A regency may be a period of time when a Regent holds power in the name of the current Monarch , or in the name of The Crown itself, if the throne is vacant. Specific political eras derived from this usage (and artistic style periods named after these) include:
---In French history, the '' Régence '' is the period from 1715 to 1723.
The term, or its equivalent in another language, may also be used for specific political regime
--- Regentschap (in Dutch) for a colonial autochthonous (usually Malay and Islamic) polity (e.g. sultanate) in the (Dutch) East Indies
--- Régence (in French) is applied to the de facto independent Barbary coast regime (nominally in the Ottoman empire) and susequent French protectorate over Tunisia
A regency may also be a geographical area, usually a small city or a subdistrict of a province, that is or has been governed by a regent.
---For example, the Indonesian term ''kabupaten'', for a sub-provincial political district, is usually translated into English as " Regency " (compare above for the colonial era).
In reference to the architectural style of the English Regency: see Regency Architecture .
