When it comes to countries that are "rich and oily", I believe that many people will think of the United Arab Emirates in the Middle East, and the name Dubai will appear in their minds. But in fact, the residents of some small european countries are rich enough to rival the residents of Dubai. Just like Monaco, a small country, it once became the "richest man in the world" with an annual income of $200,000 per capita.
But it was such a rich country that could not raise its head for 83 years, and even the royal family did not dare to exterminate. Once the royal family is extinct and the power of the state is not inherited by the royal family members, the entire country will be "legally annexed" by neighboring countries. It can be said that those 83 years are the last thing Monaco wants to mention, so why did Monaco come to this step?
This actually has a lot to do with Monaco's geographical location. As can be seen from the map, Monaco has only one neighbor, France, and is surrounded by France on three sides, with the only gap facing the Mediterranean Sea and facing Italy. It can be said that Monaco has been completely "dumplings" by France.
As for why Monaco has the crisis of "legal annexation" by France, we must start from the history of the Principality of Monaco. Don't look at this country as small, but its history can also be called "a year". Nearly 800 years ago, the Grimalti family occupied the Castle of Monaco and established a royal family in the area, ruling the area intermittently for nearly 700 years.
During this period, the Grimalti family expanded the Castle of Monaco into a principality, officially becoming a humble country on the European continent. But it is precisely because of a certain scale that Monaco has been targeted by the Spaniards. During the period when Spain was known as the "Empire of the Sun Never Sets", the Spaniards were the masters of Monaco and the "tentacles" of Spain reaching into the heart of Europe.
But when Spain's national strength was in decline, and it was no longer even the "empire where the sun never set", the Monaco people germinated the idea of rebellion. However, with tens of thousands of people in Monaco alone, it was not a rival to the Spaniards at all, and in order to be able to be independent, the Monegasque royal family invited France to sign a treaty with France in exchange for France sending troops to drive out the Spaniards.
In fact, Monaco's move was "just escaped from the wolf's den and fell into the tiger's mouth". Because the French did not want to leave when they came, they also wanted to turn this coastal area into their own territory. However, the French adopted a relatively mild approach, with 150 years of subtle influence on Monaco's incorporation into France.
After living in France for 21 years, Monaco decided to "split up". After 1814, Monaco broke away from France and declared itself autonomous. However, with its autonomy, Monaco could not escape the influence of France, and in order to make France recognize its independence, Monaco had to cede 90% of its land to France in exchange for national independence.
After the First World War, Monaco was completely unable to get rid of France. At that time, France promised to provide limited protection for Monaco, while forcing Monegasque state policy to guarantee French interests. More than that, a year later, France forced Monaco to sign a treaty promising that Monaco would be incorporated into France as soon as the royal family became extinct.
With this signed treaty, France had a reason to "legally annex" Monaco. For the next 83 years, Monaco's first priority was to ensure the healthy growth of the male members of the royal family. It was not until 2002, when the two countries amended the agreement, stipulating that "Monaco is an independent country even if the royal family is extinct", that Monaco was relieved.