Napoleonic Cadastre

Previously unknown description of the Fondurane aqueduct branches in the Napoleonic cadastre (AD-83)

The Napoleonic cadastre, also known as the old cadastre or cadastral plan of 1812, is a centralized cadastral parcel established in France by the law of September 15, 1807. It was based on the "standard cadastre" defined on November 2, 1802. This survey brought together approximately a hundred million parcels on a unified map, ^[1] serving as the first legal and fiscal tool for the equitable imposition of land taxes on citizens.

The land register plans, which varied in their presentations and units of measurement, were surveyed and revised according to the law of April 16, 1930 to ensure consistency and accuracy.

Napoleonic cadastre implementation

The regime established by Napoleon I, known as the First Empire, lasted just over ten years from 1804 to 1815. It is marked by the rise of a powerful and centralized state facilitating the comprehensive modernization of various administrative structures.

One of Napoleon's significant achievements was the Civil Code and what he considered its essential counterpart: the cadastral plan. This is the reason why the earliest versions of the cadastre are referred to as "Napoleonic cadastres," which continue to be utilized in the present day.

The origins of the current cadastre can be traced back to the early years of the French Revolution, apart from the land registry cadastre in certain southern provinces like Languedoc, established during the reign of Louis XVI, which was ahead of the rest of the country at that time.

On November 23, 1790, the Constituent Assembly passed a law establishing the principle of a "land tax," which served as the foundation for a tax system aimed at being "egalitarian." This tax was designed to be proportional to the income of each parish at first, and later to the income of each citizen.

With the principle established, the next step was to develop a tool for inventorying and assessing each commune's share of the tax burden. This was achieved in September 1791 with the passing of a law outlining the methods for implementing the communes' plans. The objective was to create a comprehensive cadastre based on the large triangles of the Academy of Sciences. ^[2]

Cassini map (18th century) of Paris.

At its inception, the cadastral plan was seen as a fundamental mapping tool for the entire Republic's territory. It served a dual purpose: determining land tax amounts for each commune and providing a detailed description of the expanding national territory. The only comprehensive cartographic resource available to the administration at the time was the recently nationalized Cassini map. While the Cassini map accurately located all the parishes of the old regime, it lacked detailed boundary information for each parish.

It was first and foremost important to begin the “preparatory work.” This mainly involved the precise delineation of the communes using a new measurement system, which would be standardized by a single unit: the meter.

To achieve this goal, the Academy of Sciences commissioned two renowned astronomers, Jean-Baptiste Delambre and Pierre Méchain, to measure the length of the Paris meridian between Dunkirk and Barcelona by connecting the two cities with a chain of triangles. Despite the revolutionary turmoil, these scientists traveled across France to complete their mission successfully. They conducted triangulation, at times sighting between points spaced more than 50 km apart. These measurements led to the derivation of the length of the 1/10,000 part of the terrestrial meridian, marking the first definition of the meter.

The work executed would serve as a solid foundation for a comprehensive triangulation of the country. Once adequately densified, cadastral plans could be accurately mapped onto this framework.

The concept of georeferencing the plans was established from the beginning.

After some time, political instability hindered the progress of cadastral parcels. In 1802 a law was enacted under the Consulate to expedite the work significantly due to the urgent requirement to collect tax revenues.

To save time, it was decided to establish the cadastre based on "crop masses," which involved creating an inventory of the types of crops in an entire commune. At that time, there was no intention to identify each owner individually.

To expedite the process, it was decided to parcel only 1,800 communes (one or two per arrondissement). The land lot would be conducted in these communes to assess income per unit of land for each specific crop. Therefore, the goal is to extrapolate the revenue data to other communes within the same department.

In 1803, a law expanded this cadastre system to cover the entire territory. The "by crop mass" plans created were valuable tools, colored and descriptive, illustrating a commune's territory with divisions into sections, toponymy, roads, buildings (with varying levels of detail), and hydrography, but without parcel details.

In 1807, three years after the establishment of the First Empire, the French territory expanded and soon reached 130 departments.

On September 15, 1807, driven by Minister of Finance Martin Michel Charles Gaudin, a new law was enacted that required the abandonment of the existing cadastres based on "crop mass", and mandated a centralized cadastral parcel for all communes of the Empire. This decision necessitated starting the parcel process from scratch.

"[It is necessary] to prepare, for each commune, a plan where [the parcels] are reported, [then] to classify them all according to the degree of fertility of the soil [and] to evaluate the taxable yield of each of them; [finally] to gather, in the name of each owner, the scattered parcels belonging to him; to determine, by combining their yield, his total income and to make of this income an assessment which will henceforth be the basis of his taxation..."

— Excerpt from the law of September 15, 1807

The cadastre, as known currently, originated with a plan that describes parcels, each with a designated tax revenue and owner. This information, known as "attribute data," is now recorded in an assessment called the "cadastral matrix."

In 1811, a comprehensive compilation was published that gathered all laws, decrees, regulations, instructions, and decisions related to the cadastre of France. This publication serves as a "user manual" for creating cadastral plans. A significant portion of the compilation focuses on technical operations, making it a valuable reference work that continues to influence the establishment of cadastral systems in other countries worldwide.

It took over forty years, the fall of the Empire, the reign of three kings, and the advent of the Second Republic for almost all the communes of France to be cadastral. Excluding the County of Nice, Corsica, and Savoy, which were later cadastrated, there are still two uncadastrated island communes in 2021, both located in Finistère. Therefore, the residents of Île de Sein and Île de Molène do not pay property tax, thanks to Louis XIV, who exempted them from taxation due to the harsh climatic conditions they faced.

In 1848, a comprehensive parcel of all of France was conducted. At a broader level, the General Staff officers were preparing a large map known as the Carte d'état-major (Ordnance Survey map). It is important to mention that for the creation of this map, French cartography heavily relied on the direct use of cadastral plans and their corresponding tables.

In the second half of the 19th century, while advancements in techniques and measurement instruments were occurring, there were few notable events. However, over the decades, a significant issue emerged: the need to update the cadastre. Updating this plan was not originally planned and was even considered illegal, with only a few exceptions for specific situations like changes in commune boundaries. The standard practice was to maintain the cadastral matrices up to date without altering the plan. This lack of updates was primarily due to the perceived high cost involved. Since the cadastral plan was viewed solely as a fiscal document, the administration saw no value in visually tracking the changes in property ownership. ^[4]

Contemporary uses

Napoleonic cadastre of Blagnac in 1809.

The Napoleonic cadastre, similar to the old Ordnance Survey maps, continues to be a valuable resource for various professionals such as historians, toponymists (who find interesting elements of microtoponymy), ^[5] archaeologists, ^[6] urban planners, architects, and landscape architects, particularly those focused on heritage (for instance, for mapping ancient woodlands, ^[7] ecologists study hydrographic traces, understand bocage patterns, ^[8] establish biodiversity indices, ^[9] and analyze soil fertility in agroforestry ^[10] ). Climatologists have found it useful in tracking the retreat of glaciers since 1850, ^[11] while geographers have employed it to study rural habitat evolution ^[12] and land development changes. ^[13] The cadastre offers insights for retrospective ecology and restoration projects, such as the green and blue infrastructure outlined by the Grenelle environnement and Grenelle laws. ^[14] It reveals the intensive agricultural, livestock, and forestry activities in certain departments during its creation. For instance, in the Nord department, only 1.31% of land was marshes and wastelands on average. ^[15] The cadastre also helps identify relictual wetlands, ^[16] water management systems, ^[17] and the development of waterways. ^[18]

It was not until the early 20th century that the need to update the plan became apparent. The country's industrialization, the development of suburbs, the rapid growth of the railway, the improvement of roads, and the damage of World War I were significantly reshaping events in the territory. This ultimately caused a mismatch between the cadastral plan and the actual terrain.

Several procedures for updating the plan were conceptualized and put into practice during the interwar period. It was also during this time that the evolution of parcels started being monitored through what were known as "conservation sketches" and "survey sketches." Additional methods for updating the plan were introduced in the 1940s-50s, leading to terms like "updated," "renewed," "revised," or "revised" cadastral plans. In some cases, plans over a hundred years old may need updating.

In 1956, the Cadastral Conservation was established, marking the beginning of a new era in the monitoring of cadastral parcels. This included the recording of division/reunion activities on the plan and the maintenance of filiations in literal form. The management mode of the cadastral plan that we are familiar with today can be traced back to 1956.

100,000 small-format map (XXth) of Paris.

From the 1950s to the 1980s, another procedure called the "restructuring" process was developed to address the challenges of modernizing and mechanizing agriculture. This process involves a comprehensive reorganization of the land in a commune, either in part or entirely.

In the late 1980s, the dematerialization of the cadastral plan commenced. Private companies played a significant role in digitizing around 99 million parcels nationwide. While the vectorization process is ongoing, it is expected to be finalized within the next two years.^{[ when? ]}

In 2021, the cadastral plan serves some purposes beyond taxation. It is commonly used as a foundation for urban planning documents and more broadly as a framework for defining regulatory zoning. ^[4]

In the 21st century, new challenges are emerging in the evolution of cadastral plans, such as 3D mapping and parceling public domains. ^[4] Recent tools like computer vectorization ^[19] and Geographic information systems (GIS) continue to enhance the study and services provided by cadastral plans. ^{[20] [21]}

References

1. Clergeot, P (2007). "Cent millions de parcelles en France: 1807, un cadastre pour l'Empire". Publi-Topex (in French).
2. "L'histoire cadastre de Napoléon à Macron" (in French). Retrieved 2021-07-22.
3. "Mon Territoire". open.monterritoire.fr (in French). Archived from the original on July 21, 2021. Retrieved July 21, 2021.
4. "Open Mon Territoire". www.monterritoire.fr (in French). Retrieved Jul 21, 2021.
5. Braidy, É; Tamine, M (2002). "Corpus microtoponymique de la Marne: cadastre" napoléonien"". Parc Naturel Régional de la Montagne de Reims (in French).
6. Baptiste, G (1993). "Le Cadastre napoléonien comme source pour l'archéologie et l'histoire de l'art". Revue d’archéologie moderne (in French): 93–124.
7. Dupouey, J. L; Bachacou, J; Cosserat, R; Aberdam, S; Vallauri, D; Chappart, G; Corvisier de Villèle, M. A (2007). "ers la réalisation d'une carte géoréférencée des forêts anciennes de France". Le Monde des Cartes (in French). 191: 85–98.
8. Watteaux, M (2005). "Sous le bocage, le parcellaire...". Études rurales (in French) (3): 53–80.
9. Larrieu, L; Gonin, P (2008). L’indice de biodiversité potentielle (ibp): une méthode simple et rapide pour évaluer la biodiversité potentielle des peuplements forestiers (in French).
10. Koerner, W (1999). Impacts des anciennes utilisations agricoles sur la fertilité du milieu forestier actuel (in French). Archived from the original on October 23, 2017.
11. Jomelli, V; Bertran, P; Kunesch, S (2002). "Le cône de la Momie: un nouveau type de dépôt proglaciaire mis en place depuis la fin du Petit Age Glaciaire". Quaternaire (in French). 13 (2): 257–265.
12. Mallé, M. P (1987). "Maisons du nord des Hautes-Alpes. L'habitat rural entre histoire et tradition". Terrain. Anthropologie & sciences humaines (in French) (9): 60–71.
13. Fabre, É; Vernet, C (2006). "Évolution de l'occupation du sol dans les Alpes-de-Haute-Provence (début du XIXe siècle-fin du XXe siècle)". Méditerranée. Revue géographique des pays méditerranéens/Journal of Mediterranean geography (in French) (107): 35–42.
14. Franchomme, M (2008). "Du cadastre napoléonien à la trame verte, le devenir des petites zones humides périurbaines en région Nord-Pas de Calais". Université de Lille (in French). 1.
15. Guignet, P (2012). "La répartition du sol dans les 650 communes du Nord au moment de la confection du cadastre dit «napoléonien»". Revue du Nord (in French) (3): 577–612.
16. Franchomme, M; Schmitt, G (2012). "Les zones humides dans le Nord vues à travers le cadastre napoléonien: les Systèmes d'Informations Géographiques comme outil d'analyse". Revue du Nord (in French) (3): 661–680.
17. Bartout, P (2011). "L'apport du cadastre napoléonien aux problématiques spatiales des retenues d'eau". Revue Géographique de l'Est (in French). 51 (3–4).
18. Lespez, L; Garnier, E; Cador, J. M; Rocard, D (2005). "Les aménagements hydrauliques et la dynamique des paysages des petits cours d'eau depuis le XVIIIe siècle dans le nord-ouest de la France: l'exemple du bassin versant de la Seulles (Calvados)". Aestuaria (in French). 7: 89–109.
19. Gauthiez, B (2008). "Lyon en 1824-32: un plan de la ville sous forme vecteur d'après le cadastre ancien". Géocarrefour (in French). 83 (1).
20. Ghozzi, F; Davtian, G; Tomassin, P (2004). "Apport d'un SIG à l'étude d'un cadastre dit" napoléonien" (PDF). Géomatique expert (in French). 38: 33–38.
21. Poirier, N (2006). "Des plans terriers au cadastre ancien: Mesurer l'évolution de l'occupation du sol grâce au SIG". Le Médiéviste et l'ordinateur (in French). 44.

See also

• Maps portal

• Cadastre
• Geography

Bibliography

• Le Couédic, M; Leturcq, S; Rodier, X; Hautefeuille, F; Fieux, E; Jouve, B (2012). "Du cadastre ancien au graphe. Les dynamiques spatiales dans les sources fiscales médiévales et modernes". ArcheoSciences. Revue d'archéométrie (in French) (36): 71–84.
• Pinoteau, C (2003). "Changer la carte, c'est changer l'objet". Études rurales (in French) (167–168): 247–262.
• Debray, Paul (1893). "Enquête sur la valeur actuelle des plans cadastraux, rapport présenté au nom du comité d'enquête". Imprimerie nationale (in French). Paris.