1797 Batavian Republic constitutional referendum

Following the French Revolution, the Patriots brought an end to the rule of stadtholder William V in the Dutch Republic, with support from the French army.^[1] They proclaimed the Batavian Republic, and established the National Assembly to draft a constitution, which would be put to a referendum. Its members disagreed about the extent of suffrage and about whether to organise the republic as a federal or unitary state. The Patriots had originally supported a federal state with autonomy for the provinces, but some wanted to emulate the unitary model of the French First Republic with a strong central government.^[2] After two years of debate, a draft constitution with compromises was completed on May 10, 1797.^[3]

The draft constitution had been rejected by almost eighty percent, which meant that a new Constitution would have to be drafted. In the elections for the National Assembly a few months later, the supporters of a unitary state won the majority, but the supporters of a federal state retained the majority in the constitutional commission. Meanwhile, in France, the radicals led by Pierre Augereau had seized power. With French help, the radical unitarists staged a coup d'état in January 1798. A new draft constitution, establishing a unitary republic, was quickly adopted in the National Assembly. The Constitution for the Batavian People was approved in a referendum on April 23, 1798.^[2]