John Locke

John Locke, the author, was born to a family near Bristol, England. His father had been an attorney and his grandfather a clothier. His father had been a part of the Civil War against Charles I and it is believed that Locke derived his so-called radical views from this fact. He was not always a radical. He began as a conservative, who wanted to see the mixture of king, lords, commons and church restored. He was not always against absolutism and the divine rule of monarchs. Locke spent some time in exile in France, since he was branded a seditious agent by the king. He joined the staff of Lord Ashley, first Earl of Shaftesbury, who was later branded a traitor and lived in exile. There, Locke learned about commerce and affairs in the colonies. He even invested in slave holding companies.

Locke wrote his First Treatise...