Until not too long ago, here in the West Country, there were also partially self-governing collections of tin-mining towns. The tin trade was subject to stannary law, made at stannary parliaments, enforced at stannary towns in Devon and Cornwall. Tin, when refined, could only be sold in the first instance in stannary towns, where it would be made into standardized coinage. Tax on tin was also collected in the stannary towns and sent to the Monarch (or in Cornwall, the Duke of Cornwall).
The City of London is a more extreme example, since its government had representatives from each of the guilds operating in the city (and now has representatives of the large corporations, as well as a much smaller number of representatives of the people who live in the City). While it’s not London, it is about one square mile within central London. It’s a remnant of the way that many English cities were run from late Saxon times until the 19th century, and is the only “city” that has been exempted from democratic reforms.
It doesn’t really function as its own state since it has no separate courts (it owns and partially runs the Old Bailey, but that’s for all of England, not just the City), no defense or foreign-policy capacity, and none of the other functions of a state. It’s a Liberty (an area with enhanced or different rights) rather than a state. These, particularly parts of cities owned and run by the church, used to be common throughout England.
It doesn’t really function as its own state since it has no separate courts (it owns and partially runs the Old Bailey, but that’s for all of England, not just the City), no defense or foreign-policy capacity, and none of the other functions of a state. It’s a Liberty (an area with enhanced or different rights) rather than a state.
It’s the same for England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Or for 50 states inside the US.
Until not too long ago, here in the West Country, there were also partially self-governing collections of tin-mining towns. The tin trade was subject to stannary law, made at stannary parliaments, enforced at stannary towns in Devon and Cornwall. Tin, when refined, could only be sold in the first instance in stannary towns, where it would be made into standardized coinage. Tax on tin was also collected in the stannary towns and sent to the Monarch (or in Cornwall, the Duke of Cornwall).
The City of London is a more extreme example, since its government had representatives from each of the guilds operating in the city (and now has representatives of the large corporations, as well as a much smaller number of representatives of the people who live in the City). While it’s not London, it is about one square mile within central London. It’s a remnant of the way that many English cities were run from late Saxon times until the 19th century, and is the only “city” that has been exempted from democratic reforms.
It doesn’t really function as its own state since it has no separate courts (it owns and partially runs the Old Bailey, but that’s for all of England, not just the City), no defense or foreign-policy capacity, and none of the other functions of a state. It’s a Liberty (an area with enhanced or different rights) rather than a state. These, particularly parts of cities owned and run by the church, used to be common throughout England.
It’s the same for England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Or for 50 states inside the US.