Nine Men
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The Nine Men was a council of citizens elected by the residents of New Netherland to advise its Director General Peter Stuyvesant on the governance of the colony. It replaced the previous body, the Eight Men, which itself had superseded the Twelve Men. Members of this early form of representational democracy in North America were elected in 1647, 1649, 1650 and 1652. On July 26, 1649, eleven current and former members of the board signed the ''Petition of the Commonality of New Netherland'', which requested that the Estates-General take action to encourage economic freedom and force local government like that in the Netherlands, removing the colony from the control of the
Dutch West India Company The Dutch West India Company () was a Dutch chartered company that was founded in 1621 and went defunct in 1792. Among its founders were Reynier Pauw, Willem Usselincx (1567–1647), and Jessé de Forest (1576–1624). On 3 June 1621, it was gra ...
. It became the basis for the municipal government when the city of
New Amsterdam New Amsterdam (, ) was a 17th-century Dutch Empire, Dutch settlement established at the southern tip of Manhattan Island that served as the seat of the colonial government in New Netherland. The initial trading ''Factory (trading post), fac ...
received its charter in 1653.


Members

Members and the year of election: *Key : = Member of the council : = Chairman


See also

* Burgomaster *
Voorleser Voorleser was the title given to a responsible citizen in New Netherland and later Dutch Empire, Dutch colonies who had semi-official duties in local law, education and religion. Etymology The word ''voorleser'' as used in English language, Engli ...
* Schepen * Schout * Maryn Adriansen * Abraham Isaacsen Verplanck


References

{{reflist Nonets * 1647 establishments in the Dutch Empire