A capital is not always the government seat

Two different questions

A capital is a designated national capital. A seat of government is where the government is based. They often refer to the same city, but the Netherlands shows why the question matters.

Amsterdam is the capital of the Netherlands; The Hague is the seat of government. Answer Amsterdam when this quiz asks for the capital. Answer The Hague when an activity specifically asks for the seat of government.

Sources: Local and regional democracy in the Netherlands - Council of Europe; GeoNames country information.

Read the wording

The app stores Amsterdam as the capital and includes a note explaining The Hague. The practice below asks for capital cities, not the largest cities or the seats of every branch of government.

This short set does not try to summarize every country with multiple capital functions. For a special case, read the source and the wording rather than assuming one rule fits everywhere.

Before you start

• Say in your own words what makes the Netherlands example unusual.
• Answer the four capital questions without the key.
• After checking, write one new question whose answer is The Hague.

Practice questions

Practice

Print the student worksheet

• Student worksheet (A4)
• Student worksheet (US Letter)

Open the separate answer key