Geography Exceptions to the Rule

Geography Exceptions to the Rule

Please refer to this page for unusual or outdated geographic terms and geographic hierarchies that you may encounter in EMu collection records.

Mismatched Geographic Hierarchy in EMu

Currently accepted name	Administrative subdivision level	EMu geographic hierarchy placement	Issue/Note
Azores	Country	Continent: Africa; Country: Portugal	Portuguese autonomous archipelago in Macaronesia; may be incorrectly assigned to Europe based on political affiliation with Portugal.
Bermuda	Country	Continent: North America; Country: Bermuda	Atlantic island territory; sometimes miscategorized as part of the West Indies.
Hawaii	Province/State/Territory	Continent: Oceania; Country: United States of America	U.S. state situated in the Pacific Ocean. Place under Oceania, not North America.
Islas Canarias (Canary Islands)	Country	Continent: Africa; Country: Spain	Spanish autonomous archipelago in Macaronesia; may be incorrectly assigned to Europe based on political affiliation with Spain.
Isla de Pascua (Easter Island, Rapa Nui)	District/County/Shire	Continent: Oceania; Country: Chile; Province/State/Territory: Valparaíso	Island and special territory of Chile in the southeastern Pacific Ocean. Place under Oceania, not South America.
Hawaii	Province/State/Territory	Continent: Oceania; Country: United States of America	U.S. state situated in the Pacific Ocean. Place under Oceania, not North America.
Madeira	Province/State/Territory	Continent: Africa; Country: Portugal	Autonomous archipelago of Portugal situated in Macaronesia in the North Atlantic Ocean. Place under Africa, not Europe.
Navassa Island	Province/State/Territory	Continent: West Indies; Country: United States Minor Outlying Islands	Uninhabited Caribbean island classified among the United States Minor Outlying Islands, most of which are in Oceania. Navassa Island itself should be placed under West Indies.
Trinidad and Tobago	Country	Continent: South America; Country: Trinidad and Tobago	Southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Place under South America, not West Indies.

Important Hierarchical Variations to Note

United Kingdom: In EMu, the primary administrative subdivision (province/state-level) consists of the four countries of the U.K.: England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. The secondary administrative subdivision (county-level) reflects the Administrative County, Metropolitan District, Unitary Authority (England); District (Northern Ireland); Council Area (Scotland); and Unitary Authority (Wales).

Brazil: The secondary administrative subdivision (county-level) consists of the municipalities of Brazil, rather than the "Microregions" as cited by Statoids (http://www.statoids.com/ybr.html), as these units "...have no administrative function; they were defined by the federal government for purposes of convenience" (Law, 2007).

Puerto Rico: As a commonwealth associated with the United States, there are no primary administrative subdivisions as defined by the U.S. government. The secondary administrative subdivisions are the municipios (https://welcome.topuertorico.org/government.shtml#:~:text=Administrative%20Divisions%20None%20%28Commonwealth%20associated%20with%20the%20U.S.%29%3B,The%20mayor%20appoints%20a%20secretary-auditor%20and%20a%20treasurer). In EMu, we cite the secondary administrative subdivisions (municipios) as the primary (state/province level), and we cite the tertiary administrative subdivision (barrios) as the secondary administrative subdivisions (county-level), as “the barrios of Puerto Rico are the primary legal divisions of the seventy-eight municipalities of Puerto Rico” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barrios_of_Puerto_Rico).

Belgium: The technical primary administrative subdivisions of Belgium are the regions (3): Flanders (Dutch-speaking region), Wallonia (French-speaking region), and Brussels (bilingual Dutch and French), which are then subdivided into provinces. In EMu, we cite the secondary administrative subdivision (provinces) as the primary. Arrondissements are the next sequential administrative level between province and municipality (cited by Statoids as the secondary administrative subdivision, http://www.statoids.com/ybe.html); alternatively, in EMu we cite the municipalities as the second administrative subdivision, disregarding the arrondissements.

Historical Locality Names and Present-Day Equivalents

Alternate names	Currently accepted name
Abyssinia	Ethiopia
Annam	Vietnam
Bengal	Region consisting of parts of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal
Basutoland	Lesotho
Bechuanaland	Botswana
Belgian Congo	Democratic Republic of the Congo
Bohemia	Czech Republic
British Honduras	Belize
British Guiana	Guyana
British North Borneo	Malaysia
Burma	Myanmar
Cambodge	Cambodia
Celebes	Sulawesi, Indonesia
Ceylon	Sri Lanka
Dahomey	Benin
Dutch East Indies	Indonesia (primarily)
Dutch Guiana	Suriname
East Pakistan	Bangladesh
East Prussia	Parts of Russia, Poland, and Lithuania
Formosa	Taiwan
French Indochina	Region consisting of Cambodia, Laos, and parts of China and Vietnam
French West Africa	Region of several present-day West African countries
Gold Coast	Ghana
Hispaniola	Second largest Caribbean Island divided politically into Haiti (west) and the Dominican Republic (east)
Île Bourbon	Réunion, France
Kaiser-Wilhelmsland	Portion of Papua New Guinea
Kamerun	Primarily Cameroon; portions now in neighboring countries
Lower California	Baja California, Mexico
Macedonia	Region encompassing parts of present-day North Macedonia, Greece, and Bulgaria
Malaya	Primarily Peninsular Malaysia
New Granada	Region consisting of Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, and Venezuela
New Hebrides	Vanuatu
New Holland	Australia
Northern Rhodesia	Zambia
Nyasaland	Malawi
Persia	Iran
Portuguese East Africa	Mozambique
Prussia	Parts of modern Germany, Poland, Russia, Lithuania, and other areas
Siam	Thailand
South West Africa	Namibia
Southern Rhodesia	Zimbabwe
Swaziland	Eswatini
Tanganyika	Tanzania
Tonkin/Tongkin/Tongquin	Exonym referring to northern region of Vietnam
Yugoslavia	Region consisting of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, and Slovenia
Zaire	Democratic Republic of the Congo
Zanzibar	Tanzania

This list is non-exhaustive. If you come across additional terms that should be included, please email Liz at egjieli@nybg.org.