A Brief History of Monaco

The Lingurians are the first inhabitants of the area now known as Monaco, probably arrived when the immigrant warriors who spoke an Indo-European language first penetrated into Provence and Linguria. Monaco’s name comes from the nearby Phocaean Greek colony, in the 6th century, which referred to the Ligurians as Monoikos, meaning “single house”. According to ancient myth, Hercules passed through the Monaco area and turned away the previous gods. As a result, a temple was constructed there, the temple of Hercules Monoikos. Because the only temple of this area was the “House” of Hercules, the city was called Monoikos.

Following a land grant from Emperor Henry VI in 1191, Monaco was re-founded in 1228 as a colony of Genoa. Monaco has been ruled by the House of Grimaldi since 1297, when Francesco Grimaldi and his men captured the fortress protecting the Rock of Monaco while he was dressed as a Franciscan monk- a Monaco in Italian, although this is a coincidence as the area was already known by this name. The male line of the Grimaldis of Monaco died out with Prince Antoine as Marie de Lorraine had only given him daughters. In 1715, he gave the eldest, Louis-Hippolyte, away in marriage to Jacques-Francois-Leonor de Matignon, heir of one of the most illustrious families of Normandy and owner of a great deal of land and possessor of many lordships.

In 1793, French Revolutionary forces captured Monaco, and it remained under French control until 1814. The principality was re-established that year, only to be designated a protectorate of the Kingdom of Sardinia in 1815. Under the adoption of the1911 constitution, the princes of Monaco were absolute rulers. In 1943, the Italian army invaded and occupied Monaco, setting up a Fascist administration. A new constitution, proclaimed in 1962, abolished capital punishment, provided for women’s suffrage, and established a Supreme Court of Monaco to guarantee fundamental liberties. In 1993, the Principality of Monaco became a member of the United Nations, with full voting rights.