History of Monaco
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The early history of Monaco is primarily concerned with the protective and strategic value of the Rock of Monaco, the area's chief geological landmark, which served first as a shelter for ancient peoples and later as a fortress. Part of Liguria's history since the fall of the Roman Empire, from the 14th to the early 15th century the area was contested for primarily political reasons. Since that point, excepting a brief period of French occupation, it has remained steadily under the control of the House of Grimaldi.[1]
Early history and Ligurian settlement
Grimaldi man lived here about 30,000 years ago.
According to the accounts of historian
Phoenician colonization and Melqart
"According to some authorities, the Egyptians of the Eighteenth Dynasty, according to others, the early Phoenicians were the first commercial navigators," who found refuge in the Port of Monaco from the mistral of the sea. The Port and Rock of Monaco were consecrated by the Phoenicians in the name of their deity Melqart. The colony was called Monoike. After the Phoenicians, the Greeks wrote about the progress and conquests of the journeys and labors of Hercules. The native Ligurian people asserted that Hercules passed through the area.[2]
Greek colonization and Herculean legend
During the 6th-century BC, Phocaeans from Massalia (modern day Marseille) founded the colony of Monoikos.[3] The name of the colony derives from the local veneration of the Greek demigod Heracles, also later adopted by the Romans, who was said to have constructed the ancient path that passed through the region from Spain to Italy.[3] The Roman emperor Julian also wrote of Hercules's construction of Monaco's port and a coastal road.[4] The road was dotted with altars to Heracles, and a temple dedicated to him was established on the Rock of Monaco. The name Port Hercules was subsequently used for the ancient port.[3] Monoeci meaning "Single One" or Monoikos meaning "Single House" could be a reference to Hercules or his temple, or the isolated community inhabiting the area around the rock.[3]
According to the "travels of Heracles" theme, also documented by Diodorus Siculus and Strabo, both Greeks and native Ligurian people asserted that Hercules passed through the area.
Roman rule
After the
The Roman poet
either because Hercules drove off everyone else and lived there alone, or because in his temple no other of the gods is worshipped at the same time.
No temple to Hercules has been found at Monaco.[7]
The port is mentioned in
was forced to put into the port.Middle ages to the Genoese
Monaco remained under Roman control until the collapse of the
In 1191,
As the Ghibellines intended their fortress to be a strategic military stronghold and center of control for the area, they set about creating a settlement around the base of the Rock to support the garrison; in an attempt to lure residents from Genoa and the surrounding cities, they offered land grants and tax exemption to new settlers.
Rise of the Grimaldis
The Grimaldis, descended from Otto Canella and taking their name from his son Grimaldo, were an ancient and prominent Guelphic Genoese family. Members of this family, in the course of the civil strife in Genoa between the Guelphs and Ghibellines, took refuge in Monaco, accompanied by various other Guelphic families, most notably the
Honoré II, Prince of Monaco secured recognition of his independent sovereignty from Spain in 1633, and then from Louis XIII of France by the Treaty of Péronne (1641). Since then the area has remained under the control of the Grimaldi family to the present day, except when under French control during the French Revolution from 1793 to May 17, 1814, as part of the département of Alpes-Maritimes.
Protectorate of the Kingdom of Sardinia
The principality was re-established in 1814, only to be designated a protectorate of the Kingdom of Sardinia by the Congress of Vienna in 1815 and the Treaty of Stupinigi in 1817. Monaco remained in this position until 1860, when by the Treaty of Turin, Sardinia ceded to France the surrounding county of Nice (as well as Savoy).
With the protectorate, that lasted nearly half a century,
During this time there was unrest in the towns of
19th century
Designated as a protectorate of the
The
20th century
The Prince of Monaco was an
In July 1918, a treaty was signed providing for limited French protection over Monaco. The treaty, written into the
While Prince Louis II's sympathies were strongly pro-French, he tried to keep Monaco neutral during World War II but supported the Vichy French government of his old army colleague, Marshal Philippe Pétain.
Nonetheless, his tiny principality was tormented by domestic conflict partly as a result of Louis's indecisiveness, and also because the majority of the population was of Italian descent; many of them supported the fascist regime of Italy's Benito Mussolini.
On 11 November 1942, the
Soon after in September 1943, following Mussolini's fall in Italy, the
Under Prince Louis's secret orders, the Monaco police, often at great risk to themselves, warned in advance those people whom the Gestapo planned to arrest.[citation needed] The country was liberated, after German troops had retreated, on 3 September 1944.
Prince Rainier III ascended to the throne following the death of his grandfather, Prince Louis II, in 1949.[15]
The revised Constitution of Monaco, proclaimed in 1962, abolished capital punishment, provided for female suffrage, established a Supreme Court to guarantee fundamental liberties and made it difficult for a French national to transfer his or her residence there.[16]
In 1993, Monaco became a member of the United Nations with full voting rights.[17]
21st century
In 2002, a new treaty between France and Monaco clarified that if there are no heirs to carry on the dynasty, the Principality will remain an independent nation, rather than be annexed by France. Monaco's military defence, however, is still the responsibility of France.[18]
Prince Albert II succeeded his father Prince Rainier III in 2005.[19]
Monaco's mild climate[20] with historical sites and modern gambling casinos,[21] make Monaco a popular tourism and recreation centre in the 21st century, with 4.1 tourists per resident as of 2020.[22]
On 29 February 2020, Monaco announced its first case of
on 29 February 2020.See also
References
- ^ "Monaco". www.heraldica.org.
- ^ Pickering, Thomas Henry (1882). "Monaco: The Beauty Spot of the Riviera".
- ^ ISBN 978-0-7391-7427-2.
- ISBN 978-0-520-05858-3.
- ^ Aeneid, VI.830
- ^ R. Maltby, Lexicon of Ancient Latin Etymologies
- Lucan1.405.
- ^ Pliny the Eldner, III.v
- ^ Histories, III.42
- ^ Internet Archive. "Monaco and Monte Carlo". Retrieved 19 October 2009.
- ^ Ermanno Amicucci. Nizza e l'Italia. Mondadori editore. Milano, 1939.
- ^ "Occupation by Italy then Germany". Government of Monaco. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
- ISBN 2-02-037211-8
- ^ "Monaco histoire". Tmeheust.free.fr. Retrieved 28 May 2012.
- ^ "Obituary: Prince Rainier III of Monaco.", The Times, London, 7 April 2005, pg. 58
- ^ "Monaco's Constitution of 1962 with Amendments through 2002" (PDF). constituteproject.org. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
- ^ "Admission of the Principality of Monaco to membership in the United Nations". digitallibrary.un.org. 16 July 1993. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
- ISBN 978-9067043328.
- ^ Son of ailing Prince Rainier takes over duties, MSNBC, 31 March 2005. Accessed 31 May 2008.
- ^ "Climate and Average Weather Year Round in Monaco". weatherspark.com. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
- ^ Alexander, Lisa. "17 Top Tourist Attractions in Monaco & Easy Day Trips". planetware.com. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
- ^ "Tourism in Principality of Monaco". worlddata.info. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
- ^ Gouvernement Monaco [@GvtMonaco] (February 28, 2020). "[#Coronavirus] Les autorités sanitaires de la Principauté ont été informées qu'une personne prise en charge dans la matinée et conduite au Centre Hospitalier Princesse Grace était positive au COVID 19.Son état de santé n'inspire pas d'inquiétude" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ Bulant, Jeanne (29 February 2020). "Coronavirus: un premier cas de contamination détecté à Monaco et transféré au CHU de Nice". BFMTV (in French). Agence France-Presse. Retrieved 29 February 2020.
Sources
- "Principality and Diocese of Monaco". The Catholic Encyclopedia. Retrieved May 6, 2005.
- "History of Monaco". Gale Force of Monaco. Archived from the original on April 18, 2005. Retrieved May 6, 2005.
- Velde, François. "Monaco". Heraldica. Retrieved March 25, 2005.
Further reading
- Published in the 19th century
- C. B. Black (1896), "Monaco Station", The Riviera : or, The coast from Marseilles to Leghorn, including the interior towns of Carrara, Lucca, Pisa, and Pistoia, London: Adam & Charles Black, pp. 86–87
- Gustave Saige (1897), "Ses Origines et Son Histoire", Monaco, Monaco: Imprimerie de Monaco (in French)
- Tinsley Brothers
- Published in the 20th century
- Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 18 (11th ed.). 1911. pp. 684–685. .
- "Monaco", Southern France, including Corsica (6th ed.), Leipzig: Baedeker, 1914, OL 24364670M
- Histoire de la principauté de Monaco (1934) by Léon-Honoré Labande (in French)
- Contemporary publications
- Kundahl, George G. (2017). The Riviera at War: World War II on the Cote d'Azur. London: I.B. Tauris. ISBN 9781784538712.