If a young child is crowned the monarch, then aregent is often appointed to govern until the monarch reaches the requisite adult age to rule. Monarchs' actual powers vary from one monarchy to another and in different eras; on one extreme, they may beautocrats (absolute monarchy) wielding genuinesovereignty; on the other they may beceremonialheads of state who exercise little or no direct power or onlyreserve powers, with actualauthority vested in aparliament or other body (constitutional monarchy).
Monarchy is political or sociocultural in nature, and is generally (but not always) associated withhereditary rule. Most monarchs, both historically and in the present day, have been born and brought up within aroyal family (whose rule over a period of time is referred to as adynasty) and trained for future duties. Different systems ofsuccession have been used, such asproximity of blood (male preference or absolute),primogeniture,agnatic seniority,Salic law, etc. While traditionally most monarchs have been male, female monarchs have also ruled, and the termqueen regnant refers to a ruling monarch, as distinct from aqueen consort, the wife of a reigning king.
In recent centuries, many states have abolished the monarchy and becomerepublics. Advocacy of government by a republic is calledrepublicanism, while advocacy of monarchy is calledmonarchism. A principal advantage of hereditary monarchy is the immediate continuity of national leadership,[5] as illustrated in the classic phrase "The [old] King is dead. Long live the [new] King!". In cases where the monarch serves mostly as a ceremonial figure (e.g., most modern constitutional monarchies), real leadership does not depend on the monarch.
A form of government may, in fact, be hereditary without being considered a monarchy, such as a family dictatorship.
Monarchies take a wide variety of forms, such as the twoco-princes of Andorra, positions held simultaneously by the Roman Catholic bishop of Urgel (Spain) and the electedpresident of France (although strictly Andorra is adiarchy). Similarly, theYang di-Pertuan Agong ofMalaysia is considered a monarch despite only holding the position for five years at a time.
Hereditary succession within onepatrilineal family has been most common (but see theRain Queen), with a preference for children over siblings, and sons over daughters. In Europe, some people practiced equal division of land and regalian rights among sons or brothers, as in the Germanic states of the Holy Roman Empire, until after themedieval era and sometimes (e.g.,Ernestine duchies) into the 19th century. Other European realms practiced one or another form ofprimogeniture, in which alord was succeeded by his eldest son or, if he had none, by his brother, his daughters or sons of daughters.
The system oftanistry practiced among Celtic tribes was semi-elective and gave weight also to ability and merit.[6][7]
TheSalic law, practiced in France and in the Italian territories of theHouse of Savoy, stipulated that only men could inherit the crown. In mostfiefs, in the event of the demise of all legitimate male members of thepatrilineage, a female of the family could succeed (semi-Salic law). In most realms, daughters and sisters were eligible to succeed a ruling kinsman before more distant male relatives (male-preference primogeniture), but sometimes the husband of the heiress became the ruler, and most often also received the title,jure uxoris. Spain today continues this model of succession law, in the form ofcognatic primogeniture. In more complex medieval cases, the sometimes conflicting principles ofproximity andprimogeniture battled, and outcomes were often idiosyncratic.
As the average life span increased, the eldest son was more likely to reach majority age before the death of his father, and primogeniture became increasingly favored over proximity, tanistry, seniority, and election.
In 1980,Sweden became the first monarchy to declareequal primogeniture,absolute primogeniture orfull cognatic primogeniture, meaning that the eldest child of the monarch, whether female or male, ascends to the throne.[8] Other nations have since adopted this practice:Netherlands in 1983,Norway in 1990,Belgium in 1991,Denmark in 2009, andLuxembourg in 2011.[9][10] TheUnited Kingdom adopted absolute (equal) primogeniture on April 25, 2013, followingagreement by the prime ministers of the sixteen Commonwealth Realms at the 22nd Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.[11]
In some monarchies, such asSaudi Arabia, succession to the throne usually first passes to the monarch's next eldest brother and so on through his other brothers, and only after them to the monarch's children (agnatic seniority). In some other monarchies (e.g.,Jordan), the monarch chooses who will be his successor within the royal family, who need not necessarily be his eldest son.
Lastly, some monarchies areelective (UAE,Malaysia,Holy See andCambodia), meaning that the monarch is elected instead of assuming office due to direct inheritance. Rules and laws regarding election vary country to country.[12]
Whatever the rules of succession, there have been many cases of a monarch being overthrown and replaced by a usurper who would often install his own family on the throne.
Central andSouthern Africa were largely isolated from other regions until the modern era, but they did later feature kingdoms like theKingdom of Kongo (1400–1914).
TheZulu people formed a powerfulZulu Kingdom in 1816, one that was subsequently absorbed into theColony of Natal in 1897. TheZulu king continues to hold a hereditary title and an influential cultural position in contemporary South Africa, although he has no direct political power. Other tribes in the country, such as theXhosa and theTswana, have also had and continue to have a series of kings and chiefs (namely theInkosis and theKgosis) whose local precedence is recognised, but who exercise no legal authority.
As part of theScramble for Africa, seven European countries invaded and colonized most of the African continent.[13]
Currently, the African nations ofMorocco,Lesotho, andEswatini are sovereign monarchies under dynasties that are native to the continent. Places likeSt. Helena,Ceuta,Melilla and theCanary Islands are ruled by theking of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland or theking of Spain. So-called "sub-national monarchies" of varying sizes can be found all over the rest of the continent, e.g., theYoruba city-state ofAkure in south-westernNigeria is something of an elective monarchy: its reigningOba, theDeji, has to be chosen by an electoral college ofnobles from amongst a finite collection of royal princes of the realm upon the death or removal of an incumbent.
A map of Europe exhibiting the continent's monarchies (red) and republics (blue)Elizabeth II was the monarch of independent countries in Europe, Asia, Africa, Oceania, and the Americas.
Within theHoly Roman Empire different titles were used by nobles exercising various degrees of sovereignty within their borders (see below). Such titles were granted or recognized by the emperor or pope. Adoption of a new title to indicate sovereign or semi-sovereign status was not always recognized by other governments or nations, sometimes causingdiplomatic problems.
During the nineteenth century, many small monarchies in Europe merged with other territories to form larger entities, and followingWorld War I andWorld War II, manymonarchies were abolished, but of those remaining, all except Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, Andorra, Vatican City, and Monaco were headed by a king or queen.
In China, before the abolition of the monarchy in 1912, theemperor of China was traditionally regarded as the ruler of "All under heaven". "King" is the usual translation for the termwang (王), the sovereign before theQin dynasty and during theTen Kingdoms period. During the earlyHan dynasty, China had a number of kingdoms, each about the size of aprovince and subordinate to the Emperor.
In Korea,Daewang (great king), orWang (king), was a Chinese royal style used in many states rising from the dissolution ofGojoseon,Buyeo,Goguryeo,Baekje,Silla,Balhae,Goryeo, andJoseon. The legendaryDangun Wanggeom founded the first kingdom, Gojoseon. Some scholars maintain that the termDangun also refers to a title used by all rulers of Gojoseon and thatWanggeom is the proper name of the founder.Gyuwon Sahwa (1675) describes The Annals of theDangun as a collection of nationalistic legends. The monarchs of Goguryeo and some monarchs of Silla used the titleTaewang, meaning "Greatest King". The early monarchs of Silla used the titles ofGeoseogan,Chachaung,Isageum, and finallyMaripgan until 503. The titleGun (prince) can refer to the dethroned rulers of the Joseon dynasty as well. Under theKorean Empire (1897–1910), the rulers of Korea were given the title ofHwangje, meaning the "emperor". Today, Members of theKorean Imperial family continue to participate in numerous traditional ceremonies, and groups exist to preserve Korea's imperial heritage.[citation needed]
TheJapanese monarchy is now the only monarchy to still use the title of emperor.
In modern history, between 1925 and 1979, Iran was ruled by two emperors from thePahlavi dynasty that used the title of "Shahanshah" (or "King of Kings"). The last Iranian Shahanshah was KingMohammad Reza Pahlavi, who was forced to abdicate the throne as a result of a revolution in Iran. In fact the Persian (Iranian) kingdom goes back to about 2,700 BC (seelist of kings of Persia), but reached its ultimate height and glory when KingCyrus the Great (known as "The Great Kourosh" in Iran) started theAchaemenid dynasty. Under his rule, the empire embraced all the previous civilized states ofthe ancient Near East, expanded vastly and eventually conquered most ofSouthwest Asia and much ofCentral Asia and the Caucasus. From theMediterranean Sea andHellespont in the west to theIndus River in the east, Cyrus the Great created the largest empire the world had yet seen.
Thailand and Bhutan are like the United Kingdom in that they are constitutional monarchies ruled by a king.Jordan and many other Middle Eastern monarchies are ruled by aMalik and parts of theUnited Arab Emirates, such asDubai, are still ruled by monarchs.
Saudi Arabia is the largest Arab state in Western Asia by land area and the second-largest in the Arab world (after Algeria). It was founded byAbdul-Aziz bin Saud in 1932, although the conquests which eventually led to the creation of the kingdom began in 1902 when he capturedRiyadh, the ancestral home of his family, theHouse of Saud; succession to the throne was limited to sons of Ibn Saud until 2015, whena grandson was elevated to Crown Prince. The Saudi Arabian government has been an absolute monarchy since its inception, and designates itself asIslamic. The King bears the title "Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques" in reference to the two holiest places in Islam:Masjid al-Haram inMecca, andMasjid al-Nabawi inMedina.
Oman is led by SultanHaitham bin Tariq Al Said. TheKingdom of Jordan is one of theMiddle East's more modern monarchies is also ruled by amalik. In Arab and Arabized countries,malik (absolute King) is the absolute word to render a monarch and is superior to all other titles.Nepal abolished their monarchy in 2008.Sri Lanka had a complex system of monarchies from 543 BC to 1815. Between 47–42 BC, Anula of Sri Lanka became the country's first female head of state as well as Asia's first head of state.[dubious –discuss]
InMalaysia's constitutional monarchy, theYang di-Pertuan Agong (the supreme lord of the federation) isde facto rotated every five years among the nine rulers of the Malay states of Malaysia (those nine of the thirteen states of Malaysia that have hereditary royal rulers), elected byMajlis Raja-Raja (Conference of Rulers).
UnderBrunei's 1959 constitution, thesultan of Brunei is the head of state with full executive authority, including emergency powers, since 1962. Prime Minister of Brunei is a title held by the sultan. As the prime minister, the sultan presides over the cabinet.
Cambodia has been a kingdom since the 1st century. The power of the absolute monarchy was reduced when it became theFrench Protectorate of Cambodia from 1863 to 1953. It returned to an absolute monarchy from 1953 until the establishment of a republic following the1970 coup. The monarchy was restored as a constitutional monarchy in 1993 with the king as a largely symbolic figurehead.
Bhutan has been an independent kingdom since 1907. The firstDruk Gyalpo (Dragon King) was elected and thereafter became a hereditary absolute monarchy. It became a constitutional monarchy in 2008.
The concept of monarchy existed in the Americas long before the arrival of European colonialists.[14][15] When the Europeans arrived they referred to these tracts of land within territories of different aboriginal groups to be kingdoms, and the leaders of these groups were often referred to by the Europeans as Kings, particularly hereditary leaders.[16]
Sha-quan – King of the world used in some Native American tribes
The first local monarch to emerge in North America after colonization wasJean-Jacques Dessalines, who declared himselfEmperor of Haiti on September 22, 1804.[17] Haiti again had an emperor,Faustin I from 1849 to 1859. In South America, Brazil[18] had a royal house ruling as emperor between 1822 and 1889, under emperorsPedro I andPedro II.
Between 1931 and 1983, nine other previous British colonies attained independence as kingdoms. All, including Canada, are in apersonal union relationship under a shared monarch. Therefore, though today there are legally ten American monarchs, one person occupies each distinct position.
In addition to these sovereign states, there are also a number of sub-national ones. InBolivia, for example, theAfro-Bolivian king claims descent from an African dynasty that was taken from its homeland and sold into slavery. Though largely a ceremonial title today, the position ofking of the Afro-Bolivians is officially recognized by the government of Bolivia.
Polynesian societies were ruled by anariki from ancient times. The title is variously translated as "supreme chief", "paramount chief" or "king".
TheKingdom of Tahiti was founded in 1788. Sovereignty was ceded toFrance in 1880 although descendants of thePōmare dynasty claim the title of King of Tahiti.
TheKingdom of Hawaii was established in 1795 and overthrown in 1893.
Tonga is the only remaining sovereign kingdom in Oceania. It has had a monarch since the 10th century and became a constitutional monarchy in 1875. In 2008, KingGeorge Tupou V relinquished most of the powers of the monarchy and the position is now largely ceremonial.
InNew Zealand the position ofMāori King was established in 1858. The role is largely cultural and ceremonial and has no legal power.
^L Gomes. 1889: como um imperador cansado, um marechal vaidoso e um professor injustiçado contribuíram para a o fim da monarquia e programação da republica no Brasil. Globo Livros. 2013.
Sources
Girard, Philippe R. (2011).The Slaves Who Defeated Napoleon: Toussaint Louverture and the Haitian War of Independence 1801–1804. Tuscaloosa, Alabama: The University of Alabama Press.ISBN978-0-8173-1732-4.
Schutt-Ainé, Patricia (1994).Haiti: A Basic Reference Book. Miami, Florida: Librairie Au Service de la Culture. pp. 33–35, 60.ISBN978-0-9638599-0-7.
.svg)
_(cropped).svg)
