The impact of Napoleon's rule on France - 1799-1815 - NEEDED FOR EXAM COPY Flashcards
Legal and administrative change: the Napoleonic codes; the prefects, police and control Have a mindmap on
What are the Napoleonic Codes?
The French civil code established under the French Consulate and still in force
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When were the Napoleonic Codes issued?
March 1804
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What was Napoleon’s simplifying and clarifying of France’s legal structure the culmination of?
Revolutionaries’ efforts who’d already changed the legal system
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What 2 things did the codification of law allow?
- Helped standardise law through an accessible record
- Provided an opportunity for defining law
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What did Napoleon do to the committee established by the National Convention and why?
Napoleon discarded the old committee of the Assembly, considering that it demonstrated its incapacity
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When did Napoleon appoint a new commission to codify a French civil law code?
August 13, 1800
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What was Napoleon’s attitude towards the French legal system?
That France’s greatest need was a thorough overhauling
and unification of its laws but he was unsure of the
means reform was to be brought about
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When Napoleon appointed a new commission to reform the legal system, how many lawyers were chosen to represent northern France and southern France
2 to represent north France
2 to represent south France
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Where was Roman law applied?
Southern France
What did the 4 lawyers from the south and north of France do?
Presented a draft civil law code in 1800
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Who did Napoleon appoint as the head of the commission of legal experts?
Cabarceres, the Second Consul
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What is the debate over the significance of Napoleon’s role in drafting the Code?
Some argue that “the part that Napoleon took in framing it [the Code] was not very important” and “interesting as his observations occasionally are, he cannot be considered as a serious collaborator in this great work”. However, others argue that “Napoleon’s presence may be attributed to the fact that the civil law of France was codified with more guilt than other portions of French law, but also with a livelier sense of the general interests of the State. Napoleon knew civil equality, healthy family life, secure bulwarks to property, religious toleration, and government without division was important and so this is the policy which he stamped upon the Civil Code.”
Who publically disagreed with some of the proposals and why?
Some members of the Tribunate criticised some proposals because they were contrary to revolutionary principles
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What was the reaction to criticism of the proposals?
They were disregarded
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What ultimately happened?
Napoleon had it promulgated anyway
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What was the name of the legislature that was promulgated?
Code Civil des Français (Civil Code) - renamed Code Napoleon
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What was the Code influenced by?
A combination of Roman doctrines and French Revolutionary values
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What did the Napoleon code exist to provide and why?
A codified structure for law due to the legal disorganisation of the Ancien Regime and the turmoil and constant legal changes caused by the Revolution and the Terror
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What 4 things did the Napoleonic Code confirm?
- Abolition of feudalism and removal of privilege for Church + nobility
- Secularisation of the state
- Equality before the law and freedom of conscience
- Continued support of employer over employee and forbade workers’ associations
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3 clauses of the Code that were influenced by Roman law?
- The father/husband = head of the family
- Children were subordinate to their father until marriage and could be imprisoned by the father for misbehaving
- Until sons were 25 and daughters were 21, they required their father’s permission to marry
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What code was brought in in 1806 and what did it do?
A code on civil procedure standardised court practice in relation to the Civil Code.
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What code was brought in in 1807 and what did it do?
A commercial code provided guidelines for trade and business, including debt and bankruptcy.
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What code was brought in in 1808 and what 3 things did it do?
A code on criminal procedure maintained:
1. the practice of trial by jury
2. In special courts (for major cases), juries would be selected by prefects.
3. Arrest without trial, although with certain provisions.
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What court practice was Napoleon not keen on and why?
The practice of trial by jury, because he was not keen on this ‘English’ practice
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What jury system did Napoleon scrap and when?
The jury d’accusation - the first of the double jury system in 1811.
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What code was brought in in 1810 and what did it do?
A new penal code laid down guidelines for punishments.
What 3 things did the penal code include?
- The death penalty for murder, arson and forgery
- The loss of the right hand before execution, for killing a relative
- It did establish maximum and minimum penalties, rather than the fixed penalties of the Ancien Regime.
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What did the codification impose?
An order and uniformity that contrasted strongly with the chaotic system of pre-revolutionary times.
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How did Napoleon regard the codification?
As one of his main legacies because of it being the most comprehensive coding France ever had, even though it was more a cause of consolidation than innovation.
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What did the Napoleon Code have a clear focus on?
The main principles of the revolutionaries: liberty, equality and fraternity.
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Under what constitution were changes made to the way magistrates and judges were elected?
Constitution of Year VIII
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What changes did the Constitution of Year VIII make to the way magistrates and judges were elected?
Only local magistrates were directly elected by citizens; all others judges were appointed
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By how many years did Napoleon extend the terms of service for magistrates?
3-10 years
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How long were judges in civil and criminal courts appointed for?
For life
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What did Napoleon appoint?
Imperial prosecutors
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When did Napoleon begin appointing imperial prosecutors?
From 1804
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What type of men did Napoleon choose?
Men of sound professional training, of whom many served during the Revolution
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When did Napoleon being making direct appointments to courts?
By 1802, Napoleon was making more or less direct appointments to the courts, including the appointment of government commissioners
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What system did Napoleon inherit?
An ineffective system of elected councils running the local government
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Two issues the elected councils running local governments had?
1) there was no direct communication + cooperation between local councils and central government
2) local councils were underfunded
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What were prefects?
The chief administer in each departement responsible for central authority
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When did Napoleon begin appointing prefects?
February 1800
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What were prefects based on?
An ancient Roman name + concept
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Who appointed prefects?
Napoleon
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Who was responsible for the prefects?
The Minister of the Interior
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How many departements were there when Napoleon came into power?
102
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At the peak of the Empire, how many departements were there?
130
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Who were prefects helped by? 3 answers
- sub prefects
- district councils
- mayors
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What 4 things were prefects responsible for?
- conscription
- tax collection
- agriculture
- industry
What 2 things were prefects expected to do?
- spread propaganda
- ensure that all government orders were obeyed
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How were prefects chosen?
Based on merit as administrators
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What type of men were avoided?
Extremists were avoided
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How many prefects were appointed between 1800-1812?
257
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How many prefects were employed in some capacity by former revolutionary governments?
68%
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Why were prefects mainly introduced?
To improve the effectiveness of Napoleon’s centralised control in the departements, as they acted in the name of the central government of the Consulate and pursued its interests in the provinces
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What did the prefects strongly resemble?
The intendants of the Ancien Regime who were also responsible for maintaining provincial rule and report to the central government
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What two police forces did Napoleon inherit?
- The gendarmerie (military police)
- The civilian ‘administrative police’
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What was given high priority by Napoleon as he searched for order and stability?
Police and control reforms
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What did the Gendarmerie become?
An elite, efficient and professional force
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Who made up the Gendarmerie?
Army veterans (over 1.75m tall) and had been vetted for the good service record. D
What did the Gendarmerie deal with?
Everyday law enforcement
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Four examples of the law enforcement that the Gendarmerie deal with?
- bandits
- theft
- violent crime
- enforcing conscription
What groups caused problems for the Gendarmerie?
Wandering groups who were often unemployed labourers sparked trouble.
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How was the Gendarmerie divided?
Groups of 6-10 men (known as Gendarmes)
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How did the Gendarmes have to present themselves?
Smart uniforms and well armed with breech-loading rifles
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What was the administrative police responsible for?
General surveillance
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What two things did the administrative police do?
- Gather information on habitual troublemakers
- Round up political troublemakers
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Who did the administrative police have to rely on to enforce arrests they ordered?
The Gendarmerie
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Who was the commissaire de police?
An officer appointed over each town w 5000+ inhabitants
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Who did the administrative police take orders from?
The commissaire de police
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Who did the commissaire report to?
His prefect or with the Ministry of General Police
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Who ran the Ministry of General Police (the Minister) between 1800-1810?
Fouche
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Who ran the Ministry of General Police (the Minister) between 1810-1814?
Jean-Marie Savary
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What did the Minister of General Police have to do daily?
Report to Napoleon
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By 1810, what 3 things were the Ministry of Police doing?
- intercepted correspondence
- interrogated suspicious ppl
- permanently exiled potential trouble-makers
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Why was the administrative policy mostly created?
To ensure that the Consulate was constantly informed of anyone seeking to undermine the Consulate
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