# Canonical recap data for 1789 French Legislative Election (1789)
# Source: https://recap.at/1789/estates-general-election
# Format: YAML 1.2 (UTF-8). Generated at request time.
slug: estates-general-election
canonicalUrl: "https://recap.at/1789/estates-general-election"
title: 1789 French Legislative Election
subtitle: The Estates-General elections of 1789 transformed an absolute monarchy into a revolutionary assembly and redefined political legitimacy in the West.
recapType: global_event
eventStatus: concluded
startDate: 1789-01-01
datePrecision: year
year: 1789
decade: 1780
country:
name: France
slug: france
summaryShort: 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
summaryLong: 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.
heroImageUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4e/Prise_de_la_Bastille.jpg/1280px-Prise_de_la_Bastille.jpg"
heroImageCredit: Jean-Pierre Houël · via Wikipedia
importance: 85
sourceConfidence: 75
keyFacts: []
timeline: []
sources:
- url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1789_French_legislative_election_in_Saint-Domingue"
  title: 1789 French legislative election in Saint-Domingue
  provider: Wikipedia
related: []
categories:
- election
- revolution
metaDescription: 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 elec
wikidataQid: Q135234390
archiveSnapshots:
- url: "https://web.archive.org/web/20251205120414/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1789_French_legislative_election_in_Saint-Domingue"
  capturedAt: 2025-12-05
  label: 1789 French legislative election in Saint-Domingue
  originalUrl: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1789_French_legislative_election_in_Saint-Domingue"
taxonomy:
domain: political
eventTypes:
- election
canonicalClasses:
- governance
- competition
impactRadius: national
velocity: sudden
predictability: scheduled
intentionality: planned
domainCoupling: single_domain
