The Code Napoleon

When we think of Napoleon, the first image that comes to mind is usually that of a great warrior and statesman. Lesser known, but still very influential down to the present day, perhaps more so than any of his other achievements, is the impact Napoleon has had on modernising law. The impact of his military, diplomatic, political and legal achievements should not, however, been seen as separate phenomena. Together they contribute to the process of moulding the modern nation-state. In part, as a former sympathiser with the Jacobin faction in the French Revolution, which favoured democracy and republicanism, it was a conscious policy of Napoleon to modernise the state.

However, practical issues were much more influential. To defend France and deal with its enemies, Napoleon redrew the parameters of war. Eighteenth-century wars had been limited in terms of size of armies. The Battle of Blenheim (1704) was fought between armies of around 55,000. The limitations on size arose from constraints of budget, recruitment and logistics. Armies had to be paid for. Napoleon created modern conscription as a key element in raising the size of French armies to an unprecedented degree. In 1812, his armies peaked at over a million men of whom around 410,000 embarked on the invasion of Russia. This was only possible through extensive reform of the state to create a reliable bureaucracy, loyal to the ruler and able to raise taxes and organise a nationwide conscription called the levée en masse.