Charles De Secondat Essay

1114 Words3 Pages

Charles de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu, one of the many thinkers involved in the Enlightenment period, who was against republicanism and disliked democracy also including his opposition toward the monarchy in his time; Louis XIV. He was a well-known French political and social philosopher, jurist, writer and satirist who contributed towards the American constitution. Charles de Secondat was born on the 18th of January 1689 at Chateau La Brede near Bordeaux in France and he died on the tenth of February 1755. He came from a descent of noble roots through his father, Jacques de Secondat, who was a soldier with a long line of noble ancestry and his mother Marie Francoise, who was an heiress that brought the Barony of La Brede to The Secondat family, which was a wine-producing property that was very valuable. Although Charles was of a noble standing, he was sent into the village to be educated and live among peasants in the village, this experience left a big impact in who he came to be. At the age of seven in the year 1700, his mother died and he was sent to the Oratorians college of Juilly, a prestige school that was …show more content…

He analyses all the factors that contribute towards the general law of a country. He determines that there are both universal and specific laws to individual societies and their government. According to Montesquieu, there were three different types of government, which were; Monarchy, Republican, and Despotic. However, he believed that a government that was elected by the people was the best sort of government, although he thought that a democracy would only succeed depending on how the balance of power is sustained. Montesquieu also expressed his fear of France going from a Monarchy into a despotic government and he believed the only way to revive France was if it to go back to a more feudal

Open Document