History

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Monaco was founded as a colony of Genoa in 1215 and has been ruled by the House of Grimaldi since 1297. At this time, Francois Grimaldi had seized the fortress protecting the rock of Monaco. In 1793, Monaco became under the control of the French, and remained that way until 1815, when Congress designated it as a protectorate of the Kingdom of Sardinia. In 1861, the Franco-Monegasque Treaty granted Monaco sovereignty. Monaco’s Princes then ruled absolutely until the 1911 constitution. The 1918 Treaty of Versailles granted limited protection of Monaco by the French and aligned Monegasque policies with French political, military, and economic interests. In 1962, a new constitution was proclaimed under Prince Ranier III. It abolished capital punishment, granted women the right to vote, and established a Supreme Court. Prince Albert II formally became the ruler of Monaco on July 12, 2005 after his father, Prince Ranier, died in April 2005.

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