A close examination of the mechanics of the government of Amaurot shows that it was most closely modelled on the government of the City of London. Departures from its practice incorporate features of Venice and the Roman Republic. The Utopian federation was probably patterned on the constitutionalist tradition of the Netherlands while the national senate incorporated features of the English Parliament. The implications of More’s use of contemporary government archetypes for the interpretation of Utopia are discussed.