---
title: "1789 French Legislative Election"
year: 1789
country: "France"
canonical: "https://recap.at/1789/estates-general-election"
slug: "estates-general-election"
recapType: "global_event"
startDate: "1789-01-01"
---

# 1789 French Legislative Election

> The Estates-General elections of 1789 transformed an absolute monarchy into a revolutionary assembly and redefined political legitimacy in the West.

## Summary

An unauthorized election to the Estates General of 1789 was secretly held by white slaveholders in the French colony of Saint-Domingue, coinciding with the elections in metropolitan France. Frustrated by the lack of elected assemblies in the colony, they sought representation in the Estates General and aimed to protect their racial hierarchy from the abolitionist Society of the Friends of the Blacks and free people of color, including those who owned slaves themselves.

## Sources

- [1789 French legislative election in Saint-Domingue](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1789_French_legislative_election_in_Saint-Domingue) - Wikipedia

---
Canonical: https://recap.at/1789/estates-general-election