The Political History of the Devil Daniel Defoe - The Political History of the Devil is a 1726 book by Daniel Defoe.General scholarly opinion is that Defoe really did think of the Devil as a participant in world history. He spends some time discussing Milton's Paradise Lost and explaining why he considers it inaccurate.His view is that of an 18th-century Presbyterian he blames the Devil for the Crusades and sees him as close to Europe's Catholic powers.