Charles Louis de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu was one of the most important French philosophers of the time. He came into the world on January 18, 1689. He was the son of Jacques de Secondat and Marie-Francoise de Pesnel. Montesquieu belonged to the “robe nobility”. When he was just nine years old, he was orphaned by a mother.
To continue the family tradition, Montesquieu began his law studies at the Universities of Bordeaux and in Paris. There he began to interact with the Parisian intellectual circles. In 1714, he exercised the position of chancellor of the parliament of Bordeaux. Once his father died, he was left under the protection of his uncle, the Baron de Montesquieu, from whom he received after his death in 1716, all his fortune in inheritance, in addition to all his noble titles and his position as president of the Bordeaux parliament.
The political circumstances that France was going through as a result of the proclamation of the constitutional monarchy in England, together with the death of Louis XV, ended up having a definitive influence on Montesquieu, who focused all his research on the analysis of social phenomena. Due to the literary success of his work "Persian letters", Montesquieu receives many recognitions that fill him with the impetus to continue presenting large-scale works that earn him praise throughout Europe.
This philosopher strongly believed in the principle of the separation of powers and his thought made him stand out among the other philosophers of the time, since his search was specific, not abstract, and made him become one of the most important representatives of ideas. Western politics throughout history.
Montesquieu also offered great theoretical contributions that led to the growth of modern liberalism. From this perspective, Montesquieu analyzed the religious foundations of world politics. His research supported the secularization of politics. These studies originated that, later, religious thought was coupled with the interests that predominated in democracies, which represented an important revolution in the political aspect.
Regarding his ideas about freedom, Montesquieu considered that people in a monarchy were as free or not very free, as people in a republic. Thought that many did not accept but that in the end allowed a better understanding of liberalism.
Montesquieu died in Paris on February 10, 1755, at the age of 66. His remains are found resting in the church of Saint-Sulpice (Paris)
