Baron de Montesquieu

1
Baron de Montesquieu

• By Deirdre McAndrew,
• Mia Diefenderfer, and
• Samantha Noll

2
BIOGRAPHY

• Where was Montesquieu born?
• He was born on January 19th 1689 at La Brede near
  Bordeaux in France.

3
BIOGRAPHY

• What was Montesquieus upbringing like?
• He grew up in a noble and prosperous family.
• He attended Oratorian College de Juilly.
• He received a law degree from the University of
  Bordeaux in 1708.
• He continued his legal studies in Paris.

4
BIOGRAPHY

• What were some of his major works?
• The Persian Letters
• Was about two Persians who wrote letters to each
  other about their journeys to Europe.
• The Spirit of the Laws
• Written to break down and analyze human laws and
  social behaviors.

5
PHILOSOPHICAL IDEAS

• Liberalism
• An economic theory advocating free competition
  and a self-regulating market
• He was among the greatest philosophers of
  Liberalism
• Climate and Geography
• Montesquieu thought that climate and geography
  affected the customs of a countries population.

6
PHILOSOPHICAL IDEAS

• Commerce
• Thought that commerce had no disadvantages when
  comparing to conquering and mining precious
  metals.
• Religion
• He thought that religion was used to perfect an
  individual not the welfare of a society.

7
GOVERNMENT

• Three types of government
• Republican governments
• Monarchies
• Despotisms

8
Opinions

• How could this thinker affect a desire for
  American separation from England?
• New ideas
• Allowed people to think for themselves
• Suggested different forms of government