The territory of some countries in the world is pitifully small. Are they all? Pocket? Level, but its assets are amazing. Moreover, it has a strong influence and intelligence network, and can even pose an important threat to the world's superpowers. Among them, there are countries rich in resources such as Brunei, countries prosperous by tourism such as San Marino, and countries with nothing but extreme wealth such as Vatican.

So how did these countries get rich? What's the impact on the world?

Above _ Map of Monaco

All people are rich. In Monaco, someone once joked that all the people driving BMWs on the roadside in the country are poor, Ferrari or McLaren are everywhere, and luxury cars are flying everywhere. In fact, this country is not so rich, but as a small country, it has its own way of making money. Monaco's secret is just one word? Gambling.

Monaco and Macao have the same means of getting rich. 1856 after Monaco's economic crisis, gambling was generally banned in European countries at that time, and Monaco was endowed with unique natural tourism resources, so the king of Monaco ordered the opening of this industry, and huge profits flowed into this small country instantly, making it a tourist attraction. So Monaco got rid of the economic crisis and became rich quickly.

Above _ Map of Brunei

However, not every country takes crooked ways. For example, Brunei is also very rich. Every family not only enjoys high subsidies, but also the expenses for studying abroad are all borne by the state. Its small land area is in sharp contrast to its huge foreign exchange reserves, but its road to prosperity depends on three words? Selling oil. Brunei's high oil revenue and high reserves of1400 million barrels make this country a rich country in Southeast Asia comparable to Singapore.

However, compared with Monaco and Brunei, some countries are more aggressive. For example, Nauru, the smallest island country in the world, has almost no resources except bird droppings, but bird droppings in this country have actually become its strongest export product. Because this country is built on an island formed by the solidification of bird droppings, it is easy to mine bird droppings into phosphate, and exporting phosphate is one of the main incomes of this country.

Above _ Map of Nauru

However, this method of digging ancestral graves and fishing is really harmful. Nauru's own islands have basically been hollowed out, so now the country's main income depends on being a tax haven to pay interest and is still looking for a new home.

In contrast, the Italian city-state San Marino is much more scientific. As a city-state, San Marino is completely surrounded by Italy, but it makes a living by selling stamps and traveling, with high income. Residents of San Marino also eat well. These small countries are rich, but they are not bad compared with the small countries below.

To say that the smallest and most awesome country in the world is undoubtedly the Vatican.

Above _ Vatican Map

Vatican is the smallest country in the world, with an area of 0.449 square kilometers. How small is this area? It's about the size of Tiananmen Square.

Although the Vatican is such a small country, its internal organs are as complete as its internal organs, and its government departments are very complete, except barbershops, which are basically available in the Vatican. Although the Vatican has no agricultural industry, it has hundreds of multinational enterprises, tens of billions of dollars in assets and a huge and complete intelligence agency. Worldwide, more than one billion Catholics have been influenced by the Vatican, making it the best small country.

Maybe some people will express their dissatisfaction when it comes to this. Stalin once said: Pope, how many armored divisions does he have? ? This sentence is by no means an infinite contempt for the Pope. After all, the Vatican has no soldiers (mercenaries provided by Switzerland) and no industrial capacity, but its role is much greater than Stalin saw.

Above _ Stalin (187865438+February18? 1953 March 5)

1978, Paul (Lu) II was elected Pope. The Polish Pope was extremely hostile to the then Polish Workers' Party. As a result, the Polish authorities learned of the western conspiracy and refused to issue a passport to the Pope. He mobilized churches all over Poland to preach in Poland. 90% of the population in Poland believes in Catholicism, which immediately put great pressure on the authorities.

In desperation, Poland announced that Paul could come to Poland. As a result, after the goods arrived in Poland, various operations were jaw-dropping. First, he kissed the land of Victory Square in Poland and announced the so-called? History can't reject Christ? Then he hugged Walesa, the then famous Polish opposition leader, and at 1987, he even publicized it all over Poland. Poland? We must strive for political pluralism first? The Pope's actions directly accelerated the drastic changes in Poland.

Above _ If you wish? Paul II

It can be said that Stalin's armored division is not necessarily comparable to the power of the Pope. For example, in the Italian general election in 1948, the Italian left wing had gained certain advantages and could take over the political power, but the Pope directly launched 18000 churches in 300 parishes, which affected more than 3 million people to vote. The pope asked the priests to try their best to encourage voters not to vote for the left wing. The slogan was clear: Vote for Christians, vote for Christian Democrats? .

As a result, the Italian left wing was defeated in the face of a powerful election offensive. The Vatican and the United States have always maintained very close ties. The establishment of the CIA, many places refer to the Vatican's intelligence model. The Vatican's intelligence network is spread all over the world and has one of the most powerful intelligence systems in the world. Vatican missionaries have both secular and religious identities. When you need religious identity, more than diplomats? Immune? The Vatican exists, but secular identity can enter and leave various places. It can be said that the Vatican has a wide range of information sources, so its tens of billions of investments in Europe can be said to be like a duck to water.

Above _ Christian oil painting

US Secretary of State Haig once said: No matter from any angle, the information obtained by the Vatican is definitely more accurate and faster than that obtained by us. Although we also have good channels to get information, it takes a long time to reach us. The alliance between the Vatican and the United States ensures the Vatican's strong position. Whether the establishment of diplomatic relations between the United States and Cuba or the Vietnam War, the shadow of the Pope is hidden.

The Vatican's special status, seemingly neutral, is actually biased towards the actual status of the United States, making it very powerful and becoming the religious America? Lighthouse? .

It can be said that the Vatican is not the same as other countries, and this small country is not small, so many scholars think that the Vatican is comparable to other big countries? The world hides power? .

Text: Sanqing Miao Yin

References:

1 yang yousun on the role of religious factors in the peaceful evolution of the United States against Poland.

2 Adam? Shaf. United States-Vatican "Holy Alliance"

3 Popper's Comments on Capitalism and Market Economy

The text was created by the team of History University Hall, and the pictures originated from the Internet and belonged to the original author.