Montesquieu rousseau biography

Montesquieu, Voltaire, Rousseau, the Encyclopedists and Nicolas de Condorcet

Montesquieu

Baron Charles Montesquieu (1689-1755) had an inherited fortune and time to write.

And he mixed with Parisian higher society, where he was a celebrated conversationalist. He satirized French society. He criticized France's monarchical absolutism and the Church, offending authorities but adding to his popularity.

He was a Catholic who believed that people should think for themselves.

Montesquieu traveled through much of Europe to observe people and political constitutions.

Montesquieu rousseau biography summary

He stayed in England for eighteen months and praised Britain's constitutional monarchy. He was opposed to republicanism and disliked democracy, which he saw as mob rule. He saw government as benefiting from the knowledge