Black Council

In the history of Ukraine, the Black Council (Ukrainian: Чорна рада, romanized: Chorna rada) was a council (rada) of Ukrainian Cossacks in which participated a large number of ordinary Cossacks, as well as local commoners (usually a Cossack rada was convened among the Cossack starshyna).

The name comes from the Ukrainian word чернь (chern [uk], "blacks"), a demeaning term for rank-and-file Cossacks and lowly folk in general, "plebs".

The most famous of these was the Black Council of 1663.

[1][2][3] Usually Black Rada signified drastic changes among the starshyna.

[4] This Ukrainian history–related article is a stub.