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Principality

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Politics and government

   A principality (or princedom) is a monarchical feudatory or sovereign
   state, ruled or reigned over by a Monarch with the title of prince or
   princess, or (in the widest sense) a Monarch with another title within
   the generic use of the term prince.
   His Serene Highness Albert II, Prince of Monaco (on the left)
   represents a principality where he wields administrative power. His
   Royal Highness The Prince Charles, Prince of Wales represents a titular
   principality with no administrative power.
   Enlarge
   His Serene Highness Albert II, Prince of Monaco (on the left)
   represents a principality where he wields administrative power. His
   Royal Highness The Prince Charles, Prince of Wales represents a titular
   principality with no administrative power.

Terminology

   Some have never been an actual polity, but simply a territorial
   denomination in chief of which a princely style is held, with or even
   without an often more modest estate and/or income, both of which may
   even be (at least partially) outside the geographical confines of the
   principality.

   Surviving sovereign principalities are Liechtenstein, Monaco, and the
   co-principality of Andorra. Extant royal primogenitures styled
   principality include Asturias (Spain), and Wales (UK).

   The term is also sometimes used as a generic term for any monarchy,
   especially for other small sovereign states ruled by a Monarch of a
   lesser rank (compare Fürst) than King, for instance grand duchies,
   whose monarch is a Grand Duke or Duchess. No sovereign duchy currently
   exists, but Luxembourg is a surviving example of a sovereign grand
   duchy. Historically there have been sovereign principalities of many
   ruler styles, such as countships, margraviates and even Lordships.

   Notable principalities existed until the early 20th century in various
   regions of France, Germany and Italy.

   While the definition would fit a princely state perfectly, the
   historical tradition is to reserve that word for native monarchies in
   colonial countries, principality for the Western monarchies, which this
   page is therefore devoted to.

Western principalities

Development

   Though principalities existed in Antiquity, before the height of the
   Roman Empire, the modern principality as it is known today evolved into
   being in the Middle Ages between 350 and 1450 when feudalism was the
   primary economic system employed by Eurasian societies. Feudalism
   increased the power of local princes to govern the king's lands. As
   princes continued to gain more power over time, the authority of the
   king was diminished in many places. This led to political fragmentation
   and the king's lands were broken into mini-states led by princes and
   dukes who wielded absolute power over their small territories. This was
   especially prevalent in Europe, and particularly with the Princes of
   the Holy Roman Empire.

   During the period known as the Renaissance from 1200 to 1500,
   principalities were engaged in constant warfare with each other as
   royal houses asserted sovereignty over smaller principalities. These
   wars caused a great deal of instability and economies were destroyed.
   To add insult to injury, the bubonic plague reduced the power of
   principalities to survive independently. But eventually, agricultural
   successes, development of new goods and services to trade and
   patronization by the Roman Catholic Church boosted commerce between
   principalities. These states became wealthy and expanded their
   territories and improved the services provided to their citizens.
   Princes and dukes developed their lands, established new ports and
   chartered large thriving cities. Some took their new found wealth and
   built the first palaces and elaborate government offices people now
   associate with principalities.

Consolidation

   While some principalities prospered in their independence, less
   successful states were swallowed by stronger royal houses. Europe saw
   consolidation of small principalities into larger kingdoms and empires.
   This trend directly led to the creation of such states as Great
   Britain, France, Portugal, and Spain. Another form of consolidation was
   orchestrated in Italy during the Renaissance by the Medici family. A
   banking family from Florence, the Medici took control of governments in
   various Italian regions and even assumed the papacy. They then
   appointed family members to become princes and assured their protection
   by the Medici-controlled Vatican.

Nationalism

   Nationalism, the belief that the nation-state is the best vehicle to
   realize the aspirations of a people became popular in the late 19th
   century. Characteristic of nationalism is the preference for loyalty to
   the people instead of loyalty to monarchs. With this development,
   principalities fell out of favour. As a compromise, many principalities
   united with neighboring regions and adopted constitutional forms of
   government with the monarch as a mere figurehead while administration
   was left at the hands of elected parliaments. The trend after World War
   II was the abolition of various forms of monarchy like principalities
   and the creation of republican governments led by popularly elected
   presidents.

Ecclesiastical principalities

   Principalities where genealogical inheritance is replaced by succession
   in a religious office have existed in significant number in the Roman
   Catholic Church, in each case consisting of a feudal polity (often a
   former secular principality lato sensu, such as a lordship,
   countship...) held ex offico -the closest possible equivalent to
   hereditary succession- by a Prince of the church, styled more precisely
   according to his ecclesiastical rank, such as Prince-bishop,
   Prince-abbot and, especially as a form of crusader state, Grand Master.

Other principalities

Non-western and colonial world

   Principalities have existed in ancient and modern civilizations of
   Africa, Asia, Pre-Columbian America and Oceania.

   However in the colonial context, the term princely states is generally
   preferred, specially for those that came under the sway of a Western
   colonizing power, e.g. the British Indian and neighbouring or
   associated (e.g. Arabian) princely states were ruled by Monarchs called
   Princes by the British, regardless of the native styles, which could be
   equivalent to royal or even imperial rank in the autochthonous
   cultures.

Micronations claiming to be principalities

   Several micronations, which claim sovereignty but are not recognized as
   states, also claim the status of sovereign principalities, the most
   notable in Europe being Sealand off the coast of England and Seborga, a
   small town in Italy; micronational principalities elsewhere include the
   Principality of Hutt River in Australia, the Principality of Minerva in
   the South Pacific.

Other uses

   The Principalities are one of nine orders of angels in medieval
   angelology, the 7th in the hierarchy.

   A lunchtime conversational topic, which requires research and
   confirmation by a Lizbrarian.

   A fictional country, called The Principality of Belka, is one of the
   countries in the Ace Combat game series.

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   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
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