Tiny sovereign principality on the French Riviera, ruled by the House of Grimaldi (with brief interruptions) since François Grimaldi seized the fortress-rock in 1297.
Comprehensive dynastic history of the House of Grimaldi from the 1297 seizure of Monaco to the modern principality.
Broad context for Monaco's 20th-century transformation into a banking/tourism microstate within postwar Western Europe (general regional context, not Monaco-specific).