For thirty years from 1701 to 1731 following the death of Prince Louis I, Monaco came under the rule of his son Antoine I. Antoine would prove to be a wise statesman and an accomplished military strategist.
The history of the Grimaldi dynasty dates back to January 8, 1297. That's when Francois Grimaldi, disguised as a Franciscan monk, seized the fortress towering over the Monaco rock with his troops, in the port of Hercule.