The Constitution of the Kingdom of Westphalia was the oldest constitution in Germany, adopted by the Kingdom of Westphalia on November 15, 1807. It was drafted based on the French Constitution of 1804 and served as a model for the constitutions of other states in the Confederation of the Rhine, the Napoleonic union of German states (e.g. the Grand Duchy of Frankfurt). The Constitution was adopted by royal decree on December 7, 1807 and published in the law bulletin.
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👉 Constitution of the Kingdom of Westphalia in the context of Kingdom of Westphalia
The Kingdom of Westphalia was a client state of France in present-day Germany that existed from 1807 to 1813. While formally independent, it was ruled by Napoleon's brother Jérôme Bonaparte. It was named after Westphalia, but this was a misnomer since the kingdom had little territory in common with that area. The region mostly covered territory formerly known as Eastphalia.
Napoleon imposed the first written modern constitution in Germany, a French-style central administration, and agricultural reform. The kingdom liberated the serfs and gave everyone equal rights and the right to a jury trial. In 1808 the kingdom passed Germany's first laws granting Jews equal rights, thereby providing a model for reform in the other German states. Westphalia seemed to be progressive in immediately enacting and enforcing the new reforms.