Why does Monaco Exist?

[@darinfoat8410]

A few years back a friend of mine was on a road trip in France, and decided to visit Monaco. He crossed the border, drove around for over an hour, and had to leave the country because he couldn't find a parking space. This is a wonderful illustration of just how small this place is.

[@CallieMasters5000]

They have built lots of underground parking garages and have signs directing you to the nearest one with open spaces. Parking on the street, though, is hard unless you're driving a supercar.

[@louisduarte8763]

If that country were any smaller, the "Welcome To..." and "You're Now Leaving..." signs would share the same post.

[@jackgibsxxx0750]

@@louisduarte8763 ..... Know a few towns like that.

[@rubywest5166]

Eh, Schumacher and Rosberg managed just fine

[@livifan45]

Yes, I thought everyone knew you just stop in the middle of the road outside La Rascasse and everyone just waves that off as fine.

[@MrAlsachti]

Apparently, Free French forces had the opportunity to take Monaco at the end of the second world war. The officer in charge asked permission from De Gaulle to invade the principality. De Gaulle answered: "If you had invaded Monaco and told me later, I would have condemned you in public, and I would have congratulated you in private. Now, you are asking me permission. I can't give it."

[@AudieHolland]

De Gaulle was a Natural Born Politician

[@Sagoner]

Especially since Monaco collaborated with the Italian during WW2

[@alanpennie8013]

That's very Sextus Pompey The Boat King. (See Act II of Antony and Cleopatra).

[@hjonesjr5316]

@@Sagoner invaded by the Italians*

[@answerman9933]

"It's easier to get forgiveness than to get permission"

[@jamesrussels7766]

The docks of Monaco being visible as part of its coastline will never not be hilarious to me.

[@Yosef_Marks]

Also, the fact that the F1 track covers a significant area of the whole country.

[@812gingerable]

Well known to Worldle players

[@GarkKahn]

The entire territory is basically the f1 track and wrc stages

[@albevanhanoy]

Little Monaco's so tiny you can see the piers within

[@dannyarcher6370]

Gibraltar also.

[@grondhero]

Yes! We are back to "Why does this small country exist?" series. Also known as "Why didn't their neighbors take them over?" 😅

[@markmuller7962]

Nasty nasty Europe 😅

[@t.texastimmy1022]

now lets do an update on Ukraine ....

[@josephsarra4320]

Why not Liechtenstein?

[@Fire157_]

@@josephsarra4320 already done

[@chrisl9934]

Also known as "why this small country didn't just die?"

[@rockoorbe2002]

Kinda surprised and disappointed we didn't get a scene of the Princes of Monaco running across a field of flowers celebrating that they weren't conquered. Also, I found out that Monaco residents (at least the permanent ones) speak a language called Monegasque (a dialect of Ligurian which I believe it's the same language spoken in Genoa), which, like the country itself is one of those relics of when Europe was divided into many units and each had its unique language or dialect. Kinda like Maltese or Luxembourgish.

[@SamAronow]

Ligurian is more alive in Monaco than in Liguria, I'm afraid...

[@Alex-to8es]

Pretty sure these days the language they speak these days is richy mcTaxEvasion. But there we go.

[@jojbenedoot7459]

Well Maltese is a Semitic language wholly unrelated to the languages of Europe aside from a bunch of Italian vocabulary. That one was always gonna be classified differently

[@krle7970]

So Italian then

[@sopwithsnoopy8779]

Does Monaco even have flower fields? 😁

[@CallieMasters5000]

I heard a Monaco tour guide once describe Monaco as the expensive mushroom or truffle on the tree of France. It's very small and depends on France for national security and resources, but it's an expensive addition to have and it attracts much wealth and joy.

[@AudieHolland]

Yeah, so much joy. Couldn't possibly imagine how utterly desolate I would be in a world without Monaco.

[@CallieMasters5000]

Monaco provides a lot of jobs for people living in France and Italy, who commute in every day. Formula 1 fans and tourists keep coming every year, and there's a lot of joy.

[@estebanod]

​@@CallieMasters5000 lots of pain too, Monaco traffic fckn sucks!!! So horrible to drive through

[@rachelar]

The monarchy France pretends it doesn't need or want

[@shogun2215]

@@CallieMasters5000 Nothing would give me more joy than seeing the disgustingly wealthy of Monaco all thrown into the ocean.

[@jonathanwebster7091]

Also fun fact: Monaco is actually smaller (0.78 sq.miles/2.02 km²) than Central Park in New York (1.31 sq. miles/3.41 km²).

[@stevenmaginnis1965]

Vatican City is even smaller , being smaller than even Disneyland in Anaheim.

[@MM126.90]

@@stevenmaginnis1965 the Burj Kalifa is taller than Vatican City is wide

[@manchesterunitedno7]

Monaco is so small, that even Sentosa Resort Island in Singapore still twice as large as Monaco. A really small island that is part of a small wealthy island country, still bigger than this.

[@danielstewart2602]

@@manchesterunitedno7 when you realise how small these countries are, youre just like "whoa" Central Park, for that matter, from what I heard, I always expected was way bigger, at least twice as big but I don't care per se and I was never mislead. I just assumed it would have been bigger

[@francescoiuliano5690]

It is worth making 2 clarifications: 1) when we speak of the Kingdom of Sardinia, in reality it is the Savoys, specifically the Piedmontese 2) there is an agreement between the Principality and France, which provides that in the event the Royal Family dies out, the remaining territory will become France.

[@krle7970]

That sounds like a terrible idea, in the future France can kill the family and take the land

[@AudieHolland]

Although not American (I'm Dutch) but I have never been able to master all the intricacies of French and Italian territories. I do remember a propaganda image from before World War I that said, "Avanti Savoia!" So I presume Savoyans speak Italian?

[@nunopereira6092]

No chance of that with the amount of legitimate (and the not so much) heirs, thanks to the Monegasque counterpart to Nick Cannon.

[@gamermapper]

@@AudieHolland Savoyards (Savoisiens) speak Savoyard which is a dialect of Arpetan. Also spoken in Romandy in Switzerland, Vallée d'Aoste, Lyonnais, Dauphiné, etc. However because of France being France, very few people speak their own indigenous language. Really hope it'll change one day with a linguistic and national revival.

[@Sagoner]

@@AudieHolland There are Franco-Italian minority on both side the Aost valley in north west Italy is French the rest is fully Italian And French Savoie is French (except some community that still hold on but they are very small) They are also some regional language in the French part nobody speak them except +70 years old, and in Italy the same process is under way

[@jonathanwebster7091]

Fun fact: every family that has succeeded to the throne of Monaco has adopted the name and coat of arms of Grimaldi even if they aren't actually descended from the the original family in the male line. In fact, this has happened twice: first, with Prince Jacques I who was originally a Goyon-Matignon and adopted the name on his marriage to the daughter of the last Grimaldi Prince of the original family, Louise Hippolyte, who also reigned in her own right, and secondly when the grandfather of the current Prince, Prince Pierre, who was originally a Polignac, married Charlotte, the legitimatised daughter of Louis II, the last Prince of the Grimaldi family of the Goyon-Matignon male line.

[@slewone4905]

You mean like King Charles is the house of Windsor, but his real last name is Mountbatten, and only claim of the house is through his mother, and Mountbatten isn't the real last name, but forced to anglicize it, because they didn't want to be associated with Germans during the wars, and i was originally Battenberg, but Charles father only took that name from his mother side.

[@jonathanwebster7091]

@@slewone4905 not really because Mountbatten wasn't his father's real last name (it was the name of his mother's family). His father Prince Phillip was an Oldenburg, of the Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glucksburg branch. The same family that still reigns in Denmark and Norway, and formerly in Iceland and Greece. The only reason his father used that surname was because he needed a surname for naturalisation purposes when he became a British citizen in 1947, having considered and rejected an anglicised version of his House name; 'Oldcastle'. Also, while the name of the Royal House is Windsor, the surname of the royals descended from the marriage of Prince Phillip is actually 'Mountbatten-Windsor'. Which is only really used by male-line descendants of the late Queen and Prince Philip when they don't have a higher title (like Prince/Princess, or a peerage, ie a Duke, Earl, Baron, etc) that would 'eclipse' and mean they wouldn't need a surname. Which is why for example, Prince Harry's children are Archie and Lilibet Mountbatten-Windsor, and the daughter of the Earl of Wessex is Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor. This was introduced with a 1960 Order in Council by the Queen just before the birth of Prince Andrew (basically because Prince Philip was annoyed that a previous Order in Council, in 1952, stated that the Queen *and her children* would just be 'the House of...and bear the name of Windsor). Basically, it was a compromise. Also, while in practice it's used by the non-titled descendants of the Queen and Prince Philip, in practice, it's actually been used on occasion by the titled ones as well: the present King, Princess Anne, and Prince Andrew have all used it occasionally; Princess Anne even used it on her marriage certificate.

[@jonathanwebster7091]

@@slewone4905 oh sorry I partially misread what you said there, but eh not really. The most clear parallel with the Monegasque tradition of keeping the House name and coat of arms; even when the house has become extinct in the male line, is in the Netherlands. Just like eg. the name of Habsburg became inextricably linked with Austria (hence why it was kept; though hyphenated with Lorraine) even after the original House of Habsburg became extinct in the male line. Ditto the Romanovs as regards Russia: the family that ruled until 1917 was actually a branch of the House of Oldenburg of the Holstein-Gottorp branch that inherited the throne through the first monarch (Pyotr III) being the son of Peter the Great's daughter Anna. Also true for Liechtenstein (hell, the country is *named* after the family rather than the other way around); only that's not become extinct in the male line. Basically, because the House and name of Grimaldi had become so intertwined with the identity of Monaco it seemed wrong to ditch it. In the same way, the House of Orange-Nassau had become so identified with the identity of the Dutch nation, going back to even before it became a monarchy, even to its founding, for the same reasons, they were loath to bin the name just because the original House had become extinct. This was first made concrete in law by Queen Wilhelmina in 1908, just before the birth of the future Queen Juliana. Which is why Queen Juliana was an Orange-Nassau, even though she should have really been a Mecklenburg-Schwerin like her father; Queen Beatrix, the same, even though she should have been a Lippe-Biesterfeld like her father, And ditto for King Willem-Alexander, even though he should have been a Amsberg like his father. Note that even then, that's not exactly the same as the Grimaldi example; because it's only for the reigning monarch: the individual princes and prince (for example, King W-A's brother Prince Constantijn and his children) have the surname of Amsberg hyphenated with that of Orange-Nassau; and this was also the case for Beatrix before and after her (and her sisters too) as regards their father's House name. Likewise Juliana hyphenated her father's house name before and after she was Queen too. It's just that, in the case of Willem-Alexander, for the first time in three generations of the Royal Family, he was male, and he only had (two) male siblings to carry on the hyphenated name. And out of the three brothers, only Prince Constantijn actually has had a son (the King and the other brother, Prince Friso, 'only' had daughters, and all of the other children of Prince Constantijn are girls) to carry on the Amsberg name.

[@TheBlaqOrder]

@@jonathanwebster7091 Charles Oldenborough

[@ralfklonowski3740]

In NW Germany, this often used to happen when a guy married into a farm. If Mr. A married Miss B who had inherited the family farm, than the husband might appear in church records as "A called B" or "A-B", and after one or two generations his original family name could just vanish entirely.

[@NIDELLANEUM]

When you showed how Monaco looked like before being annexed to Sardinia, I thought "alright, I can't wait to see the map changing to show its current borders". I didn't even notice that said current borders were one of its tips

[@slewone4905]

They sliced pieces of alot of micronations. Luxemberg, the vatican, I think that nation between france and spain. Kuwait. ALthough I don't think they qualify as microstate, well Nepal and Bhutan as well.

[@NIDELLANEUM]

@@slewone4905 yeah I know, Luxembourg has that shape because its neighbours kept taking pieces

[@Tony.H03]

@@slewone4905 the Vatican doesn't really belong in that list, unless you consider it to be a very very very sliced off continuation of the Papal States. Its borders have never changed since its foundation afaik.

[@Diedwhilemakingwaffles]

@@slewone4905 "the nation between France and Spain" 💀

[@zork999]

I got kicked out of the casino in Monaco 45 years ago. Just because I 1) did not have a suit or jacket and 2) was only 18 (minimum age was 21). I was "eurailing" through Europe so jackets were contraindicated in my backpack. I am convinced that if I had the suit they would never have asked about my age.

[@KingOfClay]

They ask if you win. They ignore if you lose.

[@zork999]

@@KingOfClay I was just walking around but I guess I did not look like I belonged. I don't know if it still is, but in 1978 the casino was VERY fancy, and pretty much everyone else was in suits and long dresses. I generally find that if you act like you belong they don't hassle you, but I guess they had not translated that page into French.

[@grangermontag1824]

I've been kicked out of 109 Casinos because everyone is mean to me. Definitely not because I was counting cards.

[@AudieHolland]

I can understand the people of Monaco. Without the dress code, their casinos would just be ordinary gambling dens like most of Las Vegas. Hey, we can all pretend we're better than others, can we not?

[@nicobsm111saintmichel7]

In Monaco, the gambling age is 18.

[@aidenbuck4765]

If all of us History Matters subscribers got together we could probably take over Monaco easily. So whose with me.

[@TheTrex9000]

Me

[@grondhero]

That's true. And if we conquered them quickly enough, none of their neighbors would react for fear of starting an invasion. 😉

[@degekkegier8385]

With 1,5 million man, you can conquer a lot of countries

[@dtglck4fkds]

Only if a certain James Bissonette funds us, with him on board- we have certain victory.

[@QWERTY-gp8fd]

@@degekkegier8385 1,5 milion civilians with no military funding.

[@KrunchymanTheBold]

Monaco is basically what would happen if a country club was its own country.

[@KarlBunker]

Shh! You'll give a certain orange guy ideas!

[@zerotofifty]

@@KarlBunker For a second I thought you were talking about someone in Orange County, California

[@ecurewitz]

@@KarlBunkerI can’t imagine anyone letting him do it

[@abdurrazzaqmumin1574]

@@ecurewitz I think many Americans including myself would welcome such an opportunity.

[@ecurewitz]

@@abdurrazzaqmumin1574 prison is a better opportunity for him

[@3km143]

Monaco is so small, the street circuit it has, takes quite a large part of the entire country

[@timschutz9068]

I love this channel for being so niche. Answers questions I never had, but once I hear them, i want to have them answered.

[@croma2068]

Well, it's mostly because he has run out of the big topics.

[@DargorShepard]

​@@croma2068 My thoughts exactly.

[@aethergasm]

THANK YOU!!! We had a voluntary school trip to Europe when I was 17 and we went to Monaco. We tried to ask our tour guide to tell us about it and she was always like "hey, look over there" and dodged our questions. You've answered a question that was confusing my lazy brain for 20 years. 😆

[@Darksnowman13]

I love these little micro histories for places you just kinda forget exist.

[@TheEnergeticPanda]

Here after Charles Leclerc won at Monaco - the true hero of the Monagasque

[@GhostVII]

One of the best history channels on KZbin, the animations always make me laugh as well.

[@zork999]

I love the little figures with signs. Also whenever he goes "Fun Fact - No". I don't know why but that just cracks me up.

[@Chorutowo]

"Had one objective, dont get conquered" - Thanks for the advice, I will take it into consideration when I start my next country

[@mrididnt1631]

"Because no self respecting king of France can resist the opportunity to deprive Spain of subjects" This gave me a good chuckle.

[@antonimaciag1259]

Actually, Monaco survived because James Bisonette needed it as a tax haven. This later became one of the cornerstones of his immense wealth.

[@kevinmahernz]

James shares it with Kelly Moneymaker 😂

[@islamisthetruewaytogod6812]

Hello ! May Allah protect and guide you to his light and happiness in this life and the hereafter, God bless, Ameen. Excuse me for giving a little presentation of Islam, because it is very misunderstood nowadays, especially on those « Antichrist's » times, where media and politics are mixed to distort history and truth. Thank you very much for your time. Islam is an arabic word that means the Surrender to the One and Only God, our Creator, Protector, Provider, who gives us life and all that we have, we are safe and sound by his will and grace, we are His and to Him we return, and we have to thank him in this trial life by submitting to him by our free will, or later in the Day of judgment when it's too late to save our own skin. Islam was the original Religion descended to earth from heaven with Adam and Eve (peace and blessing be upon them) in the beginning of humanity. and was passed to people with the succession of the 124 000 prophets and 315 messengers of God to all nations and civilizations since, passing by Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Ismaël, Joseph, Moses, Aaron, Joshua, David, Solomon and Jesus (Peace and blessing be upon them) during the history of mankind, the last replaces and completes the previous, until the succession of the last messenger of God fourteen centuries ago, Muhammad (Peace and blessing be upon him) to complete the noble morals of all mankind, to bring humans and jinns out of darkness into light, and to purify people's religion and belief from corruption and polytheism, and return it to purity and true monotheism, like it was in the times of the prophets (Peace and blessing be upon them). Many Religions that we know nowadays, at their beginning were true and under Islam, initiated by one of the prophets of God, but their original teachings, history and scriptures have been corrupted over time with falsification and polytheism, or lost and replaced with false ones. That's why Islam is the only Religion accepted by God nowadays, which consists in bearing witness that there is no god besides Allah (God in Aramaic, the original language of Jesus and the Gospel), and that Muhammad is His servant and messenger, just like Jesus and Moses and others are His servants and messengers. Never a messenger of God said he was God or literally son of God, it was the people after him who changed the words of God and corrupted the Religion. God is unique and absolute, He does not need to have a family and sons or to associate anyone else with His kingdom, He can simply create whatever He wants, everything belongs to Him, and to Him everything will return. Allah said in Surah Al-Mu’minun : “God has never begotten a son, nor is there any god besides Him. Otherwise, each god would have taken away what it has created, and some of them would have gained supremacy over others. Glory be to God, far beyond what they describe. The Knower of the hidden and the manifest. He is exalted, far above what they associate. (91-92 / Translated by ITANI). Allah means the one and only God, the God of all prophets and creatures, the creator of the universe and mankind, and the Master of the Day of judgment, where our destiny, Hell or Paradise, is decided based on our faith and deeds in this trial life, and above all, Allah's mercy. Allah said in Surah Al-Ikhlas : In the name of God, the Gracious, the Merciful. Say, “He is God, the One. God, the Absolute. He begets not, nor was He begotten. And there is none comparable to Him.” (1-4 / Translated by ITANI). Allah said in Surah An-Nisa : O FOLLOWERS of the Gospel! Do not overstep the bounds [of truth] in your religious beliefs, and do not say of God anything but the truth. The Christ Jesus, son of Mary, was but God's Apostle - [the fulfilment of] His promise which He had conveyed unto Mary - and a soul created by Him. Believe, then, in God and His apostles, and do not say, "[God is] a trinity". Desist [from this assertion] for your own good. God is but One God; utterly remote is He, in His glory, from having a son: unto Him belongs all that is in the heavens and all that is on earth; and none is as worthy of trust as God. Never did the Christ feel too proud to be God's servant, nor do the angels who are near unto Him. And those who feel too proud to serve Him and glory in their arrogance [should know that on Judgment Day] He will gather them all unto Himself: (171-172 / Translated by Muhammad Asad). Allah the Most Merciful said in Surah Ali-Imran : Behold, the only [true] religion in the sight of God is [man's] self-surrender unto Him; and those who were vouchsafed revelation aforetime took, out of mutual jealousy, to divergent views [on this point] only after knowledge [thereof] had come unto them. But as for him who denies the truth of God's messages - behold, God is swift in reckoning! Thus, [O Prophet,] if they argue with thee, say, "I have surrendered my whole being unto God, and [so have] all who follow me!" - and ask those who have been vouchsafed revelation aforetime, as well as all unlettered people, "Have you [too] surrendered yourselves unto Him?" And if they surrender themselves unto Him, they are on the right path; but if they turn away - behold, thy duty is no more than to deliver the message: for God sees all that is in [the hearts of] His creatures. Verily, as for those who deny the truth of God's messages, and slay the prophets against all right, and slay people who enjoin equity - announce unto them a grievous chastisement. It is they whose works shall come to nought both in this world and in the life to come; and they shall have none to succour them. (19-22 / Translated by Muhammad Asad).. God said : Say, “We believe in Allah, and in what was revealed to us, and in what was revealed to Abraham, and Ishmael, and Isaac, and Jacob, and the Patriarchs, and in what was given to Moses and Jesus, and in what was given to the prophets from their Lord. We do not differentiate between any of them. And to Him, we surrender.” (2:136 / Translated by Community) Salam (Peace) ---------------

[@ThatGuyNicho]

Well, that, and because James Bisonette hid a 20 megaton nuclear weapon deep underneath Nice, threatening to detonate it if France ever threatened his beloved Monaco

[@jamesbissonette8002]

Doubt it

[@masterchinese28]

The name is Bisonette... James Bisonette.

[@erwinrommel6114]

Hey History Matters. I really like your sense of humor and the topics. Can you make a video about why nobody speaks latin?

[@bricksburger5409]

I would like to see a video on this. Good idea

[@noluckyyy]

I mean, Vatican bishops and the Pope speaks Latin

[@cyrusthegreat7030]

Because it become the modern romance languages French, Italian, Spanish etc

[@gts1300]

Good idea. Although, what do you exactly mean by Latin? Are you speaking about classical Latin, the language which eventually became reserved to the elite, or vulgar Latin, which was spoken by everyone else? If you're talking about Vulgar Latin, it never ceased to exist. It just evolved into various languages (Italian, Spanish, Romanian, etc.) and people just began referring to the resulting languages in different ways. Modern Greek looks more unintelligible with Ancient Greek than Italian is with Latin, but we still call it Greek because the place is still called Greece. Same for Chinese for example.

[@mcswordfish]

French, Spanish, Italian, Romanian, Portuguese, and Catalan are all just Latin Dialects

[@andrewrollason4963]

There remains but one question: Why? Why does Monaco exist. The reason for this is that James Bissonette wanted a city to hold a Formula One Grand Prix and he wanted it to be in southern England. But Fun Fact: No. Kelly Moneymaker and Boogiily Woogily found a small villiage in southern France that specialised in making spinning three plates and they stumped up the cash to build the rest of the city around it.

[@christianwestling2019]

I like that you had the most recent map of Monaco, with the new Portier district that has been reclaimed from the sea. Good work!

[@napoleonibonaparte7198]

Next: “How is San Marino still independent and not absorbed by Italy?”

[@goranpersson7726]

there was an agreement back during the formation of italy, i cant quite recall the exact details but i think it was something or another about san marino basically just being a mountain fort so it was annoying to conquer and held not really much value

[@jonathanwebster7091]

@@goranpersson7726 also because San Marino gave shelter to Garibaldi when he went into hiding after the failed 1848 revolutions.

[@bighillraft]

he already made that I think

[@minecraftify95]

what about vatican city

[@jonathanwebster7091]

@@minecraftify95 what about it?

[@-socialcredit]

F1 fans: To torture us for a weekend

[@cs82271]

Visited Monaco last October and I made it a goal of mine to walk the entire border, or at least what was possible, in one day. I did and it was exhausting. I forgot the part where pretty much every direction was uphill. The oceanography museum was nice tho.

[@HumbleAshe]

Neat video! I’ve never really known myself how Monaco came to be (mainly since I’m not majorly familiar with European history), but seeing this small nation’s history that dates back centuries is really fascinating.

[@CallieMasters5000]

Europe was full of city states back in the middle ages that eventually joined together in mutual defense leagues or by control of the same families. Eventually they joined together into countries, but some managed to stay separate like Monaco.

[@ThatVillain-the-Gamer]

Clearly, Monaco only exists because the Crusaders wanted it to.

[@TheNinetySecond]

Much of Europe (_especially_ central Europe) was comprised of city states which in turn were comprised of various ethnic groups like Germans, Poles and Italians. Around the middle of the 19th century and especially around 1848 (as mentioned in the video) nationalism became a thing, and those ethnic groups started to actively clump up into modern countries. For millennia before that, the administrative status quo was city states or similarly small areas of influence. The empires controlled many such areas, but the administration was still executed through regional powers (unless you wanna march an army out to collect taxes).

[@pheumann86]

Your list of patreon supporters is now almost as long as the entire rest of the video. And I'm loving it.

[@evandalemon]

Honestly surprised to not see more F1 comments but great video nonetheless A very interesting country indeed

[@AloisAgos]

I hope San Marino is next on this list of "Why does this country exist" series.

[@guilhermecesar9185]

"Monaco try to find new ways of making money and did this by two methods: Gambling and later on, evasive accounts" And they are really good on doing this for entire Europe! How I love the sense of humor of this channel!

[@herisruns]

yess.... thank you for this. monaco is the one micro-state that i never really understood, no matter now much i read about it. but you make it actually sound sensible, concisely

[@wordart_guian]

i'd add that monaco wasn't at all french speaking until very recently. the two native languages are ligurian (or genoese) on the rock and occitan outside it (plus in all the part that france annexed)

[@Hypophreniac]

I love these videos so much they’re legit helping me in history class so much

[@KingOfClay]

Fun Fact: Monaco has the most princes that also race bobsleds.

[@samrevlej9331]

2:29 First time I've seen History Matters depict De Gaulle as he actually looked when he was president (i.e. old) and not in his WW2 general outfit.

[@piratamaia]

The first time was in a video about Quebec

[@MomMom4Cubs]

Yay! A question I've actually asked myself before! I can now cross that item off my bucket list.

[@ianpatterson6552]

There was also in the late 19th/early 20th centuries a Prussian then German interest in Monaco. A Duke of Urach (Württemberg) was related to the Grimaldi’s and was technically in line for the succession. But France didn’t want a German Duke in charge of the place, so various legal sleights of hand were conjured up to keep him at bay.

[@AudieHolland]

Well, you know how the British royals ended up having a German sitting on their throne.

[@CallieMasters5000]

Mainly this meant that Prince Louis went through the trouble of formally adopting his adult illegitimate daughter, Princess Charlotte, so the throne wouldn't go to the German cousin. When Louis died, Charlotte handed the throne to her son, Prince Rainer. The irony was that Louis had spent many years growing up in Germany with his mom, while the German cousin was born and raised in Monaco and spoke French as his first language.

[@watersportsbyjamesfitzroy5870]

@@CallieMasters5000 Life is full of irony

[@rif.geo_]

He answers questions that nobody asked, but everyone wants to know the answer to

[@NicolaW72]

😅👍

[@alexandrevidal5203]

I've noticed 2 mistakes there. The old borders of Monaco being wrong. The city of Monaco had slightly more land further inland and the 2 other cities that are Menton and Roquebrune-Cap-Martin held referendum to decide whether to stay with Monaco or to be annexed. And other anecdote: After the crisis with Charles de Gaulle (Who said that the only thing needed to blockade Monaco was a wrong way sign 😂) the agreement between France and Monaco stipulates that the day there's no more heir to the throne, France would rightfully annex Monaco. (Update: I don't find where I red that last thing. I might be wrong) Your videos are still awesome. Continue like that! 👍

[@americanloyalist4599]

Wasn’t the heir thing removed?

[@alexandrevidal5203]

@@americanloyalist4599 No. Why would it be?

[@galaxspace1]

@@alexandrevidal5203 it was never stated that France could annex it, just that it would become a protectorate. It doesnt matter however, because in 2002 it was changed to always guarantee a monarch from whatever line so that its independence is secured.

[@alexandrevidal5203]

@@galaxspace1 Yes. I searched where I had red this thing but nowhere to be found. I might have made a mistake.

[@LM-pt1rr]

Thank god for the existence of Monaco A great gift for the F1

[@mattsingh_]

Unless you want to see overtaking…

[@carlossainz4805]

Then make cars smaller and lighter. The track is great

[@wiegraf9009]

Only worth watching Formula E go around there. The F1 is only good for quali.

[@DemonetisedZone]

As someone who didn't like History at school this channel is helping me learn so much

[@AlexanderRM1000]

I had no idea most of Monaco broke away with the Revolution of 1848, so it's even smaller than it used to be. 10/10 very informative video

[@mbd501]

I once visited that area. Beautiful area. There's an old Grimaldi castle you can visit in one of the towns along there.

[@bprw12]

I’d like more videos about micro-states. I’ve always found their existence very interesting

[@lqr824]

When I was little, early 70s, my parents had some travel brochures for tours of Europe:5 countries in 7 nights, etc. I got to thinking it'd be fun to do a tour of Europe where you basically focus on microstates and other oddities: Isle of Man, Guernsey, Jersey, Andorra, Monaco, San Marino, Vatican, Malta, both sides of Cyprus, but also Gibralter, Sardinia, Corsica, Crete, Aaland, and even Kaliningrad. There's also weird exclaves of Italy and Germany inside Switzerland and a weird place in the Netherlands where there's pieces of Belgium that have pieces of Netherlands in them, one of which has a piece of Belgium in it. It might be fun to visit Slovenia and even Kosovo. Mt. Athos in Greece is apparently a slightly separate country too.

[@helloimskip]

I was just thinking about this. You came in clutch 💪

[@adhesiveregex1720]

Any day is a good day when a new History M video comes out

[@AdamJRawlins]

I visited Monaco nearly eleven years ago and really enjoyed it. It's a fascinating place.

[@Sh_rib]

Last time i was this early, James Bisonette wasn't a subscriber 😁

[@napoleonibonaparte7198]

James Bisonette props up the Monegasque economy on his shoulders.

[@faizannehal1]

The fact that Monaco exists but my girlfriend doesn’t is scary

[@hawkeyeten2450]

Most of us Americans probably became more acquainted with Monaco after Grace Kelly became the Princess Consort in the 1950s. Very interesting to learn more about this micro-country!

[@David_T]

They missed a golden opportunity not not having an Easter egg with her picture

[@krisweinschenker598]

Good one as always.... Although I found my Self distracted by a memory of an argument by two other players in a "History of the World" game over how many Cantons in Switzerland still speak Romanish. One guy was lawyer from Kentucky and the other was named Crazy Bob.

[@masterchinese28]

I actually met a lady from Switzerland who spoke Romanche when I was in Paris. She told me something I could hardly believe: her computer ran a version of Windows in her language!

[@jaimel88]

​@@masterchinese28 was that a very long time ago; why is that hard to believe? Many modern apps can be set to Romanche

[@MM126.90]

Well duh, obviously everyone on the F1 schedule needs a nap at some point

[@theconqueringram5295]

You know, it's still amazing that Monaco still exists today. It has a lot to do with diplomatic issues and luck. As a side note, from the end of the Middle Ages to a later after 1816, the Barbary pirates raided European coastlines around the Mediterranean and I read about Monacan history and I never read of an episode where the Barbary pirates raided Monaco.

[@jbshiva865]

They always paid bribes to make the pirates go away.

[@tomhenry897]

Maybe that’s where they sold their goods

[@algorithmsavior3820]

​@@tomhenry897maybe it was sort of like their Tortuga from Pirates of the Caribbean

[@jaywalkallstar]

Mostly it exists to be turned into a racetrack once a year.

[@JebuzzCrust56]

More than once!

[@grantorino2325]

"Monte Carlo" That's an awesome name for a global auto-racing center! CAR-lo. 🚗

[@joshuafredericksen5370]

This is one that deserved an old fashioned ten minute video.

[@LietunantGreek]

According to me only 22% of the planet knows that Monaco exist

[@grondhero]

I appreciate you citing your sources. 👍

[@overlord7523]

Most people know it thanks to Formula 1

[@LietunantGreek]

@@overlord7523 yes. That made me know Monaco

[@nizam-alem6761]

Monaco speaks its own language called Monegasque and it is a separate romance language

[@francesco245]

They speak French though.

[@marsspacex6065]

In the old days a small state like Monaco was common but most were taken over by larger countries.

[@Saruman38]

Just a little bit of trivia for your future videos: Charles de Gaulle had a moustache. It's kind of hard to see on the pictures of him when he was President, because his moustache had turned grey by that point, and most of the pictures are black and white, but it's there.

[@HMB106]

Another episode of “A question I’ve never thought to ask but now that I’ve seen the video title I want to know the answer”

[@Gorthan]

1:45 "Most of the country broke away". Fun fact: the flag of the Free Cities of Menton and Roquebrune is the first "official" use of the italian tricolour, one month before its adoption by Kingdom of Sardinia.

[@TheLocalLt]

For even more detail (and mapping) of Menton breaking away from Monaco’s rule and eventually being conquered by Mussolini’s army, there’s a recent video over on the Wayback history channel called “Mussolini’s Mediterranean Conquest: the only French city conquered by Italy in WWII”

[@Obi1Classic]

"Evasive accounting." Never change, my friend.

[@blockydude2253]

I had no idea Monaco was previously much larger

[@jdotoz]

I am ever appreciative of the way you say "raises the question" instead of "begs the question."

[@PercivalC]

You forgot Charles de Gaulle's moustache!

[@benjaminmclaren8782]

Little Monaco's so tiny you can see the Piers within. And Chile's very, very, very, very, very long and thin.

[@mohamadsufihaziq1692]

Do history of Brunei next please. Brunei is also a very small country but the country is very rich

[@mrterp04]

-Monte Carlo is a place in Monaco -Monaco has a car race -Monte Carlos are cars that have been run in races …yet no Monte Carlos have raced in Monaco.

[@NicolaW72]

🙃

[@harveya1a952]

Because James Bisonette owns it

[@dsebbebridge2674]

True

[@nrsrymj]

Actually a joint venture with Kelly moneymaker

[@Alexxoniel]

Currently watching this from Monaco! Funny little state. ❤

[@nightrider_]

I'd love to hear more about the kingdom of Sardinia. Even the history of the island as well. Had no idea they were involved in the Monaco debate.

[@lucianboar3489]

It's usually known as the kingdom of Piedmont or Sardinia-Piedmont since it was the mainland tegion of Piedmont that held the most power in every possible way. But the entity's origin is in Sardinia.

[@maasro]

@@lucianboar3489 No it isn't. Sardinia was given in exchange to the duke of Savoy to allow for the duke to keep the title of king. Originally, Savoy got (the kingdom of) Sicily after the war of Spanish succession, but when Spain attacked them over it a few years later, Austria stepped in and demanded as a reward to trade it for (the then far inferior) kingdom of Sardinia, which Austria had gotten from Spain after the war os Spanish Succession. The only upside for the house of Savoy was that they would still have a kingdom and therefore not lose the higher rank they had just attained.

[@lucianboar3489]

@@maasro that's what I mean about entity: the kingdom

[@DDLCMC]

I have been waited for this forever!

[@mikedrewson5545]

This guy makes my day.

[@rif.geo_]

You’re either a hardcore fan or a bot

[@mikedrewson5545]

The former

[@BOABModels]

It's a nation so tiny you can literally see the piers in the harbour on its outline.

[@Cnimail]

Makes a bloody good race track

[@dinsdaleseven1627]

Like most questions that start with "Why", the answer is almost always money.

[@TheHylianBatman]

I had no idea that Monaco used to be bigger. How interesting.

[@CYMotorsport]

So we can race there once a year duh

[@DarthVader-ig6ci]

Answer:- To host the Monaco Grand Prix.... here you go

[@rongendron8705]

I've been to Monaco twice, 1983, (mos. after Princess Grace's death) & 1997, plus have been in the vicinity, i.e. Cannes & Nice more recently & love the whole area! Since I saw the movie "To catch a thief" in 1955, at age 9, I swore to see this 'magical place', before I died & it did not disappoint me! I am still astounded that so many huge buildings could be built on such a small area of approx. 420 acres! A 'must see' for everyone!

[@pdruiz2005]

I've been to Monaco once, way long ago. It reminded me of a very high-end American suburb in, like, Malibu or somewhere in southern California. It was just as clean and creepily controlled and boring. Though, unlike California, the urban layout of the place was snug. Very snug. It took me all of 20 minutes to cross the country. :D

[@brendenwright7957]

I was honestly going to leave a comment on your previous video saying you should talk about why Monarco exists... and then I see this is the latest video..... Wow.

[@halite_g]

I initially read the thumbnail as "Does Monaco exist?"

[@michaelbrown7430]

Your patreon supporters have some of the best names

[@willlink7950]

Could you do a video on the history of Sardinia? I never really learned about it in school, probably because it doesn't exist anymore

[@arx3516]

You mean the island of Sardinia or the kingdom of Sardinia wich started the italian unification? I ask because they are two very different things.

[@CFS1822]

@@arx3516 actually sardinia as an autonomous status, so technically the state never ceased to exists.

[@quentintin1]

regarding the French blocus of Monaco, De Gaulle is reputed to have once said: "To blockade Monaco, all you need is to no-entry signs"

[@erikluning6361]

Me as an European I’ve always gone kinda crazy when thinking why such a small country existed. Like, “why it exist? Just make it a part of France!”

[@kvarterto4277]

What do you think Monaco feel when you write things like that? Hm?

[@billygoatgruff3536]

@@kvarterto4277 I'm sure all 6 of them would be very upset.

[@ritikshaw5868]

@@billygoatgruff3536 stop lying... there were only 2.. and a dog. I counted.

[@bluelaser1012]

I feel the same way about most of the tiny northeastern states that barely have the population of a mid-sized city. Just merge them all into Massachusetts

[@kvarterto4277]

@@billygoatgruff3536 As they have every right to be! Monacophobia must end!

[@BrammBass]

Every time I see a video from you, I know I am going to laugh and learn.

[@nrobnas]

"Things changed when some Chaps in France got some new ideas about monarchs and stuff..." You have a fantastic way of relaying information!

[@notusneo]

0:11 This also would be my reaction if i suddenly became an Italian

[@TheMrbadaboum]

De Gaulle famously said "to blockade Monaco, all you need are two no-go signs".

[@youtubeadministration8037]

The real question is why there isn't "short animated documentary" in each video title

[@JoelRipke]

For racing and yachts!

[@User-dyn]

And tax evasion!

[@syedlam9632]

We have to admit he never disappoints us with his contents

[@rif.geo_]

We have to admit you’re a bot

[@clydecessna737]

"A sunny place for shady people." - Somerset Maugham

[@oxonomy2372]

2:47 You can actually make out the T13 T14 swimming pool chicane