Chapter 366 The Indian Natives’ Counterattack
Joseph began to take a closer look at the land redemption plan submitted by Brian.
At the beginning of the document, it was first stated that the public land illegally occupied by the nobles must be returned without compensation.
Joseph couldn't help but nodded slightly. This version is finally better than the previous one.
France's land ownership rights in the feudal era were very confusing, and almost no one could absolutely own a piece of land. A large amount of feudal land is jointly owned by the king, nobles, church, local government, or no one.
Furthermore, possession, use and benefits from land often belong to different people. Feudal lords were not actually landowners, but had the power to collect taxes and appoint cultivators. Of course, the king also has some tax-collecting powers.
Many of these lands are public lands, such as forests, ponds, wastelands, etc., which usually account for half of a village's land. According to regulations, farmers could cut grass, chop wood, and graze cattle on these public lands, while nobles could hunt here.
However, after hundreds of years of evolution, the nobles relied on their power to occupy these public lands and turned them into their own hunting grounds, summer resorts, fish ponds, or opened up wasteland for cultivated land, and levied taxes on these illegally occupied lands.
In the first two versions of the land plan, the public land occupied by the nobility was converted into proportion and allowed to be redeemed by the peasants. The reason is that the nobles also paid a lot of costs to "develop" these lands.
The latest version of the plan finally forces the nobility to return public land.
But Joseph knew that this matter was not that simple.
There was a huge amount of public land occupied by the nobles, and some of the less wealthy nobles even relied on these lands for their livelihood. This could not be solved with a simple "abolition".
The king could issue a decree to take back public lands, but a large number of desperate nobles could also get together and mess up the country. The nobles were the most influential people in feudal society.
Joseph continued to look at the document in his hand:
The annual tribute, tithes and other taxes will no longer need to be redeemed. Annual tribute farmers can pay a one-time land redemption fee of 25 times the annual output value of the land, and other types of tenant farmers can pay a one-time land redemption fee of 30 times the annual output value of the land. At the same time, the transfer fee for such redeemed land is five times that of normal transactions. In addition, farmers must first pay all arrears of annual tribute and taxes before they can redeem their land.
Attached to the document is the estimated total amount of land redemption across France - 3.8 to 4 billion livres.
Joseph was almost happy.
It seems that this thing was created by Mirabeau's group.
The annual tribute, tithe tax, etc. were abolished, which was used to disgust the old aristocrats, because emerging aristocrats like them hardly relied on these feudal taxes to survive.
It is impossible for ordinary tenant farmers to pay a one-time redemption fee of 25 to 30 times the annual output value of the land. If you look at the total amount of 4 billion livres, you will know that if French farmers can spend so much money, there will be no need to reform the land system. If you are so rich, who cares about your land ownership?
Needless to say billions in redemption payments, in fact more than half of French farmers cannot even make up for the arrears in taxes. In other words, they are not even qualified to participate in the redemption.
This redemption plan is obviously prepared for the capital aristocrats to annex and speculate on land. Only they can afford such expensive land.
After buying the land, they can control the price of the land and make a fortune by reselling it. Peasants still have to rent their land, but they have just changed from feudal rent to surplus value being exploited by capitalists.
Joseph could imagine how disappointed the peasants would be with the royal family after experiencing the excitement of getting rid of the shackles of feudal taxes and falling into another kind of heavy exploitation. Yes, farmers will only blame the royal family for these problems. Whoever makes you the "big boss" has the biggest target and is the easiest to target. Then maybe the late arrival of the great destiny will come as promised...
Joseph couldn't help but rubbed his eyebrows.
Although this version of the land redemption plan is somewhat improved than before - the previous version even required farmers to redeem 30 years of feudal taxes before they could purchase land - it will still seriously intensify social conflicts in France.
Historically, the Feillians and Girondins would collapse quickly. The fundamental reason was that the land redemption policy was opposed by the whole country.
To be honest, Joseph really wants to make a big coup and clear out the aristocracy - so that he can follow the Jacobin approach in history.
However, if you get into trouble, your family will be in trouble first...
How can we stabilize the aristocratic class while minimizing the pressure on lower-class farmers to redeem their land, and at the same time take care of the attitude of the capitalist class?
He rubbed his hair irritably and took up a pen to revise the land redemption plan.
Feudal taxes had to be partially redeemed, and the way public land was handled was completely inadequate. This is to take care of the jobs of some of the old nobles.
The redemption amount of 25 to 30 times the annual output value of the land is definitely unreasonable, let alone requiring a lump sum payment. Banks may be considered here to provide loans to farmers. The total redemption cost nationwide cannot exceed 1.5 billion livres.
Set a minimum guaranteed land area per capita. Before the minimum guaranteed area is exceeded, farmers can redeem their land at the most favorable price, and the amount for the excess land will be gradually increased.
In addition, the longer the farming time, the higher the yield per mu, and the cheaper it is to redeem the land...
After Joseph finished writing this, he still felt unsatisfied. So he sent the revised document back to Brian, asking the smart people of this era to think of another solution.
However, Joseph did not expect that this "crack" regarding the land redemption policy would soon be targeted by another group of people.
…
London.
The British Foreign Secretary, the Marquess Wellesley, came out of the parliament hall, got into the carriage with a dark face, and drove straight to No. 10 Downing Street.
"How is the situation?" Prime Minister Peter Jr. was obviously waiting for him. He opened the door of his office and welcomed him in. "You don't seem to be looking very well."
"The situation in India is probably far worse than we imagined." Marquis Wellesley hung his hat on a shelf nearby, turned back and closed the door, and said in a deep voice, "When I asked the question in Parliament just now, the Whig Party People say that Mysore's army suddenly attacked Kannanur, and more than 200 East India Company men were captured and several ships were lost."
Little Pete's expression suddenly changed. He first cursed the intelligence system in his mind - he didn't know about such a big thing earlier than the opposition party - and then looked at the Foreign Secretary: "What on earth do those Indian natives want to do?! "
(End of chapter)