Samuel von Pufendorf lived from 1632 to 1694 and was a German jurist, political philosopher, economist and historian. Born Samuel Pufendorf, he was ennobled in 1694 and made a baron by Charles XI of Sweden a few months before his death. Among his achievements are his commentaries on and revisions of the natural law theories of Thomas Hobbes and Hugo Grotius, and his political concepts are part of the cultural background of the American Revolution; he is seen as an important precursor of the German Enlightenment. He was involved in constant quarrels with clerical circles and frequently had to defend himself against accusations of heresy, despite holding largely traditional Christian views on matters of dogma and doctrine.
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