- Comarca
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A comarca (Spanish: [koˈmarka], Portuguese: [kuˈmaɾkɐ] or [koˈmaʁkɐ], Galician: [koˈmaɾka] pl. comarcas; Catalan: [kuˈmarkə] or [koˈmaɾka], pl. comarques) is a traditional region or local administrative division found in parts of Spain, Portugal, Panama, Nicaragua, and Brazil. The term is derived from the term marca, meaning a "march, mark", plus the prefix co- meaning "together, jointly".
The comarca is known in Aragonese as redolada (IPA: [reðoˈlaða]) and in Basque as eskualde (IPA: [es̺kualde]). In addition, in Galician comarcas are also called bisbarras (IPA: [bizˈβaras]).
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Spain
See also: Comarcas of SpainThe term comarca is used in several regions of the Iberian Peninsula.
- In Cantabria, the comarca exists as a traditional or historical division, usually identified with the greatest rivers of the region.
- In Catalonia and Aragon, the comarca exists as a local government area, and has a representative comarcal council.
- In the Valencian Community, the comarca exists only as a traditional region with no administrative competences. They are legally referred as homologated territorial demarcations instead of as comarques.
- In Galicia the comarca or bisbarra are traditional divisions of the land and enjoy limited official recognition, but have no administrative relevance. However, the Galician government is attempting to transform the bisbarras into territorial administrative tiers, forming up a new regional network allegedly more balanced and efficient. Galician comarcas also have a comarcal council.
In other places, such as Extremadura, the comarca may be simply a loosely-defined region.
Because of the comarca's long-standing use, it is sometimes used as the basis for the promotion of tourism, with emphasis on local cultural tradition and history.
Panama
In Panama, the comarca indígena is an administrative region for an area with a substantial Indian population. Three comarcas (Comarca Emberá-Wounaan, Kuna Yala, Ngöbe-Buglé) exist as equivalent to a province, with two smaller comarcas (Kuna de Madugandí and Kuna de Wargandí) subordinate to a province and considered equivalent to a corregimiento (municipality).
Portugal and Brazil
Nowadays, both in Portugal and Brazil, the comarca is a territorial division in the judicial system. It indicates the area covered by a lower level court. It may correspond to a municipality, or group together several small municipalities under one court.
Until the 16th century, the comarca was a large administrative region of Portugal. There were six tradicional comarcas, Entre-Douro-e-Minho, Trás-os-Montes, Beira, Estremadura, Alentejo and Algarve, of which the last had the honorary title of "kingdom". In the 16th century, the comarcas started to be known as "provinces". The name "comarca" was given to the administrative and judicial subdivisions of the provinces, introduced in the 17th century and replaced by the current administrative districts and judicial comarcas in the 19th century.
Fiction
Some Spanish-language editions of J R R Tolkien's works use La Comarca to translate "The Shire".
See also
- Comarcas of Aragon
- Comarcas of Asturias
- Comarcas of Galicia
- Comarcas of Spain
- Comarques of Catalonia
- Comarques of the Valencian Community
- List of terms for country subdivisions
- Provinces of Panama
- Commune
- Kecamatan
External links
- History of comarca divisions in the Catalan Countries (Catalan)
- Comarcas de Galicia, official site for the management and promotion of Galician comarcas, maintained by the Galician Government (Galician) (English) (Spanish)
Spanish terms for country subdivisions National · Federal Regional · Metropolitan Comarca · Comuna · Distrito · Municipalidad · Municipio · Merindad · Corregimiento · Delegación · Parroquia · AnteiglesiaUrban · Rural Aldea · Alquería · Asentamiento · Barrio · Colonia · Fraccionamiento / Comisaría · Pedanía · Pueblos jóvenes · Ranchería · Vereda · Pueblo · Villa · Ciudad (Ciudad Autónoma)Historical subdivisions in italics. Categories:- Types of country subdivisions
- Geography of Catalonia
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