that can close to keep them safe.
A mollusk
called the
giant squid is
the largest
living
invertebrate,
or animal
without a
backbone.
BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Mollusk 157
Monaco
Only one nation in the world, Vatican
City, is smaller than the tiny European
country of Monaco. Monaco is so small
that it does not have a capital or any
other separate cities. The country is a
principality, which means that a prince
is the ruler.
Geography
The Mediterranean Sea forms Monaco’s
southeastern border. France surrounds
the country on all other sides. Monaco is
about 5 miles (8 kilometers) west of the
border between France and Italy. It lies
within the coastal area called the French
Riviera.
Buildings and roads cover almost all of
the land. The Rock of Monaco is a piece
of high land that sticks out into the sea.
It contains the royal palace and a Roman
Catholic cathedral. Palm trees, evergreen
shrubs, and flowering plants grow in
Monaco’s gardens.
People
The citizens of Monaco are called the
Monegasque. However, most of the
people who live in Monaco are citizens
of France or Italy. The main language is
French. Roman Catholicism is the
national religion.
Economy
Monaco’s chief industry is tourism.
Many rich tourists visit the famous gambling
casino in the section of Monaco
called Monte-Carlo. Tourists also enjoy
Monaco’s beaches and harbor and the
city’s famous automobile races. Banking
and financial services are important to
the economy as well. The citizens of
Monaco do not pay taxes on the money
they earn.
History
The Grimaldi family from Genoa, Italy,
took control of Monaco in 1297. The
head of the family took the title of
prince in 1659. In 1911 one of the
Grimaldi princes, Albert I, gave Monaco
a constitution. His great-grandson,
Rainier III, married Grace Kelly, a U.S.
movie star, in 1956. After Rainier III’s
death in 2005, his son, Albert II,
became prince.
..More to explore
Mediterranean Sea
The tiny country of Monaco has a busy harbor
on the Mediterranean Sea.
Facts About
MONACO
Population
(2008 estimate)
34,300
Area
0.75 sq mi (1.95
sq km)
Capital
The principality is
a single administrative
unit. No
separate area
within it is distinguished
as the
capital.
Form of
government
Constitutional
monarchy
158 Monaco BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA
Monarchy
A monarchy is a form of government
that has a single person known as a
monarch at its head. Monarchs use such
titles as king, queen, emperor, or
empress. Monarchies were once common
throughout the world, but now
they are rare.
Monarchs generally reign for life. Also,
most monarchies are hereditary. This
means that when the monarch dies, a
son, daughter, or other relative becomes
the next monarch. However, some early
monarchs were elected. Germany’s Holy
Roman Empire continued this tradition.
Forms of Monarchy
There are several kinds of monarchy. In
an absolute monarchy, the monarch
rules with unlimited power. Absolute
monarchy is less common today than
constitutional monarchy. A constitutional,
or limited, monarchy has an
elected government that runs the country.
The monarch has very little power.
History
Monarchies have existed since people
first started forming civilizations. In
early times some peoples, such as the
ancient Egyptians, saw their monarchs
as godlike or as actual gods. Beginning
in the 1500s many European monarchs
claimed that their power came directly
from God. This idea was called the
divine right of kings.
By the 1700s, however, more and more
citizens had come to see monarchs not
as divine rulers but as brutal tyrants. In
1776 the American Colonies broke away
from the British monarchy. They formed
a republic—a country ruled by the
people. As more colonies around the
world gained independence, they almost
always ended up as republics and not
monarchies. WorldWar I (1914–18)
brought an end to important European
monarchies, including those of Russia,
Germany, and Austria-Hungary.
Today monarchies survive in the United
Kingdom, Spain, Sweden, The Netherlands,
Morocco, Jordan, Japan, and several
other countries. These are all
constitutional monarchies. Stronger
forms of monarchy exist in Saudi Arabia
and Swaziland.
#More to explore
Government • Republic
Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev sits on a
special chair after becoming king of Nepal
in 2001. The chairs of monarchs are often
called thrones.
BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Monarchy 159
Monet, Claude
Claude Monet was a French artist
known for painting in the style called
impressionism. Monet was famous during
his lifetime, and his paintings
remain popular today. They are on display
in art museums around the world.
Claude Monet was born on November
14, 1840, in Paris, France. He drew and
painted as a young man. In the 1860s he
became friends with other artists,
including Pierre-Auguste Renoir. The
group of artists became known as the
impressionists because of Monet’s painting
called Impression: Sunrise.
Most of Monet’s subjects were from
nature. Like other impressionists, he was
fascinated by the way light and shadows
change during the day. He often painted
the same scene again and again to show
all the variations of light and shadow.
