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Which subjects did Montesquieu study while preparing The Spirit of Laws?

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Oval portrait print of Montesquieu by Pierre Michel Alix after Jean Francois Garnerey, showing Montesquieu with long curly white hair and a fur-trimmed robe, facing forward. — Montesquieu Montesquieu.

To prepare for the composition of his masterpiece, The Spirit of Laws, the French political philosopher Montesquieu undertook an extensive and rigorous program of reading and research.

During this period, he studied the following subjects:

Law12
History12
Economics12
Geography12
Political theory12

Montesquieu filled a large number of volumes with notes based on this research, though only his notes on geography have survived. To assist in this immense task, he employed a succession of secretaries who served as readers and amanuenses. By 1740, the main lines of his work were established, and he spent the following years refining the text through detailed revisions before its publication in 1748.12