Similarities Between Napoleonic Code And The French Revolution

During the eighteenth century, France saw its economy plummet as it became involved in two very costly wars; the Seven Years War and the American Revolutionary War. The aristocracy was thinking of raising taxes and loan payments to address the financial distress, thus making the bourgeoisie unhappy. This led to the French Revolution of 1789, where the bourgeoisie, or middle class, and the peasants, or working class, revolted against the social elite, comprised of the clergy and aristocrats. The French Revolution saw the rise of Napoleon Bonaparte, a general and subsequent emperor, who is the most celebrated person in European history. He was born on August 5, 1769, in Corsica, and was sent to military school at a young age, to obtain a position …show more content…
The Code was enacted on March 21, 1804, and laid out seven laws which were “a composite of laws from the Old Regime” with other traditional values and from “the Revolution” (Anne Commire). Prior to the French Revolution, the Old Regime was the social system that ruled over France and was controlled by the monarchy. Napoleon sought to blend ideas from the French Revolution with modified laws from the Old Regime, which he thought would benefit the economy and social structure. The Napoleonic Code was considered a civil code because it mentioned the three aspects of everyday life: property, colonies, and family/individual rights. The civil code “gave permanent form to the great gains of the Revolution: individual liberty, freedom of work, freedom of conscience, the lay character of the state, and equality before the law” (Godechot). The evidence seemingly points to the idea that the Napoleonic Code was in favor of the people in France. This does not necessarily mean that all the citizens were equal among the Code, as these codes benefited the men over the women. Women’s rights were severely limited as they were weak and less than men, causing them to feel subordinated through these codes. Another part of the Napoleonic code was the Penal Code, which stated that the guillotine, a machine that beheaded people, would make execution easier and more efficient, which was what Napoleon wanted for a justice system in France. The use of the guillotine shows how the government wished to keep the society safe and have a simple method of execution which would save time and money. These quotes reveal the impact that the Napoleonic Code had on the French citizens, as it adapted old laws to accommodate the French way of life while preserving the economy and strengthening social