The council of
Nine Men was citizens board and a form of representational democracy in
New Netherland. It replaced the previous councils, the
Twelve Men and the
Eight Men. Members of the council 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 States 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. It became the basis for the municipal government when the city of
New Amsterdam received its charter in 1653.