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Why Is Napoleonic Code Important To The French Revolution

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The 1804 Napoleonic Code, which influenced civil law codes across the world, replaced the fragmented laws of pre-revolutionary France, recognizing the principles of civil liberty, equality before the law (although not for women in the same sense as for men), and the secular character of the state. Napoleon set out to reform the French legal system in accordance with the ideas of the French Revolution. Before the Napoleonic Code, France did not have a single set of laws. Law consisted mainly of local customs, which had sometimes been officially compiled in "customals." There were also exemptions, privileges, and special charters granted by the kings or other feudal lords. The development of the Napoleonic Code was a fundamental change in the

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