Napoleon's Legacy

Napoleon Bonaparte’s most important legacy was his establishment of the Napoleonic Code. In 1800 Napoleon assigned four renowned jurists the task of consolidating all of the French civil law into one set of laws. Napoleon knew that the existing laws were confusing, inconsistent, and chaotic to the French people, as they were dependent on local customs and granted special favors and privileges to selected citizens. The Civil Code, which was enacted in 1804, was a sole code that replaced hundreds of localized codes that existed under the monarchy. Renamed the Napoleonic Code in 1807, the Code was based on some earlier French laws, Roman law, and Germanic law that had been used in northern France. The Napoleonic Code confirmed most of the revolutionary objectives, by recognizing the equality of all civilians before the French law and the removal of privileges based on birth. Individual citizens were able to select their own job professions and employment in the service of the state was based on capability rather than social position or affluence. The Code confirmed the right to property acquired during the Revolution and terminated the manorial obligations of the peasants, eliminating feudalism and serfdom. Freedom of religion was also restored. Prohibiting strikes and various trade unions protected the interests of employers. While the “Civil Code” clearly reflected the revolutionary objectives for a consistent legalized system, it reversed the advances made by women during the Revolution as it reaffirmed the paternalistic character of French society. Women and children were legally reliant on their husbands and fathers.
Napoleon was able to extend use of the code to the lands outside France that he controlled, including northern Italy, a portion of the German states, and the low countries of Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. The code was successfully implemented in other regions such as Spain, Latin America, and in all of the other European nations, with the exception of England, where the Common Law was adopted. Indeed the Napoleonic Code was a model for successive laws during the nineteenth century in twenty-four countries. The state of Louisiana and the province of Quebec have derived many of their laws from the Napoleonic Code. This code provides the structure for the legal system in France today, which portrays how influential and resilient it has been for French society as well as many others. The ideals of the French revolution have endured long after Napoleon’s demise as a result of this body of law.