French social commentator and political thinker (1689–1755)
This article is about the French philosopher. For other uses, see Montesquieu (disambiguation).
Montesquieu
Portrait by an anonymous artist, c. 1753–1794
Born
18 January 1689
Château de la Brède, La Brède, Aquitaine, France
Died
10 February 1755(1755-02-10) (aged 66)
Paris, France
Spouse
Jeanne de Lartigue
(m. 1715)
Children
3
Era
18th-century philosophy
Region
Western philosophy
School
Enlightenment Classical liberalism
Main interests
Political philosophy
Notable ideas
Separation of state powers: executive, legislative, judicial; classification of systems of government based on their principles
Signature
Charles Louis de Secondat, Baron de La Brède et de Montesquieu (French pronunciation:[ʃaʁllwidəsəɡɔ̃dabaʁɔ̃dəlabʁɛdedəmɔ̃tɛskjø]; 18 January 1689 – 10 February 1755), generally referred to as simply Montesquieu (US: /ˈmɒntəskjuː/,[1]UK also /ˌmɒntɛˈskjɜː/,[2]French:[mɔ̃tɛskjø]), was a French judge, man of letters, historian, and political philosopher.
He is the principal source of the theory of separation of powers, which is implemented in many constitutions throughout the world. He is also known for doing more than any other author to secure the place of the word despotism in the political lexicon.[3] His anonymously published The Spirit of Law (1748), which was received well in both Great Britain and the American colonies, influenced the Founding Fathers of the United States in drafting the U.S. Constitution.
^"Montesquieu" Archived 21 November 2014 at the Wayback Machine. Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary.
^Wells, John C. (2008). Longman Pronunciation Dictionary (3rd ed.). Longman. ISBN 978-1-4058-8118-0.
Charles Louis de Secondat, Baron de La Brède et de Montesquieu (French pronunciation: [ʃaʁl lwi də səɡɔ̃da baʁɔ̃ də la bʁɛd e də mɔ̃tɛskjø]; 18 January...
in Hell Between Machiavelli and Montesquieu (in the original French, Dialogue aux enfers entre Machiavel et Montesquieu ou la politique de Machiavel au...
political theory, as well as a pioneering work in comparative law by Montesquieu, published in 1748. Originally published anonymously, as was the norm...
Montesquieu University (French: Université Montesquieu), also known as Bordeaux IV (French: Bordeaux Quatre), was a French university, based in Pessac...
Ukrainian Hetman Pylyp Orlyk.[verification needed] An earlier forerunner to Montesquieu's tripartite system was articulated by John Locke in his work Two Treatises...
a republic is a government where the head of state is not a monarch. Montesquieu included both democracies, where all the people have a share in rule...
thought with Montesquieu's The Spirit of the Laws in the 18th century. The idea was not new or unique to Montesquieu's work, but Montesquieu's work is widely...
doctrine originating in the writings of Charles de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu in The Spirit of the Laws, in which he argued for a constitutional government...
(contributions to liberal theory) Philosophers Milton Locke Spinoza Montesquieu Voltaire Rousseau Smith Kant Turgot Burke Priestley Paine Beccaria Condorcet...
writings of Baron de Montesquieu, another Enlightenment thinker of the time, greatly influenced Robespierre as well. Montesquieu's Spirit of the Laws defines...
Johannes Althusius is considered the father of modern federalism along with Montesquieu. Althusius notably exposes the bases of this political philosophy in...
the powers of government, liberal theorists such as James Madison and Montesquieu conceived the notion of separation of powers, a system designed to equally...
political philosophy Le Bon Le Play Madison Maistre Marx Mazzini Mill Montesquieu Nietzsche Owen Paine Renan Rousseau Sade Saint-Simon Smith Spencer de...
Montesquieu Airfield Montesquieu Airfield was a World War II military airfield in Algeria, located in the mountains near M'Daourouch, about 112 km southeast...
is the enemy of the good.) Previously, around 1726, in his Pensées, Montesquieu wrote "Le mieux est le mortel ennemi du bien" (The best is the mortal...
constitutional monarch, as the term was then understood, following Montesquieu's account of the separation of powers. The present-day concept of a constitutional...
a republic is a government where the head of state is not a monarch. Montesquieu included both democracies, where all the people have a share in rule...
a literary work, published in 1721, by Charles de Secondat, baron de Montesquieu, recounting the experiences of two fictional Persian noblemen, Usbek...
(contributions to liberal theory) Philosophers Milton Locke Spinoza Montesquieu Voltaire Rousseau Smith Kant Turgot Burke Priestley Paine Beccaria Condorcet...
political philosophy Le Bon Le Play Madison Maistre Marx Mazzini Mill Montesquieu Nietzsche Owen Paine Renan Rousseau Sade Saint-Simon Smith Spencer de...
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