The ANNOTICO Report
Is Monaco to allow the illegitimate black son of newly
crowned Prince
Albert II to become heir??
2-year-old Alexandre's mother, Nicole Coste is black,
and was born in the
West African republic of Togo.
A parallel is drawn by Rebecca Bibbs, in the Indianapolis
Star between
Prince Albert II and Alessandro de' Medici of Florence.
The parallel is
even deeper since the Grimaldi family are of Italian
ancestry, although
Monaco became a protectorate of France, much the same
way the French
Riviera, was extorted from Savoy/Italy.
Ms. Bibbs, needs to forsake her inaccurate cheerleading,
but not very
scholarly, black ethnocentrism.
Let's examine her article. First we must establish certain Guidelines.
All Africans are NOT Black!!! Generally speaking, North
Africans (Alto-
Saharan Desert) are Arabic, Central African (often referred
to as
Sub-Saharan Africans) are Black, and many South Africans
with Dutch (Boers)
or English Ancestry are White.
The term Moor meaning dark was used loosely by Northern
Europeans, many who
have a "pasty" flesh color, for ANYONE of merely darker
skin than their
skin (or anyone of color).For instance, Southern Italians
are referred to
by some Northern Italians as "moors".
It is claimed that the Moors who occupied Spain between
710 AD and 1492 AD
were Black. NO, they were Arabic,originating from Carthage,
near Tripoli,
who came from Phoenicia, present day Lebanon.
It is claimed that Septimius Serverus, in 193 A.D, a Caesar,
was a blackman
, a descendent of black Israelite Phoenicians who had
settled in North
Africa. (Carthage).NO, he was an Arabic Moor. That writer
may be getting
confused with Black Jews (Falasha) NOT involved here.
Cleopatra is claimed as Black, although she might NOT
have EVEN been
Arabic, because she was a descendent of Ptolemy, who
was the Greek general
who conquered Egypt, and established a dynasty there.
Nefertiti, also claimed as black, has the most aquiline
features, quite the
opposite of negroid.
I am not saying that there were NO Blacks of Importance
in Europe or Italy
prior to this Century.
But generally in their fanaticism, Black Radicals "see"
Black, where they
WISH to see Black, and there is NO Black, but perhaps
Arabic.
There was a black African bishop, the Congolese D. Henrique
(who was
ordained as bishop of Utica)
The first black saint – known as San Benedetto il moro
– lived in the
sixteenth century.
AND, most important to us Italophiles, Alessandro de'
Medici, the Duke of
Florence, whose profile by the very pro-black, "Great
People of Color" also
follows. In the obviously prejudiced and "colored" report,
even it has to
admit that Alessandro had the reputation of a libertine.
He starved his
mother to death to get her out of the way.He was an "absolute
monarch" in a
city with the strongest feelings of a republic, and was
thus very
unpopular, and is held to be a creature who would have
disgraced even "the
worst epochs of Roman villainy."
That Alessandro was a despot there is no doubt whatever.
He caused many who
dared oppose him to be stripped of their wealth and sent
into exile. His
greatest threat, Ippolito, who had greater claim to the
dukedom was
poisoned by the emissaries of Alessandro. In turn, Allessandro
was stabbed
to death in plot engineered by
Lorenzaccio, another heir who claimed superior lineage.
It basically states that Paris Match magazine revealed
recently that the
newly crowned Prince Albert II of Monaco had fathered
an illegitimate son.
The 2-year-old Alexandre's mother was born in the West
African republic of
Togo, and is Nicole Coste is presumably black, although
her familys status
is not known...
The only previous known instance of a mixed-race ruler
was Alessandro de
Medici.
Bibbs says that "the tainted blood of the Renaissance
duke courses through
the veins of the Italian nobility".
[RAA NOTE to Rebecca: It is somewhat of a hyperbole to
say that black blood
"courses through the veins of the Italian nobility" since
Alessandro de
Medici died with one son, Julian, and not much seems
to be known of him
!!!!]
Bibbs states Alessandro de Medici was born July 22 in
1510 to Simonetta da
Collavechio (in another place referred to as Anna), a
black servant in the
Medici household, and is believed to be the son of Cardinal
Giulio di
Medici... (and)
...In spite of his illegitimate status and less than
desirable roots,
Alessandro was declared hereditary duke of Florence in
1532. This made him
the first ruler of African descent in Western Europe.
[RAA Note to Rebecca: A Duke is NOT a King. Your cavalier
use of the term
"ruler" could make a mayor of a tiny village a "Ruler"]
Bibbs is of European and African descent.
You may see the Complete article at:
http://www.indystar.com/apps/
pbcs.dll/article?AID=
/20050723/OPINION/507230342/1002
To Students of color discrimination European history offers
no more
astonishing figure than Alessandro de' Medici, "The Moor,"
first reigning
Duke of Florence. His mother Anna was a fine and robust
black peasant of
Colle Vecchio, Italy, in the employ of Alfonsina Orsini,
a near relative of
Pope Clement VII, while his father is very generally
said to be the Pope
himself, who was then Cardinal de' Medici.
As Duke of Florence, Alessandro, after the death of Pope
Clement, became
the head of one of the most illustrious families in European
history--a
family that furnished a long roll of statesmen and patrons
of art, as well
as three popes, three kings of France, three queens,
and a mother of one of
England's kings.
Allesandro's nominal father, Lorenzo II, died while he
was still young and
left the dukedom to his brother Pope Clement VII, the
same who had a
dispute with Henry VIII over the divorce of Catherine
of Aragon. Living in
the Medici Palace with Alessandro were his cousin Ippolito
and his supposed
sister Catherine-the Catherine of the Massacre of St.
Bartholomew's Day.
They, with the Pope, were the last of the cider branch
of the family. Of
the four, all were illegitimate, except Catherine, and
perhaps Clement. But
being born out of wedlock in those days, especially in
the homes of the
great, was not a serious handicap. As in the Orient,
many of the noblest
names were carried on by a capable bastard who had proved
himself superior
to the legitimate offspring.
Alessandro made his debut into politics at a time critical
for the fortunes
of his family. The Pope, its head, was having considerable
difficulty
trying to preserve the orthodox faith, and with it his
hold on European
politics. Not only was he at odds with the Florentines,
but also with
Charles V, the Napoleon of his time, the ruler of Spain
and part of Italy
and France, all of Austria, Germany, and the Netherlands.
The quarrel between the Pope and the Florentines broke
into open revolt. An
attack was made on the palace and Cardinal Cortina, the
guardian of the
three children, fled, taking Alessandro and Ippolito.
The people held
Catherine as a hostage.
To make matters worse, Charles V defeated the Pope's ally,
Francis I of
France, and marching on Rome, sacked it. The Pope fled
and locked himself
up in the fortress of San Angelo.
The Pope, seeing that his only hope was to make peace
with Charles V,
promised him his entire support. If Charles dominated
the bodies of men,
the Pope would dominate their souls. Accordingly, a treaty
was made between
them, one of whose provisions was that the emperor should
restore the
Pope's family to power in Florence. To bind the agreement
a match was
arranged between Alessandro and the emperor's daughter
Margaret. She was
nine, Alessandro, twenty.
In fulfillment of his promise, the emperor sent an army
under the Prince of
Orange against Florence. The Florentines, among them
Michelangelo, fought
desperately for a year, but finally surrendered. They
were heavily fined
and had to yield to the government that the Pope and
the emperor imposed
upon them. This was a heavy blow to the Florentines who
had always prided
themselves on their independence. Their city, now made
into practically an
absolute monarchy, was given to Alessandro to rule with
the title of
duke.(2)
The young duke began his reign well. Cecchereghi, Italian
historian,
credits him with wit and wisdom, a fine sense of justice,
and "judgments
that would have done credit to a Solomon." He restored
to the Florentines
most of their former liberties. But numbers of them were
not content with a
monarchy. Besides, a good many were still bitter over
the war.
Into this stirring drama now steps a fourth character.
Mention has already
been made of him Ippolito de' Medici.
Ippolito felt that he and not Alessandro should have
been made head of the
family. He claimed not only priority of age, but nobler
birth, his mother
having been a noblewoman while Alessandro's was a servant,
perhaps even a
slave. He became Alessandro's worst foe and headed the
faction against him.
Varillas says:
When Ippolito understood that Pope Clement had decided
that Alessandro was
to be made heir to the riches and greatness of the House
of Medici, a great
change took place in him. He was seized with immense
anger and grief, as it
seemed to him that, being older and a nearer relative
of the Pope and
better endowed by nature that so rich an inheritance
and so brilliant a
marriage should be his; either not knowing, or refusing
to believe, the
secret rumors, that Alessandro was the son of Clement.
The Pope made Ippolito a cardinal, but this so little
contented him that he
disdained the high honor, preferring Hungarian dress
to the red hat.
An interesting light is thrown on the quarrel by Ambassador
Soriani, who
was an eyewitness. He says:
The Duke Alessandro shows that he has a good mind and
that he has the tact
to accommodate himself better to the nature and will
of the Pope than the
Cardinal Ippolito de Medici. Therefore, His Holiness
has made it evident to
me that he loves the Duke more than the Cardinal, and
expects very much
more from him. Many times in conversation with me, he
has told me that he
intends to make the Duke head of the Medici family and
to let him govern
Florence as his ancestors have done.
The most Rev. Cardinal Ippolito de Medici was twenty years
old on March 23,
1531. He has a good mind and has given some little time
to study, so that
in comparison with the other cardinals, he cannot be
considered as
ignorant. He is indeed of vivacious, one might almost
say, of a restless
nature, but perhaps it comes from his youth. (3)
He is very envious of the Duke because it seems to him
that the Pope did
him a great injustice in putting the Duke at the head
of the government of
Florence. He thinks himself of a better social crass
than the Duke whose
mother is a slave. The quarrel between the two gives
great displeasure to
His Holiness who is disgusted with the Cardinal for disturbing
his plans.
This question of the respective characters and merits
of the duke and of
Ippolito is still a subject of dispute among historians.
By some Alessandro
is painted as a just and able young man; by others he
is held to be a
creature who would have disgraced even "the worst epochs
of Roman
villainy."
Ippolito readily found a number of influential Florentines
to support his
claims. He continued his plotting until he was forced
to leave Florence for
Rome, where he found refuge, and where his home became
a center for all
those who fled from Duke Alessandro. Several attempts
were made on the
duke's life, after which he disarmed friend and foe.
He garrisoned the
towns and built the fortress of San Giovanni to dominate
the city. Many of
his enemies he caused to be stripped of their wealth
and sent into exile.
At last Ippolito decided to make a direct appeal to the
emperor Charles V,
who was on his way to attack the great African pirate,
Barbarossa. But
Ippolito never reached him; he died on the way, poisoned,
it is said, by
the emissaries of Alessandro.
Alessandro's troubles multiplied. To make matters worse,
the Pope died,
thus depriving him of his ablest counsellor. Alessandro,
in order to pacify
the people, began to give them fetes after the manner
of the old Roman
emperors. This only helped to give him the reputation
of a libertine-a
reputation that was not unjustified. It was a dissolute
age and Alessandro
was a part of it, but his enemies magnified those faults
that would have
been condoned in another ruler. When his mother died,
quite naturally, it
seems, he was accused of starving her to death to get
her out of the way.
At last the enemies of the duke took their case to the
emperor. The latter
summoned Alessandro before him, whereupon Alessandro
defended himself so
ably that he rose higher in the imperial favor. Charles
not only promised
him his full support but decided to hasten his daughter's
marriage to him.
In June, I536, the emperor visited Florence in great state,
and on the 16th
of that month the marriage was celebrated in gorgeous
style in the old
palace of the Medicis in the presence of the kings and
queens of the
leading countries of Europe.
This marriage, by the way, helps to throw some light on
the better side of
Alessandro's character. Charles V was just, devout, and
much beloved. Later
he voluntarily renounced his vast empire to follow a
life of solitary
meditation and Christian devotion. Is it logical to believe
that he would
have given his daughter to a monster such as Alessandro
has been painted,
especially after Clement died? (4)
That Alessandro was a despot there is no doubt whatever,
though some of the
blame must be placed on his adviser, Francesco Guicciardini,
an able
historian of Machiavellian tendencies. Enters now the
villain, Lorenzino,
better known as Lorenzaccio (The Wicked). Lorenzino,
who has been described
as "half-poet, half-madman," and who had been threatened
by the Pope with
hanging if ever he showed himself in Rome, for having
out of sheer
wantonness, knocked off the heads of some precious statues,
felt that since
Alessandro was illegitimate he, as the eldest offspring
of the younger
branch of the family, was the rightful heir. He began
to plot. To further
his intrigues he cultivated the good graces of the duke.
This was not
difficult as he had qualities that pleased the duke,
especially his
capacity for vice. Both soon became boon companions,
going about the
streets dressed as minstrels and serenading the Florentines.
Sometimes both
would ride on the same horse through the town.
When the enemies of Alessandro learned of Lorenzino's
real feelings toward
the duke, they decided to use him as the instrument of
their vengeance and
promised him the dukedom if Alessandro were put out of
the way.
Lorenzino readily fell in with this plan. Among his friends
was a soldier
named Michaele who was nicknamed Scoronconcolo because
of his wild and
turbulent disposition. A giant in physique, this ruffian
was devoted body
and soul to Lorenzino.
One day when Lorenzino said to him, "I want you to kill
the man I hate most
on earth," Michaele readily agreed. Accordingly, Lorenzino
invited the duke
to his home, promising him a rendezvous there with a
beautiful Venetian,
already married, of whom Alessandro was enamored: Signora
Ginori.
Alessandro left the palace masked, accompanied by his
two faithful guards,
Giacomo and Bobo. Arriving at Lorenzaccio's gate, he
sent the men to wait
for him at a wine shop and slipped in unseen. At the
door he was received
by Lorcnzaccio. All the servants had been dismissed.
Hidden within was
Michaele. The duke gave his coat to Lorenzaccio. The
latter urged him also
to lay his sword aside, and taking it, hid it in another
room.
...[Lorenzaccio then stabbed Alessandro]
Alessandro's bodyguards, hastened to tell the prime minister,
Cardinal
Cibo, who, fearing the effect of the news on th populace,
kept it secret
and buried the duke privately.
A council was at once summoned. Alessandro's son Julian
was named as his
successor, but as he was only five years old, he was
set aside in favor of
Cosimo, a member of the younger branch and a near relative
of Lorenzaccio.
One of Cosimo's first acts was to seek vengeance on Lorenzaccio,
who, safe
in France, declared that he had killed Alessandro and...
assumed a
Brutus-like pose and alleged that he had saved his country
from a tyrant.
For eleven years he eluded the emissaries of Cosimo, but
finally overtaken
in Venice, he was stabbed to death.
Margaret, Alessandro's widow, married the Duke of Parma
and became a
powerful figure in European politics. She was made regent
of the
Netherlands by her brother, King Philip of Spain.
The tomb into which Alessandro had been hurriedly thrust
was that of his
nominal father, the Duke of Urbino, under Michelangelo's
famous statue, "Il
Penseroso." For a long time this was disputed by historians.
To settle this
question, the Italian government ordered the tomb opened
in 1875.
Charles Heath Wilson, who was present, said that the two
dukes were lying
head to foot, that they were embalmed, and that Alessandro's
body was
clothed in an embroidered shirt. He also said that the
latter was easily
recognized by his hair, his mulatto cast of features,
and the traces of
wounds about his head and body Alessandro might have
gone far but for his
untimely death. Charles V was planning to make him general-in-chief
of his
armies in Italy.