[1] It is especially important that the choice of federal capital be neutral in multi-ethnic states such as Nigeria.
[2] Examples of well-known federal capitals include Washington, D.C., which is not part of any U.S. state but borders Maryland and Virginia; Berlin, which is a state of Germany in its own right and forms an enclave within the much larger state of Brandenburg; and the Australian Capital Territory, a territory of Australia which includes the capital city of Australia, Canberra.
Canada is the only federation in the world not to accord a special administrative subdivision to its capital.
The Canadian government does designate the Ottawa area as the National Capital Region, although this term merely represents the jurisdictional area of the government agency that administers federally owned lands and buildings, and is not an actual political unit.
During and immediately after the American Revolution, eight cities served in turn as the capital of the new country:[3]