Hi,

also, Texas is the only state in the U.S. which has the power to
split into not more than four smaller chunks "of convenient size"
which would have to be admitted to the Union as separate states, see:

http://www.tsl.state.tx.us/ref/abouttx/annexation/index.html

text of the resolution:

http://www.tsl.state.tx.us/ref/abouttx/annexation/march1845.html

Anton Z.

PS: Brendan, though it's not in the continental U.S., wasn't Hawaii
an independent kingdom or something like that?

--- In BoundaryPoint@y..., PitHokie <pithokie@y...> wrote:
> Peter et. al,
>
> Texas is unique in that it's the only part of the
> continental United States that was ever been
> independently governed as its own country.
> It's also been under more official rulers than any
> other part of the continental U.S. If you travel to
> the Capitol in Austin, you will find in the rotunda a
> seal of all the countries Texas has been ruled by:
> Spain, France, Mexico, Texas, and the United States.
> Texas was independent from April, 1836 until the U.S.
> annexed it in 1845.
>
> Brendan
>
> --- Peter Smaardijk <smaardijk@y...> wrote:
> > --- In BoundaryPoint@y..., PitHokie <pithokie@y...>
> > wrote:
> > > The difference is in name only. Governmentally,
> > there
> > > is no difference between a state and a
> > commonwealth.
> >
> > I know that in Germany, two "Laender" have the
> > official designation
> > of "Freistaat": Bavaria and Saxony. I don't know
> > whether this has any
> > implications. Does someone know?
> >
> > And I remember vaguely that the position of Texas is
> > fundamentally
> > different from all other states in the US (because
> > it used to be an
> > independent republic). Can someone say something
> > about that?
> >
> > What about the difference between territories in
> > countries like
> > Canada, Australia, and Russia (=krai) and the
> > regular subdivisions?
> > Why is it like this and what are the practical
> > implications?
> >
> > Peter S.
> >
> >
>
>
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