1801 Post-War French Republic Legal Bulletin

On offer is an excellent edition of the French Republic Legal Bulletin from the early days of the Republic. The manuscript is entitled BULLETIN DES LOIS DE LA REPUBLIC (Legal Bulletin of the Republic) and was published, according to the new revolutionary calendar, on 22 Frimaire of Year 10 –November 22, 1801.

This manuscript details 19 separate laws that were passed by the government of France, a 5 member committee known as the Directory, in the bloody days following the French Revolution. They deal with matters such as the following:

No (1087) Loi qui autorize un echange de batimens nationaux et communaux dans la ville de Blois [Law which authorizes an exchange of national and communal buildings in the city of Blois]

No (1094) Arret portant qu'il se tiendra dans la commune de Curel, department de la Haute Marne, trois foires ... [Decree stating that there will be three fairs in the town of Curel, department of Haute Marne...]

No (1101)) Arret qui nomme le [] Jean-Bon Saint-Andre prefet du department du Mont Tonnerre [Decree which appoints the [] Jean-Bon Saint-Andre prefect of the department of Mont Tonnerre]

No (1102) Arret qui retablit le bureau de guarantie de Terascon [Decree that re-establishes the guaranty office of Terascon]

No (1100) Arret qui ordonne le paiment de pensiones et secours accordes a des veuves d'invalides [Decree that orders the payment of pensions and relief granted to widows of invalids]

Each Decree begins with a reference to is source of authority – in some cases Les Consuls de la Republique, in others Au Nom du Peuple Francais, Bonaparte, premier Consul ...

The manuscript concludes with this assertion:

Le premier Consul, signe Bonaparte, Par le premier Consul: le secretaire d'etat, signe Hugues B. Maret. Le ministre de la gurerre, signe Alex Berthier. Certifie conforme: Le Ministre de la Justice, Abrial

[Translation: The First Consul, signed Bonaparte, By the First Consul: the Secretary of State, signed Hugues B. Maret. The minister of war, signed Alex Berthier. Certified true: The Minister of Justice, Abrial]

This manuscript is interesting as the 4 years of rule by the Directory were years of turmoil, chaos and continual warfare with other countries. In late 1795, there was a Royalist uprising that threatened to overturn the Directory. To save itself, it called upon Napoleon Bonaparte to provide a defence of the National Constitution. Bonaparte used canons to disperse the mobs, killing an estimated 1,400 people in the streets. He was promoted to General commanding the French armies. Four years later, he returned to overthrow the Directory and have himself installed as ‘First Consul’ The Revolution was over.

Napoleon had a profound impact on the development of the modern world. No place is this more evident than his detailed and extensive legal code – known in France as the Code civil des Français and more commonly simply as the Napoleonic Code. Across Europe and in North America (Province of Quebec, Canada) the Code is foundation of the legal systems in place. And its influence spread throughout Central and South America via Spanish and Portuguese colonies and to other parts of the world where it heavily influenced the laws of many of the countries.

For a historian, this is a superb look into the details that had to be mastered in building a new Republic, even in the midst of a prolonged and immense war between the France and a coalition of all of its principal enemies. For a legal scholar or historian, this is a wonderful piece of legal history, part of the most far-reaching and important legal revisions in modern history.

This manuscript is a single sheet measuring approximately 22 inches by 17 inches. Printed doublesided, it is folded to create an octavo containing 16 pages. The folds have not been cut to separate out the pages. There is some slight staining and feathering along the outer edges.