States-General: Meaning (information, definition, explanation, facts)

The word States-General, or Estates-General, refers in English to :

• the Etats-Généraux of France before the French Revolution
• the Staten Generaal of the Dutch Netherlands.

The name in both cases signifies, whatever the ultimate divergence in character of the two bodies, the assembly of the representatives of the various estates of the realm, called together for purposes of legislation or deliberation. This article incorporates text from the public domain 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica.