Editing Borough (section)

==History==
[[File:Beowulf - burg.jpg|thumb|A burg (at the time spelled using the [[insular G]]) in the ''[[Beowulf]]'']]
In the [[Middle Ages]], boroughs were settlements in England that were granted some [[self-government]]; [[burgh]]s were the Scottish equivalent. In [[medieval England]], boroughs were also entitled to elect members of [[Parliament of England|parliament]]. The use of the word ''borough'' probably derives from the burghal system of [[Alfred the Great]]. Alfred set up a system of defensive strong points ([[Burh]]s); in order to maintain these particular settlements, he granted them a degree of autonomy. After the [[Norman Conquest]], when certain towns were granted self-governance, the concept of the burh/borough seems to have been reused to mean a self-governing settlement.

The concept of the borough has been used repeatedly (and often differently) throughout the world. Often, a borough is a single town with its own local government. However, in some cities it is a subdivision of the city (for example, [[Borough (New York City)|New York City]], [[London]], and [[Montreal]]). In such cases, the borough will normally have either limited powers delegated to it by the city's local government, or no powers at all. In other places, such as the [[U.S. state]] of [[Alaska]], ''borough'' designates a whole [[region]]; Alaska's largest borough, the [[North Slope Borough, Alaska|North Slope Borough]], is comparable in area to the entire [[United Kingdom]], although its population is less than that of [[Swanage]] on England's south coast with around 9,600 inhabitants. In [[Australia]], a ''borough'' was once a self-governing small town, but this designation has all but vanished, except for the only remaining borough in the country, which is the [[Borough of Queenscliffe]].

Boroughs as administrative units are to be found in [[Republic of Ireland|Ireland]] and the United Kingdom, more specifically in England and [[Northern Ireland]]. Boroughs also exist in the [[Provinces and territories of Canada|Canadian province]] of [[Quebec]] and formerly in [[Ontario]], in some states of the United States, in [[Israel]], formerly in [[New Zealand]] and only one left in Australia.