Chapter 513 Chen Xia

French playwright Sebastian Messier once said in 1770: Food can feed and kill.

Nineteen years after he issued this sentiment, the Paris people stormed the Bastille, and the French Revolution broke out.

If she hadn't read Zhang Tao's report, Pomona would never have connected the volcanic eruption with the French Revolution.

There are volcanic eruptions every day on the earth, and not all volcanic eruptions will affect human history. In July 1783, the Laki volcano in Iceland erupted, and volcanic ash spread all over the northern hemisphere. This period of history was called the "Dust Summer" in British history.

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Due to historical reasons, the Roman Catholic Church was the largest landowner in France. During the reign of Louis XV, the climate was good. However, from 1739 to 1742, the climate suddenly became alarmingly cold, and grain harvests began to fail intermittently. By 1770,

Four years before Louis XVI came to the throne, the weather was changing increasingly violently, and bad harvests occurred frequently.

Weather changes have weakened market stability and agricultural product prices have fluctuated frequently, which has led to rising land rents and declining agricultural profits.

France is a Catholic country, while Britain and the United States are Protestant. Before the Great Revolution, French aristocrats gathered in the Palace of Versailles and competed to indulge in a luxurious and chaotic life.

Every aristocratic young woman in the Rococo era longed for a salon. "French style" was prevalent among women throughout Europe. People in almost all European courts read the same books, ate in the same way, wore the same clothes, and said

The same French. France at that time not only transmitted fashion to Europe, but also transmitted a French "lifestyle".

Light, deliberate, gorgeous, relaxed, and detail-oriented, both men and women wear wigs and look delicate and slender.

They leisurely traveled around the mountains and rivers, and smart men and women gathered in the salon to talk about politics, rational thoughts and current affairs. The women in the salon were gorgeously dressed, elegant in manners, and always had a sweet smile on their lips.

Women were the core of salon culture. Pomona couldn't imagine what Severus would look like wearing a suit of colorful silks and a wig on his head. That would probably be more of a nightmare than his current dark appearance.

In order to maintain the luxurious life in Paris, the nobles had to pawn their own land and lost the direct property rights of their territories. This was undoubtedly an act of suicide. However, the law stipulated that after losing ownership, the nobles could still collect taxes from future land transactions.

, that is to say, since the middle and late Bourbon period, the aristocratic class in Paris has been completely separated from the territory and has become a de facto parasitic class.

They could neither bring much benefit to the country, their poems and paintings could not improve the lives of the poor, and they did not have enough strength to protect their vested interests. During the "Seven Years' War", France lost many overseas colonies, and when the poor could not afford bread, they could not bring much benefit to the country.

Instead, Mary asked "Why don't they eat cake?" These French aristocrats were similar to the nobles of the Southern Dynasties.

The land pawned by the nobles was taken away by the bourgeoisie. In addition to the privilege of collecting taxes on land sales, the nobles also enjoyed lord hunting privileges, tax-free privileges and immunities. The most important thing was the privilege of participating in politics. The wealthy bourgeoisie were despised as

The third class of people can only participate in politics by buying and selling official positions.

War and the luxurious life of the royal family led to inflation, and land arrears further increased rents and increased the burden on farmers. In the 6th century AD, the church took advantage of the Bible's statement that 1/10 of agricultural and animal husbandry products belong to God and began to levy this tax on Christians.

After overthrowing the Merovingian royal family, the Frankish king stipulated in the code that paying tithes was the obligation of every Frankish soldier and civilian.

This method of tax collection often accounts for more than 1/10 of taxpayers' income, and the burden mainly falls on farmers.

For people who are hungry every day, who has money to pay taxes? On July 13, 1788, hailstorms continuously pounded farmland, causing a large amount of land to fail. In the winter of the same year, France was in a severe cold state, and illness and death rates increased.

A large-scale famine breaks out, and the government lacks sufficient transportation capacity to transport food to the disaster areas.

Louis XVI tried many times to reform and tax the wealthy class represented by the nobility and clergy to make up for the fiscal deficit left by Louis XV.

Louis XV was the most unpopular emperor of France. When he was having a happy affair with his mistresses, due to the defeat of the Seven Years' War, France signed the Treaty of Paris and gave up India, Canada and the colonies on the west bank of the Mississippi River.

Women really spend too much money. Clothes made of silk, shoes made of silk, as well as all kinds of magnificent mansions, servants and portraits painted with expensive materials, devour the treasury like a bottomless pit.

Louis XVI was very weak, but he did not have a mistress like other French kings. He was well behaved and lived a simple life. When people asked for some necessary reforms, he could understand the sentiments of the people and provide satisfaction. However, he had to face the aristocracy and the

People with poor harvests due to natural disasters for years, and a queen who knows nothing and is very good at spending money. He is a soft-hearted good man. Although he knows that the chess pieces are indulgent and he is aware of the poverty of the treasury, he still lets her do whatever she wants.

Spend money.

If some kings were destroyed by refusing to reform, Louis XVI was destroyed by trying to reform.

The road to hell is paved with good intentions.

As King Louis XVI, he lacked a strong character, and as a French monarch in an extraordinary period, such a character was harmful to others and himself.

When Louis XVI was being sent to the guillotine, a peasant shouted angrily, "The poor pay taxes, but the nobles who have enough food and clothing and live in debauchery all day long are tax-free. What's the truth about this?"

This tax system was also the reason for the destruction of the Tang Empire. Princess Taiping had a lot of land, but as a noble class, she did not need to pay "rent and servants." The empty treasury needed people like Yang Guozhong who were good at plundering people's wealth. This is why the Anshi Rebellion

After the outbreak, the people did not expect the Tang Dynasty to continue to be in power.

The oppression of the poor created a hotbed of violence. From July 1783 to the eruption of the volcano in February 1784, summer temperatures in Western Europe were very low, hay was extremely scarce, and cattle and sheep were slaughtered cheaply.

First there was no meat to eat, then there was no food. Long-term food shortages caused French society to become disordered. At this time, the American War of Independence began, and Spain and France entered the war one after another.

Colonial rice is one of the sources of food for France. After independence, the United States can no longer buy rice at the original low price.

The number of soldiers is generally about one-tenth to one-fifteenth of the people. Once the people rise up, suppression is completely impossible. The peasant uprisings in the late Sui Dynasty, the peasant uprisings in the late Tang Dynasty, Li Zicheng's uprising, and the Taiping Rebellion were all peasant uprisings.

Ordinary civilians have limited organizational capabilities, but it changes when they meet the bourgeoisie with knowledge, wealth and political talent. The French Revolution was a revolution led by the bourgeoisie. It was like life itself, a complex mixture.

, it is both inspiring and unacceptable, a mixture of hope and terror, violence and charity.

This is the result of a rising cycle of terror, in which radicals gain more and more power, driven by internal and external factors.

Marie Marie was very well-educated and lovely, but she did not understand the sufferings of the people.

The aristocratic class excessively pursues the quality of life, causing the middle class and ordinary civilians to follow suit. This typical consumerism can bring temporary prosperity, but will eventually perish.

During the Yang Xuangan uprising at the end of the Sui Dynasty, China encountered a drought. During the reign of Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty, Yang Jian, a free warehouse tax was implemented, which meant that the harvests in good years were collected and released for disaster relief in disaster years.

However, his son wanted to go on an expedition to Goguryeo. It was a long way from the Central Plains to the Northeast. Transporting it by land would cause a lot of consumption, so Yang Guang dug the Grand Canal.

After building the Grand Canal, Luoyang's geographical location was more advantageous than Daxing City, so Yang Guang built Luoyang, the eastern capital.

After the construction was completed in Luoyang, he invited other business travelers to visit, showing the purchasing power of the Celestial Kingdom, hoping that businessmen would come to China to do business. However, by that time, ordinary civilians no longer had the ability to buy expensive luxury goods shipped from the Silk Road.

The spices were mainly used by the aristocracy.

Commerce can increase tax revenue. After having military expenditures, he conscripted millions of troops to attack Goguryeo. However, he lost this war. The heads of 100,000 Sui soldiers were made into "Jingguan" by the Goguryeo people. He sent troops to conquer Goguryeo three times, and each time

It ended in failure. The food in the charity warehouse that was originally used for disaster relief was used as military ration. When the people asked for the warehouses to be opened, the officials did not open the warehouses. After Yang Xuangan raised his army, war broke out all over the country. The hungry people killed the officers and soldiers.

The grain silos were opened, but without control, a large amount of grain was wasted because the grain was too heavy.

The grain left by the Sui Dynasty was enough for the Tang Empire to last for fifty years. Yang Guang was overthrown when the grain warehouse was full.

The Chang Ping Cang system was set up by the ancient Chinese government to regulate grain prices to supply the needs of officials and people. The fluctuations in food prices before the French Revolution were completely left to the law of value. The Americans learned from China's Chang Ping Cang system during the Great Depression.

This ensured the stability of food prices.

Before World War I, farmers invested heavily in agriculture and the output of agricultural products increased. After the war, they lost overseas markets and there was a surplus of agricultural products.

Agriculture's weak foundation in the U.S. economic structure caused a long-term depression in agriculture. At that time, agricultural output was closely related to the weather.

By improving the soil and farmers' living conditions, the United States has become the world's largest food exporter with an agricultural population of less than 3 million.

China has a population of 1.2 billion. Once they lose food exports from the United States, it is unclear whether they will be able to feed so many people in the world.

The land issue has always been a chronic problem in China. After the French Revolution, private ownership of land was recognized. However, farmers’ land was not allowed to be bought and sold at will. It had to go through a special company. This was based on the experience of the disintegration of the land equalization system in the Tang Dynasty. As long as there was a gap, the landlords would

Try every means possible to annex land.

What farmers want is only land and property rights. After the land reform, farmers changed from a revolutionary and radical force to a conservative force.

They are all French style. There is a big difference between the clothing worn by women in Paris and the countryside. Country women do not pursue fashion, they are simple and natural, just like the empire high-waisted skirts of the Napoleonic period. There is no rococo style gorgeousness, just a white skirt like maternity wear.

The peasants didn't want much, but the bourgeoisie wanted to break their traditional way of life and ask them to buy their own goods. Therefore, when Napoleon restored the monarchy, they chose to support Napoleon and overthrew the revolutionaries.

Changing the feudal land ownership system to the small peasant land ownership system uprooted the feudal aristocracy, but this land measure directly caused France to lag behind other countries in the first and second industrial revolutions.

After Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo, the French restored the Bourbon dynasty in July 1830.

At first, during the French Revolution, the common people did not intend to kill Louis XVI, but to establish a constitutional monarchy like the United Kingdom.

However, France is not an island country like the United Kingdom and the United States. It must always be on guard against invasion by foreign enemies and cannot carry out reforms gracefully and calmly.

As the largest landowner, the church is the focus of "care" by the Revolutionary Party. The de-Christianization of the entire France is similar to Leo III's iconoclasm movement.

It's just that the persecution of the church by the revolution did not completely make Catholicism leave France. Although a considerable part of the population has stopped daily religious activities, some people are still performing baptisms in secret.

The strong spiritual power of the church has formed a strong cohesion, and even nationalism has not completely replaced it.

"He's right." Pomona put down the book in her hand. "Volcanoes can really change human history."

"Be careful with those Chinese people." Severus said while reading the documents, "He won't show you the research information for no reason."

"He knows that this information cannot be published in any magazine, so he hopes that I can spread it." She smiled and kept shaking her head. "Does he think I am the kind of woman who likes to gossip?"

"Aren't you?" he asked without looking up.

"No, of course I'm not." She said with an exaggerated laugh, then got up and left his desk, humming and preparing to make tea.
Chapter completed!