> The fact that British authorities picked a French word that the conquered would understand is significant.
That seems unavoidable given almost all English words related to government/law/administration (including "state") derive from French! The only counterexamples I can think of are "borough" and "riding".
> "Province" made allegiance to the crown oversea clear
There is a much clearer term for that though, "dominion" as in "Dominion of Canada". At least to my British English ear "province" simply doesn't have those connotations.
That seems unavoidable given almost all English words related to government/law/administration (including "state") derive from French! The only counterexamples I can think of are "borough" and "riding".
> "Province" made allegiance to the crown oversea clear
There is a much clearer term for that though, "dominion" as in "Dominion of Canada". At least to my British English ear "province" simply doesn't have those connotations.