Person

Montesquieu

1689–1755 · 18th century · Also known as Charles-Louis de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu

Montesquieu, Charles-Louis de Secondat, Baron de La Brède et de Montesquieu, was a French magistrate and political philosopher of the Enlightenment. His Persian Letters of 1721 satirised French society, and The Spirit of the Laws of 1748 compared forms of government and argued for the separation of legislative, executive and judicial powers. His ideas strongly influenced the framers of the United States Constitution.

Montesquieu
Image: After Jacques-Antoine Dassier · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Mentioned in 3 profiles

Roman RepublicImpactKingdom of FranceImpactKingdom of Great BritainImpact

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Montesquieu. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/montesquieu
MLA
“Montesquieu.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/montesquieu. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Montesquieu.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/montesquieu.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Montesquieu’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/montesquieu (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻