Today In History: March 21 1804

It was the cornerstone of the great legislative work of Napoleón Bonaparte and one of his great political successes

Since General Bonaparte rose to power in France, with the coup of 18 Brumaire (9 November 1799), one of his goals as leader of the country was to achieve France’s stabilization after years of turmoil, and war. One of the aspects in which he focused his energy was the ordination of the French legislation, which after years of constitutional changes and legislative work of the revolutionary assemblies had lost coherence and solidity. The culmination of this effort was the proclamation of the Civil Code (also known as Napoleonic Code) which ordered and harmonized all the revolutionary civil legislation in a just legal body of 2,281 items. Its implementation showed admirable efficacy and effectiveness, and its influence strongly spread throughout Europe during the 19th century.