Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and Montesquieu: Difference between pages

Revision as of 01:13, 6 June 2005

Revision as of 18:18, 21 May 2007

Line 1:

{{Redirect|Montesquieu}}

{{House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha}}

[[Image:Charles Montesquieu.jpg|thumb|right|Montesquieu in 1728.]]

'''Carl Eduard, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Duke of Albany (Leopold Charles Edward George Albert)''' ([[19 July]] [[1884]] – [[28 March]] [[1954]]) was the last reigning Duke of [[Saxe-Coburg-Gotha]] in [[Germany]] from [[30 July]] [[1900]] to [[14 November]] [[1918]]. A male-line grandson of [[Victoria of the United Kingdom|Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom]] and [[Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha]], he was deprived of British peerages and honours because of his support for Germany in [[World War I]]. Forced to abdicate his ducal throne in 1918, he was further estranged from the [[British Royal Family]] and the government of the [[United Kingdom]] because of his membership in the [[Nazi Party]] in the 1930s.

'''Charles-Louis de Secondat, Baron de La Brède et de Montesquieu''' ([[January 18]], [[1689]] in Bordeaux – [[February 10]], [[1755]]), more commonly known as '''Montesquieu''', was a [[France|French]] social commentator and political thinker who lived during the [[Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment]]. He is famous for his articulation of the theory of [[separation of powers]], taken for granted in modern discussions of [[government]] and implemented in many [[constitution]]s throughout the world. He was largely responsible for the popularization of the terms [[feudalism]] and [[Byzantine Empire]].

== Biography ==

Carl Eduard was born at Claremont House, Surrey, the posthumous son and younger child of [[Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany]], the fourth son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, and his wife, [[Princess Helena of Waldeck]]. Known as Prince Charles Edward in Britain and later as Prince Carl Eduard in Germany, he succeeded to his father's peerages upon birth. [[Edward VII of the United Kingdom|King Edward VII]] made him a [[Order of the Garter|Knight of the Garter]] on [[15 July]] [[1902]].

After having studied at the Catholic [[College of Juilly]], he married Jeanne de Latrigue, a Protestant who brought him a substantial dowry when he was 26. The next year, he inherited a fortune upon the death of his uncle, as well as the title Baron de [[Montesquieu]] and [[Président à Mortier]] in the [[Parlement]] of Bordeaux. By that time, England had declared itself a constitutional monarchy in the wake of its [[Glorious Revolution]] (1688–89), and had joined with [[Scotland]] in the [[Union of 1707]] to form the [[Kingdom of Great Britain]]. And in 1715 the long-reigning [[King Louis XIV|Sun King]], Louis XIV died and was succeeded by the weaker and more feeble Louis XV. These national transformations impacted Montesquieu greatly; he would later refer to them repeatedly in his work.

In 1900, the fourteen year-old Duke of Albany inherited from his uncle the [[Duke Alfred of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha|Duke of Edinburgh]], Queen Victoria's second son, the German duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. The Duke of Edinburgh's only son, Prince Alfred ("Young Alfie"), committed suicide in 1899 and the [[Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught|Duke of Connaught]], the Queen's third son, renounced his claims to the duchy on behalf of himself and his son. For the next five years, he reigned under the regency of the Hereditary Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg. Upon coming of age on [[19 July]] [[1905]], the Duke of Albany assumed full constitutional powers as Duke Carl Eduard of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. As a grandson of Queen Victoria, the new Duke of Saxe-Coburg was a first cousin of the [[William II of Germany|German Emperor Wilhelm II]], Grand Duke Ernst Ludwig of Hesse and by Rhine, the [[George V of the United Kingdom|Prince of Wales (the future King George V)]], the [[Alexandra of Hesse|Empress Alexandra of Russia]], Queen Marie of Romania, Queen [[Maud, Queen of Norway|Maud of Norway]], and Queen [[Princess Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg|Victoria Eugenia of Spain]].

Soon afterwards he achieved literary success with the publication of his ''Lettres persanes'' (''[[Persian Letters]]'', 1721), a [[satire]] based on the imaginary correspondence of an [[Oriental]] visitor to [[Paris]], pointing out the absurdities of contemporary society. He next published ''Considérations sur les causes de la grandeur des Romains et de leur décadence'' (''[[Considerations on the Causes of the Grandeur and Decadence of the Romans]]'', 1734), considered by some scholars a transition from ''The Persian Letters'' to his master work. ''De l'Esprit des Lois'' (''[[The Spirit of the Laws]]'') was originally published anonymously in [[1748]] and quickly rose to a position of enormous influence. In France, it met with an unfriendly reception from both supporters and opponents of the regime. The Roman Catholic Church banned ''l'Esprit'' – along with many of Montesquieu's other works – in 1751 and included it on the papacy's notorious [[Index Librorum Prohibitorum|Index]]. But from the rest of Europe, especially Britain, it received the highest praise.

On [[11 October]] [[1905]], at Glücksburg Castle, Holstein, the Duke married Princess Victoria Adelaide ([[31 December]] [[1885]] – [[5 October]] [[1970]]), the daughter of the Duke Friedrich Ferdinard of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg. The Duke and Duchess of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha had five children:

Montesquieu was also highly regarded in the British colonies in America as a champion of British liberty (though not of American independence). Political scientist Donald Lutz found that Montesquieu was the most frequently quoted authority on government and politics in colonial pre-revolutionary British America.<ref>"The Relative Influence of European Writers on Late Eighteenth-Century American Political Thought," ''American Political Science Review'' 78,1(March, 1984), 189-197.</ref> And following the American secession, Montesquieu remained a powerful influence on many of the [[United States|American]] Founders, most notably [[James Madison]] of [[Virginia]], the "Father of the Constitution." Montesquieu's philosophy that "government should be set up so that no man need be afraid of another" reminded Madison and others that a free and stable foundation for their new national government required the inclusion of a clearly defined and balanced separation of powers.

* Hereditary Prince Johan Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha ([[2 August]] [[1906]] &ndash; [[4 May]] [[1972]]); married unequally and renounced his rights to the headship of the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha on [[9 March]] [[1932]] to (1) Feodroa, Baroness von der Horst ([[7 July]] [[1905]] &ndash; [[23 October]] [[1991]]), and had issue (divorced 1962); and (2) on [[5 May]] [[1963]] Maria Theresia Reindl ([[13 March]] [[1908]] &ndash; [[7 April]] [[1996]]); no issue.

* Princess Sybilla of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha ([[18 January]] [[1907]] &ndash; [[28 November]] [[1972]]); married [[20 October]] [[1932]] Crown Prince [[Prince Gustaf Adolf, Duke of Westrobothnia|Gustaf Adolf]] of Sweden ([[22 April]] [[1906]] &ndash; [[26 January]] [[1947]]), and had issue.

Besides composing additional works on society and politics, Montesquieu traveled for a number of years through [[Europe]] including [[Austria]] and [[Hungary]], spending a year in [[Italy]] and eighteen months in [[England]] before resettling in [[France]]. He was troubled by poor eyesight, and was completely blind by the time he died from a high fever in [[1755]]. He was buried in L'église [[Saint-Sulpice]] in Paris, France.

* Prince Hubertus of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha ([[24 August]] [[1909]] &ndash; [[26 November]] [[1943]]).

* Princess Caroline Mathilde of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha ([[22 June]] [[1912]] &ndash; [[5 September]] [[1983]]); married [[14 December]] [[1931]] Friedrich-Wolfgang, Count of Castell Rüdenhausen ([[26 June]] [[1906]] &ndash; [[11 June]] [[1940]]); and had issue.

* Prince Friedrich Josias of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha ([[29 November]] [[1918]] &ndash; [[23 January]] [[1998]]); married (1) [[25 June]] [[1942]] Victoria Louisa, Countess of Solms-Baruth ([[13 March]] [[1921]] &ndash; [[1 March]] [[2000]]) (divorced 1947); and had issue; (2) [[14 February]] [[1948]] Denyse Henrietta de Muralt (b. [[23 December]] [[1923]]), and had issue (divorced 1962); and (3) [[30 October]] [[1964]] Katrin Bremme (b. [[22 April]] [[1940]]).

== Political views ==

During World War I, Duke Carl Eduard supported Germany and held a commission as a general in the German Army (although he never held a major command). Consequently, King George V of Britain ordered his name removed from the register of the Knights of the Garter in 1915. In July 1917, in an effort to distance his dynasty from its Germanic origins, George V changed the name of British Royal House from the [[House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha]] to the [[House of Windsor]]. That year, the British Parliament passed the [[Titles Deprivation Act]] which empowered the [[Privy Council]] to investigate "any persons enjoying any dignity or title as a peer or British prince who have, during the present war, borne arms against His Majesty or His Allies, or who have adhered to His Majesty's enemies." Under the terms of that act, an Order in Council on [[28 March]] [[1919]] formally removed the Duke's British peerages, the dukedom of Albany, earldom of Clarence, and the barony of Arklow.¹

Montesquieu's most radical work divided French society into three classes (or ''[[trias politica]]'', a term he coined): the monarchy, the aristocracy, and the commons. Montesquieu saw two types of governmental power existing: the sovereign and the administrative. The administrative powers were the [[legislative]], the [[executive (government)|executive]], and the [[judiciary]]. These should be separate from and dependent upon each other so that the influence of any one power would not be able to exceed that of the other two, either singly or in combination. This was radical because it completely eliminated the three ''Estates'' structure of the French Monarchy: the [[clergy]], the aristocracy, and the people at large represented by the [[Estates-General]], thereby erasing the last vestige of a [[feudalism|feudalistic]] structure.

Likewise, there were three main forms of government, each supported by a social "principle": [[monarchy|monarchies]] (free governments headed by a hereditary figure, e.g. king, queen, emperor), which rely on the [[Honour|principle of honor]]; [[republic]]s (free governments headed by popularly elected leaders), which rely on the [[Virtue|principle of virtue]]; and [[despot|despotisms]] (enslaved governments headed by [[dictator]]s), which rely on [[fear]]. The free governments are dependent on fragile constitutional arrangements. Montesquieu devotes four chapters of ''The Spirit of the Laws'' to a discussion of England, a contemporary free government, where liberty was sustained by a balance of powers. Montesquieu worried that in France the intermediate powers (i.e., the nobility) which moderated the power of the prince were being eroded.

On [[18 November]] [[1918]], the Workers' and Soldiers' Council of Gotha deposed the Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. Five days later, the Duke signed a declaration relinquishing his rights to the throne. Now a private citizen, the deposed Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha became associated with various right-wing paramilitary and political organizations.² In 1932, he took part in the creation of the so-called Harzburg Front, through which the Deutschnationale Partei (lit: "German-national party") Conservative Party became associated with the [[Nazi Party]]. He joined the Nazi Party and became a member of the [[Sturmabteilung| SA (or Brownshirts)]], rising to the rank of Obergruppenfuhrer. He also served a member of the [[Reichstag (institution)|Reichstag]] from 1937 to 1945 and as president of the German Red Cross from 1933 to 1945. He formally joined the Nazi Party in 1935.

Like many of his generation, Montesquieu held a number of views that might today be judged controversial. While he endorsed the idea that a woman could head a government, he held that she could not be effective as the head of a family. He firmly accepted the role of a hereditary aristocracy and the value of [[primogeniture]]. His views have also been abused by modern [[Revisionism|revisionists]]; for instance, even though Montesquieu was ahead of his time as an ardent opponent of [[slavery]], he has been quoted out of context in attempts to show he supported it.{{Fact|date=February 2007}}

In 1936, [[Adolf Hitler]] sent the Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to Britain as president of the Anglo-German Friendship Society. His mission was to improve Anglo-German relations and to explore the possibility of a pact between the two countries. The Duke, who attended the funeral of George V in his SA uniform, approached the new king, [[Edward VIII of the United Kingdom|Edward VIII]], about the possibility of a pact; nothing came of these talks. Nonetheless, he continued to send Hitler encouraging reports about the strength of pro-German sentiment among the British aristocracy. After the [[Abdication Crisis of Edward VIII|abdication crisis]], he played host to the former British king and his wife, by then the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, during their official tour of Germany in 1938.

One of his more exotic ideas, outlined in ''[[The Spirit of the Laws]]'' and hinted at in ''Persian Letters'', is the [meteorological] climate theory, which holds that [[climate]] may substantially influence the nature of man and his society. He goes so far as to assert that certain climates are superior to others, the temperate climate of France being ideal. His view is that people living in very warm countries are "too hot-tempered," while those in northern countries are "icy" or "stiff." The climate of middle Europe is therefore optimal. On this point, Montesquieu may well have been influenced by similar statements in ''[[Germania (book)|Germania]]'' by [[Tacitus]], one of Montesquieu's favorite authors.

When World War II ended, the American Military Government in Bavaria, under the command of General [[George S. Patton]], placed the Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha under house arrest because of his Nazi sympathies. In 1946, he was sentenced to a "de-nazification" court and heavily fined. Many of his properties in Saxony, and Coburg were seized by the Soviet army.

==Notes==

The former Duke of Saxe-Coburg Gotha spent the last years of his life in poverty and seclusion. He died in 1954.

<references/>

==StylesFurther and titlesreading==

{{French literature (small)}}

* Pangle, Thomas, ''Montesquieu’s Philosophy of Liberalism'' (Chicago: 1989 rpt.; 1973).

* Person, James Jr., ed. “Montesquieu” (excerpts from chap. 8) in ''Literature Criticism from 1400 to 1800'', (Gale Publishing: 1988), vol. 7, pp. 350-52.

* Shackleton, Robert. ''Montesquieu; a Critical Biography''. (Oxford: 1961).

* Schaub, Diana J. ''Erotic Liberalism: Women and Revolution in Montesquieu's'' 'Persian Letters'. (Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 1995).

* Spurlin, Paul M. ''Montesquieu in America, 1760-1801'' (New York: Octagon Books, 1961).

== List of works ==

Before the removal of his British honours, Albany was styled ''His Royal Highness The Duke of Albany, Knight of the Most Noble Order of the Garter, Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order''.

* ''Les causes de l'écho'' (''The Causes of an Echo'')

* ''Les glandes rénales'' (''The Renal Glands'')

* ''La cause de la pesanteur des corps'' (''The Cause of Gravity of Bodies'')

* ''La damnation éternelle des païens'' (''The Eternal Damnation of the Pagans'', 1711)

* ''Système des Idées'' (''System of Ideas'', 1716)

* ''[[Lettres persanes]]'' (''Persian Letters'', 1721)

* ''Le Temple de Gnide'' (''The Temple of Gnide'', a novel; 1724)

* ''Arsace et Isménie'' (''(The True History of) Arsace and Isménie'', a novel; 1730)

* ''Considérations sur les causes de la grandeur des Romains et de leur décadence'' (''Considerations on the Causes of the Grandeur and Decadence of the Romans'', 1734)

* ''[[De l'esprit des lois]]'' (''(On) The Spirit of the Laws'', 1748)

* ''La défense de «L'Esprit des lois»'' (''In Defence of "The Spirit of the Laws"'', 1748)

* ''Pensées suivies de Spicilège'' (''Thoughts after Spicilège'')

== See also ==

'''Footnotes'''

{{portalpar|Philosophy|Socrates.png}}

* [[Liberalism]]

* [[Contributions to liberal theory]]

* [[French Government]]

* [[Napoleon]]

== External links ==

¹ As a male-line grandson of the British Sovereign, Prince Carl Eduard was a Prince of the United Kingdom with the qualification of Royal Highness, in accordance with Queen Victoria's Letters Patent of 30 January 1864 and of 27 May 1898. The suspension of his peerages under the Title Deprivation Act, did not affect the Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha's status as a British prince or his place in the line of succession to the British throne. Under settled practice dating to 1714, Duke Carl Eduard's children, as legitimate male-line great grandchildren of the British Sovereign, were Princes and Princesses of the United Kingdom with the qualification of Highness. However, their right to use these British titles and styles ceased with George V's Letters Patent of 30 November 1917.

{{wikiquote}}

{{wikisource author|Montesquieu}}

* [http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/book/search?author=Montesquieu&amode=words Free full-text works online]

* [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/10536a.htm Montesquieu] in The Catholic Encyclopedia.

* [http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/montesquieu/ Montesquieu] in The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.

* [http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/phl302/philosophers/montesquieu.html Timeline of Montesquieu's Life]

<br clear=all>

² The hereditary and legal privileges of the various German royal, princely, ducal, and noble families ended in August 1919 when the constitution of the [[Weimar Republic]] went into effect. However, the Weimar Republic did not ban the use of titles and the designations of nobility, as did Austria. Instead, the [[Reichstag (institution)|Reichstag]] passed legislation that made the former royal and noble titles part of these families' surname. Legally, the former reigning Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha became ''Carl Eduard Herzog von Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha''.

{{start box}}{{succession box|

title= [[List of members of the Académie française#Seat 2|Seat 2]]<br>[[Académie française]] | years=1728&ndash;1755 |

before= [[Louis de Sacy]] |

after= [[Jean-Baptiste de Vivien de Châteaubrun]]

}}

{{Template:Enlightenment}}

{{start box}}

{{succession box | before=[[Alfred of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha|Alfred]] | title=[[Saxe-Coburg-Gotha|Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha]] | after=Title abolished | years=1900&ndash;1918}}

{{end box}}

<!--Categories-->

{{start box}}

[[Category:1689 births|Montesquieu, Charles de Secondat, baron de]]

{{succession box | before=[[Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany|Prince Leopold]] | title=[[Duke of Albany]] | after=Suspended | years=}}

[[Category:1755 deaths|Montesquieu, Charles de Secondat, baron de]]

{{end box}}

[[Category:18th century philosophers|Montesquieu, Charles de Secondat, baron de]]

[[Category:Early modern philosophers|Montesquieu, Charles de Secondat, baron de]]

[[Category:Enlightenment philosophers|Montesquieu, Charles de Secondat, baron de]]

[[Category:French nobility|Montesquieu, Charles de Secondat, baron de]]

[[Category:French philosophers|Montesquieu, Charles de Secondat, baron de]]

[[Category:Liberalism|Montesquieu, Charles de Secondat, baron de]]

[[Category:Members of the Académie française|Montesquieu, Charles de Secondat, baron de]]

[[Category:Philosophers of law|Montesquieu, Charles de Secondat, baron de]]

[[Category:Political philosophers|Montesquieu, Charles de Secondat, baron de]]

<!--Other languages-->

[[Category:Dukes of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha]]

[[Category:Peers|Carl Eduard of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Duke]]

[[Category:Knights of the Garter|Carl Eduard of Saxe-Coburg Gotha]]

[[Category:1884 births|Carl Eduard of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Duke]]

[[Category:1954 deaths|Carl Eduard of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Duke]]

[[Category:English & British princes]]

[[ar:مونتيسكيو]]

[[de:Carl Eduard (Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha)]]

[[bg:Шарл дьо Монтескьо]]

[[nl:Karel Eduard van Saksen-Coburg en Gotha]]

[[ca:Montesquieu]]

[[sv:Karl Edvard av Sachsen-Coburg-Gotha]]

[[cs:Charles Louis Montesquieu]]

[[da:Charles-Louis de Secondat Montesquieu]]

[[de:Charles de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu]]

[[et:Charles de Montesquieu]]

[[el:Μοντεσκιέ]]

[[es:Montesquieu]]

[[eo:Charles Montesquieu]]

[[fa:شارل دو مونتسکیو]]

[[fr:Montesquieu]]

[[gl:Charles de Montesquieu]]

[[zh-classical:孟德斯鳩]]

[[ko:샤를 루이 드 세콩다 몽테스키외]]

[[hr:Charles-Louis de Secondat Montesquieu]]

[[io:Charles de Montesquieu]]

[[id:Montesquieu]]

[[it:Montesquieu]]

[[he:מונטסקייה]]

[[la:Carolus Montesquieu]]

[[lt:Šarlis Monteskjė]]

[[hu:Montesquieu]]

[[nl:Charles Montesquieu]]

[[ja:シャルル・ド・モンテスキュー]]

[[no:Charles Montesquieu]]

[[nn:Charles Montesquieu]]

[[pl:Monteskiusz]]

[[pt:Charles de Montesquieu]]

[[ro:Charles de Secondat, baron de Montesquieu]]

[[ru:Монтескьё, Шарль Луи]]

[[simple:Montesquieu]]

[[sk:Charles de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu]]

[[fi:Charles-Louis de Secondat de Montesquieu]]

[[sv:Charles-Louis de Secondat Montesquieu]]

[[vi:Charles de Secondat, baron de Montesquieu]]

[[tr:Montesquieu]]

[[uk:Монтеск'є Шарль]]

[[yi:מאנטעסקיע]]

[[zh:孟德斯鳩]]