Lv Zhao, Immigrants and Social Integration in the Late Medieval French Urban Society

　　The proportion of immigrants in the urban population increased significantly, which can be considered as an important feature of the population structure of the French cities in the late Middle Ages. The influx of immigrants and their integration into the urban society are vital conditions for the French urban society to overcome the crisis of the late Middle Ages. There are two paths for immigrants integrating into the urban society. Firstly, the municipal authority grants citizenship to some selected immigrants and integrates them into the citizen community. Secondly, the immigrants spontaneously and autonomously construct diversified social relationships, and conduct social interactions with other residents based on personal morality. These two paths complement mutually and promote the urban society to absorb multiple immigrants and to achieve revival in modern times. In comparison, the social integration is the only way for all immigrants to integrate into the urban society. It reflects the initiative and autonomy of immigrant groups in the process of integrating into the urban society, and plays a more important role in the mechanism of absorbing immigrants. It is also a crucial factor in the self renewal and sustainable development of the medieval French urban society.Zhang Chi, Montesquieu's Discourse on the Spirit of Commerce and the Spirit of Conquest

　　In Montesquieu's discourse on political economy, the spirit of commerce and the spirit of conquest are a central set of concepts. There are numerous interpretations of Montesquieu's discourse, however, they mostly diverge from the context. An accurate grasp of his discourse requires clarifying the polemical and historical contexts of these concepts. In the polemical context, Montesquieu proposed the spirit of commerce and the spirit of conquest for the purpose of refuting the views of Histoire du Commerce, et de la navigation des anciens written by Pierre Huet who was a mercantilist. Based on the historical context, Montesquieu's theory of commerce intended to subvert the principles of mercantilism and advocate peaceful and reciprocal international relations. In short, Montesquieu's ideas of political economy, together with the agrarian theory represented by Francois de Fénelon, constitute a different orientation to the development and evolution of political economy in 18th century France.