States-General
so called in contradistinction to the local états provinciaux, the only representative assembly of France up to the Revolution. Under the Karolings there was an annual assembly of clergy and nobles, called either the Champ de Mars or the Champ de Mai, according to the time of meeting, but it had little of a representative character. The States-General properly so called was first assembled by Philippe le Bel in 1302, on the occasion of his disagreements with the Pope. It STATES-GENERAL was composed of representatives of the three estates, nobles, clergy, and tiersétat or bourgeoisie. It assembled at pretty frequent intervals during the 14th century and not so regularly in the STATISTICS in the direction in which the change of motion occurs, and is measured by the product of the mass into the rate of this change, or what is called the acceleration. Thus, a falling stone of mass 15th and 16th centuries, being princi- M suffers a constant acceleration g pally occupied with financial matters, per second; hence the force pulling it though its functions in the imposition down, i. e., its weight, is measured by of taxation, etc., were very undefined, the product Mg. While the stone is and its powers were encroached on from time to time by the royal authority. It had no legislative power whatever. The last States-General before the famous one which heralded the Revolution was that held under Louis XIII. in 1614.
From that date till May 5, 1789, the crown absorbed the whole functions of taxation as well as of government. The States-General of 1789, almost immediately on its constitution, was resolved by the secession of the representatives of the tiers-état into the Assemblée Nationale.
The name States-General is also applied to the legislative body of Holland, lineally descended from the Estates- General of the United Province, which took such a prominent and honorable part in the revolt of the Netherlands.