The interplay of accommodation and sediment supply during the lifespan of a foreland system controls the long-term shift from underfilled to overfilled accommodation conditions, which defines the first-order foreland cycle. Predictable shifts in the balance between flexural tectonics and dynamic loading during the evolution of a foreland system allow the subdivision of the first-order foreland cycle into early and late stages dominated by flexural tectonics, separated by an intermediate stage dominated by system-wide dynamic subsidence. The early stage is defined by an underfilled foredeep that hosts a deep-water environment, and an exposed forebulge whose progradation and erosion generates the ‘forebulge unconformity' at the base of the first-order foreland sequence. Submergence of the forebulge during the intermediate stage establishes an interior seaway across the entire foreland system. The late stage marks a shift to a system-wide continental setting, which defines the overfilled phase of the foreland cycle.