A confederation is a union of States who keep their sovereignty, sometimes adopting a common Constitution. The central government isn’t very strong, and each state keeps their freedom to decide on most internal matters. They are usually established to deal with economic matters (like a common currency) and foreign affairs. A member state can leave a confederation when this member state’s government wants. 
Examples: German confederation (1815-1866), Confederate States of America (1861-1865) and Switzerland. Some people also say the European Union is a confederation. 

In a federation the central government holds the sovereignty and the member States keep a certain degree of autonomy (it depends on the federation, in the US for example they keep a high degree of autonomy, but in Brazil they have less autonomy). The common Constitution of a federation usually deals with a wider range of issues, exercising control over many important spheres of the member States. It is much more difficult for a member state to leave a federation, as it can’t be a unilateral decision. 
Examples: United States, Brazil, Australia, Argentina…

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French political philosopher Montesquieu was best known for The Spirit of Laws (1748), one of the great works in the history of political theory and of jurisprudence.

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