කුමාරධානි

A principality (or princedom) is a feudatory or sovereign state, ruled or reigned over by a with the title of or princess, or (in the widest sense) a monarch with another title within the generic use of the term prince.

Terminology

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

Surviving sovereign principalities are Liechtenstein, , and the co-principality of . Extant royal styled principality include (Spain), and (UK). The term "principality" is often used informally to describe Wales as it currently exists, but this has no constitutional basis. The existed in the northern and western parts of Wales between the 13th and 16th centuries; the which legally incorporated (until the 20th century) removed the distinction between that area and the , but no principality covering the whole of Wales was created thereafter. Since that time, the title (together with ) has been a title traditionally granted to the heir apparent to the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom, but it confers no responsibilities for government in Wales.

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 ) than King, for instance , whose monarch is a or . No sovereign 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 ප්‍රංශය, ජර්මනිය and Italy.

While the definition would fit a 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 , the modern principality as it is known today evolved into being in the between 350 and 1450 when was the primary 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 as 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 යුරෝපය, and particularly with the .

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 reduced the power of principalities to survive independently. But eventually, agricultural successes, development of new goods and services to trade and patronisation 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 newfound 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 and . This trend directly led to the creation of such states as , ප්‍රංශය, පෘතුගාලය, and ස්පාඤ්ඤය. Another form of consolidation was orchestrated in Italy during the Renaissance by the family. A banking family from , the Medici took control of governments in various Italian regions and even assumed the . They then appointed family members to become princes and assured their protection by the Medici-controlled Vatican.

Nationalism

, the belief that the nation-state is the best vehicle to realise 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 neighbouring 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 දෙවන ලෝක යුද්ධය 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 , in each case consisting of a feudal polity (often a former secular principality sensu lato, such as a Lordship, Countship...) held ex offico -the closest possible equivalent to hereditary succession- by a , styled more precisely according to his ecclesiastical rank, such as , and, especially as a form of crusader state, .

Other principalities

Non-western and colonial world

Principalities have existed in ancient and modern civilisations of Africa, ආසියාව, and Oceania.

However in the colonial context, the term is generally preferred, specially for those that came under the sway of a Western colonising power, e.g., the 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 , which claim sovereignty but are not recognised as states, also claim the status of sovereign principalities, the most notable in Europe being off the coast of England and , a small town in Italy; other micronational principalities elsewhere include the in Australia and the in the South Pacific.

Other uses

A fictional country, the Principality of , is one of the countries in the game series.

In the TV anime universe, the Principality of Zeon was a space colony which declared its independence and waged war against the .

In 's series the , the protagonist, , is the Crown Princess of the imaginary country of . Mia's father is the Prince Regnant of the country, making it a principality by definition.

Some of the kingdoms in the include principalities among the smaller regions which comprise the overall kingdom. The principalities are governed by a Prince and Princess, chosen through rite of combat, and these in turn are governed by the King and Queen of the kingdom in which they exist.

Users of the internet game may create principalities.

See also

• Liechtenstein

Sources and references

(incomplete)

• WorldStatesmen

References

1. History of Wales