Napoleonic Code

The Napoleonic Code ‒ or Code Napoléon, officially the Code civil des Français ‒ is the French civil code established under Napoléon I in 1804. Four judges wrote the Code for Napoleon, to replace the many different kinds of law in different places. It did not allow privileges based on birth (such as nobility), established equality before the law and secured the right to property.^[1] It allowed freedom of religion.^[1] It also set up a system of Civil service where government jobs would go to the most qualified.^[1]

Due to the Napoleonic Wars the Napoleonic code became an influence on most of Europe.^[2] In particular, it influenced countries such as Italy, Spain, Portugal, Latin American countries, the province of Quebec and the state of Louisiana in the United States. It influenced all other former French colonies which base their civil law systems on the Napoleonic Code. The code of 1804:

Simplified administration division
Abolished feudal system
Allowed divorce and jury trial
Removed guild restrictions in towns
Gave privileges to businessmen, industrialists and professionals
- The privileges were the right to equality,freedom and property
Transportation and communication were improved
Introduced a uniform system of measurement

References

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 The Social History of Crime and Punishment in America, ed. Wilbur R. Miller (London: Sage Publications 2012), p. 283
↑ The Oxford Handbook of Capitalism, ed. Dennis C. Mueller (Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 2012), p. 187