Napoleon writing his code
The Napoleonic Code was the French civil code that was established under Emperor Napoleon of the First French Empire on 21 March 1804. Napoleon set down the rule of law with his code, and he encouraged judges to interpret the law, took away women's rights, adopted a civil procedure code, and created jurisprudence. The Napoleonic Code was the first modern civil code to be adopted across Europe, and it became the precedent for modern Europe's legal system.