First Elections of the Batavian Republic

Background. The old Dutch Republic fell in early 1795 after French intervention, with a French army under General Charles Pichegru and a Dutch contingent under General Herman Willem Daendels crossing the frozen rivers during the severe winter of 1794/95. The Batavian Republic was proclaimed on 19 January 1795, creating the context in which new representative institutions could be contemplated.

Preparation for the Elections. In the fall of 1795 the States General began working out a procedure to peacefully replace itself, by constitutional means, with a National Assembly that would possess full executive, legislative, and constituent powers. This decision set the stage for the first general elections in Dutch history, held for the National Assembly of the Batavian Republic.

The Assembly Convenes. The newly elected National Assembly convened in The Hague on 1 March 1796. Its first major act was to install a constitutional commission, which by November 1796 presented a report amounting to a continuation of the old federal arrangements, beginning the long constitutional debates that followed the elections.