Disputatio:Virginia

Hem,

Over on the seal of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, commonwealth is indicated as res publica (reipublicae to be exact). The notion of forum commune for commonwealth is new to me (though fully reasonable), but then I can't know everything. Can I? If nothing else, I'd like to see a source for that.

Also, why is Virginia being called provinica? Most other states seem to be civitates foederales, and others are called status. I guess my objection to province is wholly due to the federal nature of the US and previous usage. On the other hand, Canada has an even looser federal organization, yet has provinces. --Sinister Petrus 16:35, 4 Maii 2006 (UTC)[reply]

"Respublica" is the usual translation of commonwealth (actually, I understand it is probably the other way around, and that "commonwealth" was originally a translation of "respublica"). "provincia" here appears to be an aberration. It may apply to Canada (whose monarch inhabits another continent), but probably not the states of the US, whose government is self-contained. —Myces Tiberinus 13:37, 5 Maii 2006 (UTC)[reply]