Montesquieu

Montesquieu biography

Charles-Louis de Secondat, Baron de La Brède et de Montesquieu, generally referred to as simply Montesquieu (January 18, 1689) was a philosopher, writer, judge, and encyclopedist. He was born in the Château de La Brède, located in the town of Bordeaux, France. His parents Jacques de Secondat and Marie-Francoise de Pesnel belonged to noble families of France. Unfortunately, his mother died when Charles de Secondat was seven years old. The context of this moment in France politically and socially was impacted by the extensive reign of Louis XIV, when he died in 1715 there was an atmosphere of crisis and discontent.

Montesquieu was educated in the Catholic school of Juilly and when graduated, he studied Law, first in the University of Bordeaux and soon he decided to move to Paris, with the purpose of approaching the intellectuals of the French capital. In 1714, he returned to his native town due to the death of his father, where he was a counselor in the Parliament of Bordeaux.

He was under the protection of his uncle, the Baron de Montesquieu. In 1715 Montesquieu married Jeanne Lartigue, a Protestant who has an important dowry, with her had three children throughout the marriage: Jean-Baptiste in 1716, Marie Catherine in 1717 and Denise in 1727. By 1715 his uncle died and leave a great inheritance. Not only he did inherit money, but also the title of baron of Montesquieu and Président à Mortier in the Parliament of Bordeaux (1716-1727). At that time Montesquieu had already started his career as a writer, he used to write about national issues.

One of the works he wrote at that time was: Persian Letters (1721), this work is a satire based on the imaginary correspondence between a Persian foreigner who visited Paris, through this man Montesquieu expressed the absurdities of contemporary society. Then published Considerations on the causes of the greatness and decadence of the Romans (1734), followed by other works such as The Spirit of the Laws (1748) was originally published anonymously.

Now, from the moment he accepted his authorship his popularity and influential position in the intellectual world rose. In France, this text had many detractors, both sympathizers of the regime and those who were against it. The Catholic Church banned the text in 1751 and included it in the Index Librorum Prohibitorum. This book and in general his works were much admired and studied in Great Britain. Actually, his name in the British colonies in America was associated with that of a precursor of British freedom (but not of American independence).

According to Donald Lutz, Montesquieu was a much-cited intellectual on issues of government and politics in pre-revolutionary colonial British America, especially read by the American founders. In fact, he was particularly quoted by one of the thinkers and founders of the United States, this is James Madison of Virginia. However, in the post-revolutionary process, Montesquieu’s works continued to exert a powerful influence. Montesquieu’s philosophy was fundamental in establishing this new national government.

Montesquieu was a member of the Academy of Sciences of Bordeaux and conducted several studies on the adrenal glands, gravity, and echo. But, after a while, he left this road for monotony, decided then to undertake a trip through several European places. He was interested in observing the customs and institutions of different countries. In several places, he worked on several additional writings on society and politics. We must remember that the approaches of this man were the basis for the birth of French sociology.

Now, also with his work on the Romans, he became known as one of the precursors of the philosophical thought of history, and clearly postulated his own current that he forged during his life. Montesquieu developed and analyzed the three main forms of government: republic, monarchy, and despotism, arguing that there must be a separation and a balance between the different powers in order to guarantee individual rights and freedoms. The doctrine of Montesquieu tries to reveal that every type of government is specified and articulated thanks to a set of specific laws, these laws have to do with various aspects of human activity: education, administration of justice, luxury, marriage, and civil life, among other aspects. These laws are the basis of government.

In several newspapers of the time, his texts were published, for example, a weekly newspaper of Agriculture (1802) of the River of the Silver, the Mail of Commerce (1810). These ideas and these newspapers served to prepare the May Revolution of 1810, and in general the emancipation of Latin America. In the last years of his life, he continued to modify and improve his theses; he prepared a new edition of the Spirit of the laws (1757) and an essay, the Taste, for the Encyclopedia. Montesquieu was close to Freemasonry in the London Horn Lodge. Then he frequented lodges in Bordeaux and Paris. Unfortunately, his vision began to worsen until he became blind.

By that time Montesquieu had already published the following works: Les causes de l’écho, Les glandes rénales, La cause de la pesanteur des corps La damnation éternelle des païens (1711), Système des Idées (1716), Persian Letters (1721) , Le Temple de Gnide (novel of 1724), Arsace et Isménie (novel of 1730), Considerations on the causes of the greatness of the Romans and their decadence (1734), The spirit of the laws (1748), The defense of «The spirit of the laws» (1750) and Pensées suivies de Spicilège.

Montesquieu died due to an infection that caused high body temperatures. He died in Paris on February 10, 1755. He was buried in the chapel of the Saint-Sulpice church of this city.