DEMOGRAFIA WEDŁUG PANA DE MONTESQUIEU. O PEWNYM WĄTKU KRYTYKI FRANCUSKIEJ MONARCHII ABSOLUTNEJ W LISTACH PERSKICH

Aleksandra Porada

Abstract

The Author analyses the way Montesquieu presented the problems of demography in Persian Letters. Having expressed the idea that the world has been less and less populated since the Antiquity, two of the novel’s protagonists discuss possible reasons of low birth rates. They put blame on both Muslim and Christian institutions including slavery, seraglios, and divorce ban. They also condemn religious intolerance and corruption of governments, claiming they are reasons of emigration and misery and thus cause further shrinking of the population. Since all these cultural and political factors restrict individual freedom, it seems that this discussion is a veiled condemnation of the French royal absolutism.