To a large extent the ideas of Montesquieu heavily influenced the French Revolution because his theory of separation of powers, which largely attacked the nobility, was adopted by the National Assembly in 1789. Although Baron Montesquieu belonged to the French aristocracy he strongly criticised the ancien regime in his early eighteenth century writings. Dunn (2003) and The American Political Science Review (1984) argue that his attacks were rather subtle, as he was an expert in the use of political satire. This mainstream perspective is corroborated by Montesquieu in his master work De l'Esprit des Lois (The Spirit of the Laws) where he states, “It is by sitting on chairs that nobility is acquired. A great noble is a man who sees the king,
