto]], including Scarborough, York, North York and Etobicoke prior to their conversions to cities. The Borough of [[East York]] was the last Toronto municipality to hold this status, relinquishing it upon becoming part of the [[City of Toronto government]] on January 1, 1998.

===Colombia===
The [[Municipalities of Colombia|Colombian municipalities]] are subdivided into boroughs (English translation of the Spanish term {{lang|es|localidades}}) with a local executive and an administrative board for local government. These boroughs are divided into neighborhoods.

===Ireland===
{{anchor|Republic of Ireland}}
There are four borough districts designated by the [[Local Government Reform Act 2014]]: [[Clonmel]], [[Drogheda]], [[Sligo]], and [[Wexford]]. A [[Local Electoral Area Boundary Committee|local boundary review]] reporting in 2018 proposed granting borough status to any district containing a [[built up area (Ireland)|census town]] with a population over 30,000; this would have included the towns of [[Dundalk]], [[Bray, County Wicklow|Bray]], and [[Navan]].<ref>{{cite book |author1=Local Electoral Area Boundary Committee No. 1 |chapter=4. Application of the Terms of Reference; Term of Reference 7 |isbn= 978-1-4064-2990-9 |title=Report |publisher=Government Publications Office |location=Ireland |url=https://www.housing.gov.ie/sites/default/files/publications/files/local_electoral_area_boundary_committee_no.1_report_2018.pdf#page=22 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www.housing.gov.ie/sites/default/files/publications/files/local_electoral_area_boundary_committee_no.1_report_2018.pdf#page=22 |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live |page=18 |access-date=29 January 2019 |date=13 June 2018 |format=PDF }}</ref> This would have required an amendment to the 2014 Act, promised for 2019 by minister [[John Paul Phelan]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Other Questions: Local Electoral Area Boundary Committee Report |url=https://www.kildarestreet.com/debates/?id=2019-01-15a.381 |date=15 January 2019  |website=Dáil debates |publisher=KildareStreet.com}}</ref>

Historically, there were 117 parliamentary boroughs in the [[Irish House of Commons]], of which 80 were disfranchised by the [[Acts of Union 1800]]. All but 11 municipal boroughs were abolished under the [[Municipal Corporations (Ireland) Act 1840]]. Under the [[Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898]], six of these became [[county borough]]s: [[Dublin]], [[Belfast]], [[Cork (city)|Cork]], [[Derry]], [[Limerick]] and [[Waterford]]. From 1921, Belfast and Derry were part of [[Northern Ireland]] and stayed within the [[United Kingdom]] on the establishment of the [[Irish Free State]] in 1922.

[[Galway]] was a borough from 1937 until upgraded to a county borough in 1985.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/1937/en/act/prv/0003|archive-url=https://archive.today/20140811192019/http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/1937/en/act/prv/0003|url-status=dead|archive-date=11 August 2014|title=Local Government (Galway) Act 1937|work=[[Irish Statute Book]]|access-date=5 August 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/1985/en/act/pub/0007/index.html|title=Local Government (Reorganisation) Act 1985|work=[[Irish Statute Book]]|access-date=5 August 2014}}</ref> The county boroughs in the Republic of Ireland were redesignated as "cities" under the [[Local Government Act 2001]].

[[Borough of Dún Laoghaire|Dún Laoghaire]] was a borough from 1930 until merged into [[Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown]] county in 1994.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/1930/en/act/pub/0027|title=Local Government (Dublin) Act 1930|work=[[Irish Statute Book]]|access-date=5 August 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150723000338/http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/1930/en/act/pub/0027/|archive-date=23 July 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/1993/en/act/pub/0031/|title=Local Government (Dublin) Act, 1993|work=[[Irish Statute Book]]|access-date=5 August 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140811065338/http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/1993/en/act/pub/0031/|archive-date=11 August 2014}}</ref>

There were five borough councils in place at the time of the Local Government Reform Act 2014 which abolished all second-tier local government units of borough and town councils. Each local government authority outside of Dublin, Cork City and Galway City was divided into areas termed [[municipal district (Ireland)|municipal districts]]. In four of the areas which had previously been contained borough councils, as listed above, these were instead termed Borough Districts. Kilkenny had previously had a borough council, but its district was to be called the Municipal District of Kilkenny City, in recognition of its historic [[city status in Ireland|city status]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/2014/en/act/pub/0001/sec0019.html|title=Local Government Reform Act 2014, Section 19 (insertion of section 22A into the Local Government Act 2001)|work=[[Irish Statute Book]]|access-date=2 August 2014}}</ref>

===Israel===
Under Israeli law, inherited from [[Mandatory Palestine|British Mandate]] municipal law, the possibility of creating a municipal borough exists. However, no borough was actually created under law until 2005–2006, when [[Neve Monosson]] and [[Maccabim-Re'ut]], both communal settlements (Heb: '''''yishuv kehilati''''') founded in 1953 and 1984, respectively, were declared to be autonomous municipal boroughs (Heb: '''''vaad rova ironi'''''), within their mergers with the towns of [[Yehud, Israel|Yehud]] and [[Modi'in]]. Similar structures have been created under different types of legal status over the years in Israel, notably [[Qiryat Chaim|Kiryat Haim]] in [[Haifa]], [[Jaffa]] in [[Tel Aviv-Yafo]] and [[Ramot]] and [[Gilo]] in [[Jerusalem]]. However, Neve Monosson is the first example of a full municipal borough actually declared under law by the Minister of the Interior, under a model subsequently adopted in [[Maccabim-Re'ut]] as well.{{cn|date=October 2024}}

===Mexico===
{{further|Boroughs of Mexico|Boroughs of Mexico City}}
In [[Mexico]] as translations from [[English language|English]] to Spanish applied to [[Mexico City]], the word ''borough'' has resulted in a '''delegación''' (delegation), referring to the 16 administrative areas within Mexico City, now called '''alcaldías'''.

===New Zealand===
[[New Zealand]] formerly used the term borough to designate self-governing towns of more than 1,000 people, although 19th century census records show many boroughs with populations as low as 200.<ref>[http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~sooty/nzcensus1881.html 1881 census summary] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090115213109/http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~sooty/nzcensus1881.html |date=2009-01-15 }}</ref> A borough of more than 20,000 people could become a city by proclamation. Boroughs and cities were collectively known as municipalities, and were [[enclave]]s separate from their surrounding counties. Boroughs proliferated in the suburban areas of the larger cities: By the 1980s there were 19 boroughs and three cities in the area that is now the City of Auckland.

In the 1980s, some boroughs and cities began to be merged with their surrounding counties to form [[district]]s with a mixed urban and rural population. A [[1989 local government reforms|nationwide reform of local government in 1989]] completed the process. Counties and boroughs were abolished and all boundaries were redrawn. Under the new system, most territorial authorities cover both urban and rural land. The more populated councils are classified as cities, and the more rural councils are classified as districts. Only [[Kawerau]] District, an enclave within [[Whakatāne District]], continues to follow the tradition of a small town council that does not include surrounding rural area.

===Trinidad and Tobago===
In [[Trinidad and Tobago]], a Borough is a unit of [[Local Government]]. There are 5 boroughs in The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago:
* [[Chaguanas]]
* [[Arima]]
* [[Point Fortin]]
* [[Diego Martin (region)|Diego Martin]]
* [[Siparia (region)|Siparia]]

===United Kingdom===

====England and Wales====
{{main|History of local government in England|Borough status in the United Kingdom}}

=====Ancient and municipal boroughs=====
{{Main|Ancient borough|Municipal borough}}
During the medieval period many towns were granted self-governance by the Crown, at which point they became referred to as boroughs. The formal status of borough came to be conferred by [[Royal Charter]]. These boroughs were generally governed by a self-selecting corporation (i.e., when a member died or resigned his replacement would be by [[co-option]]). Sometimes boroughs were governed by [[bailiffs]].

Debates on the Reform Bill (eventually the [[Reform Act 1832]]) lamented the diversity of polity of such town corporations, and a [[Royal Commission]] was set up to investigate this. This resulted in a regularisation of municipal government by the [[Municipal Corporations Act 1835]]. 178 of the ancient boroughs were re-formed as ''municipal boroughs'', with all municipal corporations to be elected according to a standard franchise based on property ownership. The unreformed boroughs lapsed in borough status, or were reformed (or abolished) later. Several new municipal boroughs were formed in the new industrial cities after the bill enacted, per its provisions.

As part of a large-scale reform of local government in England and Wales [[Local Government Act 1972|in 1974]], municipal boroughs were finally abolished (having become increasingly irrelevant). However, the civic traditions of many were continued by the grant of a [[Royal Charter|charter]] to their successor district councils. As to smallest boroughs, a [[Parish councils in England|town council]] was formed for an alike zone, while [[charter trustees]] were formed for a few others. A successor body is allowed to use the regalia of the old corporation, and appoint ceremonial office holders such as sword and mace bearers as provided in their original charters. The council, or trustees, may apply for an [[Order in Council]] or [[Contract law in England|Royal Licence]] to use the [[coat of arms]].

=====Parliamentary boroughs=====
{{Further|List of counties and boroughs of the unreformed House of Commons in 1800|Reform Act 1832}}


[[Simon de Montfort's Parliament|From 1265]], two burgesses from each borough were summoned to the [[Parliament of England]], alongside two [[knight]]s from each [[county]]. Thus parliamentary constituencies were derived from the ancient boroughs. Representation in the [[United Kingdom House of Commons|House of Commons]] was decided by the House itself, which resulted in boroughs being established in some small settlements for the purposes of parliamentary representation, despite their possessing no actual corporation.

After the 1832 Reform Act, which disenfranchised many of the [[rotten borough]]s (boroughs that had declined in importance, had only a small population, and had only a handful of eligible voters), parliamentary constituencies began to diverge from the ancient boroughs. While many ancient boroughs remained as municipal boroughs, they were disenfranchised by the Reform Act.

=====County boroughs=====
{{Main|County borough}}

The [[Local Government Act 1888]] established a new sort of borough – the county borough. These were designed to be 'counties-to-themselves'; administrative divisions to sit alongside the new administrative counties. They allowed urban areas to be administered separately from the more rural areas. They, therefore, often contained pre-existing municipal boroughs, which thereafter became part of the second tier of local government, below the administrative counties and county boroughs.

The county boroughs were, like the municipal boroughs, abolished in 1974, being reabsorbed into their parent counties for administrative purposes.

=====Metropolitan boroughs=====
{{Main|Metropolitan borough}}

In 1899, as part of a reform of local government in the [[County of London]], the various parishes in London were reorganised as new entities, the 'metropolitan boroughs'. These were reorganised further when [[Greater London]] was formed out of Middlesex, parts of Surrey, Kent, Essex, Hertfordshire and the County of London in 1965.  These council areas are now referred to as "London boroughs" rather than "metropolitan boroughs".

When the new metropolitan counties ([[Greater Manchester]], [[Merseyside]], [[South Yorkshire]], [[Tyne and Wear]], [[West Midlands (county)|West Midlands]], and [[West Yorkshire]]) were created in 1974, their sub-divisions also became metropolitan boroughs in many, but not all, cases; in many cases these metropolitan boroughs recapitulated abolished county boroughs (for example, [[Metropolitan Borough of Stockport|Stockport]]). The metropolitan boroughs possessed slightly more autonomy from the metropolitan county councils than the shire county districts did from their county councils.

With the abolition of the metropolitan county councils in 1986, these metropolitan boroughs became independent, and continue to be so at present.

=====Other current uses=====
Elsewhere in England a number of [[districts of England|districts]] and [[unitary authority]] areas are called "borough". Until 1974, this was a status that denoted towns with a certain type of local government (a [[municipal corporation]], or a self-governing body). Since 1974, it has been a purely ceremonial style granted by royal charter to districts which may consist of a single town or may include a number of towns or rural areas. Borough status entitles the council chairman to bear the title of [[Mayors in England|mayor]]. Districts may apply to the [[Monarchy of the United Kingdom|British Crown]] for the grant of borough status upon advice of the [[Privy Council of the United Kingdom]].

====Northern Ireland====
In [[Northern Ireland]], local government was reorganised in 1973. Under the legislation that created the 26 [[districts of Northern Ireland]], a district council whose area included an existing [[municipal borough]] could resolve to adopt the charter of the old municipality and thus continue to enjoy borough status. Districts that do not contain a former borough can apply for a charter in a similar manner to English districts.

====Scotland====
{{hatnote|See: [[Burgh]]}}

===United States===
{{Main|Borough (United States)}}
In the United States, a borough is a unit of [[local government]] or other [[administrative division]] below the level of the [[U.S. state|state]]. The term is currently used in seven states.

The following states use, or have used, the word with the following meanings:
*[[Alaska]], as a [[county-equivalent]] — [[List of boroughs and census areas in Alaska]]
*[[Connecticut]], as an incorporated municipality within, or [[Coterminous municipality|consolidated]] with, a [[New England town|town]] — see [[Borough (Connecticut)]]
*[[Michigan]], formerly applied to a village in the midst of forming a city.<ref name="mitc1">{{cite news|url=http://www.mackinacislandnews.com/news/2017-07-14/Top_News/City_of_Mackinac_Island_Reaches_200th_Anniversary.html|title=City of Mackinac Island Reaches 200th Anniversary|last1=Lien|first1=Cathryn|date=July 14, 2017|work=Mackinac Island Town Crier|access-date=February 7, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180208123350/http://www.mackinacislandnews.com/news/2017-07-14/Top_News/City_of_Mackinac_Island_Reaches_200th_Anniversary.html|archive-date=February 8, 2018|url-status=dead|language=en}}</ref> Also in Michigan is [[Mackinac Island, Michigan|Mackinac Island]], which was a borough from 1817 to 1847, when it became a [[Administrative divisions of Michigan#Villages|village]]; it has been a [[Administrative divisions of Michigan#City|city]] since 1899.
*[[New Jersey]], as a type of independent incorporated municipality — see [[Borough (New Jersey)]]
*[[New York State|New York]], as one of the five divisions of New York City, each coextensive with a county — see [[Boroughs of New York City]]
*[[Pennsylvania]], as a type of municipality comparable to a town — see [[Borough (Pennsylvania)]] — though two of the state's largest cities, [[Pittsburgh]] and [[Harrisburg, Pennsylvania|Harrisburg]], have retained their names despite clearly being cities, as well as smaller communities that are officially cities in the Commonwealth such as [[Gettysburg, Pennsylvania|Gettysburg]]
*[[Virginia]], as a division of a city under certain circumstances — see {{section link|Administrative divisions of Virginia#Boroughs}}
*[[Wisconsin]] in the 19th century occasionally used the term "borough" for the type of [[civil township]] normally known as a [[administrative divisions of Wisconsin#Town|town]].<ref>{{cite book |author=Deborah B. Martin |title=History of Brown County Wisconsin : Past and Present, Vol. 1 |publisher=The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company |location=Chicago |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hz8VAAAAYAAJ |date=1913 |page=302|access-date=25 April 2023 |format=PDF }}</ref>

==See also==
{{portal|border=no|Cities}}
* [[Ancient borough]]
* [[Borough status in the United Kingdom]]
* [[Boroughs incorporated in England and Wales 1835–1882]] and [[Boroughs incorporated in England and Wales 1882–1974|1882–1974]]
* [[Boroughs of New York City]]
* [[Borough-English]], a form of inheritance associated with the English boroughs
* [[Burgh]] and [[List of burghs in Scotland]]
* [[County borough]]
* [[History of local government in England]]
* [[Metropolitan borough]]
* [[Municipal borough]]

== References ==
=== Citations ===
{{Reflist}}

=== Sources ===
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite EB9 |mode = cs2 |last = Smith |first = William Charles |author-link = William Charles Smith  |wstitle = Borough |volume = 4 |ref = {{harvid|''EB''|1878}} |pages = 62–64 }}
* {{cite EB1911 |mode = cs2 |last1 = Smith |first1 = William Charles |author1-link = William Charles Smith |last2 = Bateson |first2 = Mary |author2-link = Mary Bateson (historian)  |wstitle=Borough |volume=4 |ref = {{harvid|''EB''|1911}} |pages = 268–273 }}
{{refend}}

== External links ==
* {{Wiktionary-inline}}

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{{Terms for types of administrative territorial entities}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Boroughs| ]]
[[Category:Local government in Canada]]
[[Category:Types of subdivision in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Types of populated places]]
[[Category:Types of administrative division]]