Monaco · 500 years of the Treaty of Burgos with Charles V.

Charles V of the House of Habsburg had been king of the Spanish realms since 1516 and was elected King of the Romans in 1519. As emperor, he ruled over a widely dispersed dominion that included not only Spain and the Habsburg hereditary lands, but also the Netherlands, territories in Italy, and possessions in the Americas. His reign was marked by the conflict with the French king Francis I. The Italian Wars were a central theatre of this rivalry.

Monaco lay on the border between the spheres of influence of France, Genoa, and the Habsburg-Spanish power in Italy. The port and the fortress on the rock were strategically important for controlling the Ligurian coast and the sea routes in the western Mediterranean. Following the assassination of the Monegasque ruler Lucien Grimaldi in 1523, his brother Augustin Grimaldi, Bishop of Grasse, assumed the regency for the underage Honoré I. In this politically uncertain situation, he sought the support of Charles V.

The agreements concluded in 1524 placed Monaco under the protection of the emperor, or Spain. The rule of the Grimaldi remained intact, while Monaco was integrated into the Habsburg-Spanish alliance system. As a result, a Spanish garrison was stationed in the principality. The associated political and financial burdens repeatedly led to tensions.

The Spanish protectorate lasted until 1641. Under Honoré II, Monaco switched to the side of France; the Treaty of Péronne established French protection, and the Spanish garrison was expelled. The treaty with Charles V thus represents an early phase of Monegasque foreign policy, in which the Grimaldi secured their rule through alliances with the European great powers. The anniversary gave Monaco an opportunity to commemorate this diplomatic realignment and the long continuity of Grimaldi rule.