MONTESQUIEU: POSSIBILISTIC POLITICAL GEOGRAPHER
ABSTRACT The writings of Charles Louis Joseph de Secondat, Baron de la Brede et de Montesquieu, eighteenth century French nobleman, concerning the effects of the physical environment upon societies and the political systems produced by it, have been widely interpreted as being environmentalistic or deterministic. This paper examines the portions of his work which treat of the roles played by the physical environment and the non-physical societal attributes such as customs, manners, morals, and tradition, which, when combined, produce a particular political or governmental system. From the comparison of Montesquieu's political-geographic views with the basic tenets of possibilism comes the finding that his theory of political geography is more properly interpreted as being possibilistic rather than environmentalistic or deterministic.