Monaco is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera in Western Europe, bordered by France on three sides and the Mediterranean Sea to the south. At 2.08 square kilometers and about 38,400 residents, it is the second smallest sovereign state in the world after Vatican City and the most densely populated. The House of Grimaldi has ruled Monaco since 1297, when Francesco Grimaldi seized the fortress disguised as a Franciscan friar, and the principality's sovereignty was formally recognized under the Franco-Monegasque Treaty of 1861. It operates as a unitary parliamentary semi-constitutional monarchy, with Prince Albert II as head of state holding substantial political powers and a Minister of State as head of government; Monaco joined the United Nations as a voting member in 1993. Its modern prosperity dates to the opening of the Monte Carlo Casino in the late nineteenth century and the rail connections that followed, and it functions today as a major banking center and tax haven with no personal income tax for residents, over thirty percent of whom are millionaires.
Facts
Government TypeConstitutional monarchy 1 Government type (class) Classification
Status (Extant or Former) FAQs
Who has protected Monaco's independence over the centuries?
France has done so since 1861; before that Monaco was protected by the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia (1815 to 1861) and earlier by the French crown.
Several powers have safeguarded Monaco. When the United States declared independence in 1776, the principality was a sovereign country under the military protection of the King of France. France annexed it directly in 1793, during the French Revolution, but Monaco regained its independence and sovereignty in 1814, and the 1815 Treaty of Vienna reaffirmed both. From 1815 to 1861 it was a protectorate of the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia, and since 1861 it has been under the military safeguard of France. The Franco-Monégasque Treaty of 1918 stated that France would defend Monaco's independence and sovereignty, and in return Monaco was not to conduct a foreign policy at odds with that of the French Republic. France and Monaco renegotiated that treaty in 2005, and the new provisions reaffirmed Monaco's independence and sovereignty.
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Sources
1. Wikipedia: Monaco
Government and politics, constitution
Monaco has been governed under a constitutional monarchy since 1911, with the Sovereign Prince of Monaco as head of state.
History, Grimaldi rule
Monaco was first ruled by a member of the House of Grimaldi in 1297
Monaco: Status
Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a sovereign city-state and microstate in Western Europe. Situated on the French Riviera, it is a semi-enclave bordered by France to the north, east, and west, with the Mediterranean Sea to the south; the Italian region of Liguria is about 15 km (9.3 mi) east.
In Era: The Contemporary Period, lead paragraph and infobox, existence dates
Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a sovereign city-state and microstate in Western Europe.
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