Montesquieu's The Spirit of the Laws and the separation of powers

Date

1748

Category

Politics & governance

Region

France

Era

Early Modern

Significance

In 1748 Charles-Louis de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu, published The Spirit of the Laws, a sweeping comparative study of legal and political systems shaped by climate, custom and history.

Its most enduring contribution was the principle of the separation of powers: to preserve liberty, the legislative, executive and judicial functions of government should rest in distinct bodies that check and balance one another. Issued anonymously and quickly translated across Europe, the work analysed despotism, monarchy and republics with empirical detachment. Its theory of divided and balanced government became one of the primary sources for the United States Constitution and a lasting influence on constitutional design and democratic institutions throughout the Atlantic world.

Empires active in 1748

• Spanish Empire
  1492 CE – 1976 CE
• Qing Dynasty
  1636 CE – 1912 CE
• Portuguese Empire
  1415 CE – 1999 CE
• British Empire
  1583 CE – 1997 CE
• Mughal Empire
  1526 CE – 1857 CE
• Russian Empire
  1721 CE – 1917 CE

Related politics & governance events

• The storming of the Bastille and the outbreak of the French Revolution
  14 July 1789
• The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen
  26 August 1789
• The Reign of Terror
  September 1793 – July 1794
• Napoleon's coup of 18 Brumaire ends the Revolution
  9–10 November 1799 (18–19 Brumaire)
• The Declaration of Independence
  4 July 1776
• The United States Constitution drafted and ratified
  17 September 1787

Further reading

Conquerors: How Portugal Forged the First Global Empire

The wider story

Conquerors: How Portugal Forged the First Global Empire

Roger Crowley

Fast-paced narrative of Portugal's seaborne empire.

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