It is possible that Montesquieu was partly a source of inspiration for ACA, especially as a historian. Although De l’esprit des lois [The spirit of the Laws] caused a great deal of controversy and was a contentious book, Montesquieu was nevertheless present in Lisbon ’ s libraries , namely the ones in convents. The climate is, for Montesquieu as for ACA, just one of many factors that can contribute to the ‘general spirit’ of a society. Since the climate is a physical cause, the other factors (among which the most important are laws, religion , and the maxims of government) were of a non-physical nature. It is the legislator ’ s duty to counterbalance the influence of climate, says Montesquieu, since this influence is not insurmountable, except in primitive societies. In fact, for Caetano do Amaral, it is not only legislation that accommodates to the ‘genius of the people’, but it can also be legislation that contributes to shaping the ‘character’ of that people.

Memory III delves deeper into the study of the Visigoth Code and the form of government in this new C ivil S tate, constantly resorting to sources that he mastered supremely. And here an important analysis immediately emerges: ‘it is necessary to ponder who the Legislator is; I mean, who has Sovereign power here; what kind of Government, and Civil State is this, which is born anew in Lusitania’ (p. 156). And ACA continues: ‘ever since the Visigoths appeared here, they were always presided over by a King’, whose succession usually passed from father to son or from brother to brother, although it was rarely peaceful. With the ‘Civil Laws’ and in order to prevent rebellions and usurpations of the throne, the Gothic kings were elected with the votes of the ‘distinct Orders of the state’ and led to the throne with general approval, but they did not ignore the fact that, once elected, they immediately received sovereign power from God. It is, therefore, concludes ACA, a modified Monarchy, but this sharing of the rights of Sovereignty that the monarch grants is not equally communicated to the various Orders (pp. 158-160). Due to the circumstances, the greatest weight lies with the ‘Ecclesiastical Prelates’, particularly since the Barbarians were brought up, even in Paganism, in subordination and respect for the Ministers of Religion. However, although the Ecclesiastics played a significant role in the Visigoth government, the Nobles also had some power (more, says ACA, than they might have had in a pure Monarchy).

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