Chapter 22 Chapter Four Urban Industry and Commerce Promote Rural Development

The increase and development of industrial and commercial cities can promote the development and development of rural areas through the following three ways. First, to provide a market for rural produce.The more developed the industrial and commercial city is, the bigger the market it can provide, and the more convenient it is to carry out trading activities.In this way, the market for rural products will naturally be much wider, which will naturally promote the development and development of rural areas.The promotion effect of industrial and commercial cities on rural areas will not only benefit the local rural areas, but also more or less benefit the rural areas with which they do business.These industrial and commercial cities provide the related rural areas with a market for trading primary products or manufactured products, thus promoting the industrial development of these rural areas.In contrast, rural areas near urban areas will naturally benefit the most.Because, when the product is closer to the industrial and commercial city, the freight it consumes is also less, so, under the same conditions, the demand for the surplus product of the city will be greater than that of the rural area farther away from the city; If the merchant buys these produce at a high price, and sells it at a low price, the benefits which these produce give to the nearer country are, of course, the greatest.

Second, urban dwellers often buy uncultivated land.Merchants aspired to become country gentlemen themselves.In fact, once they became squires, the land was often improved to the greatest extent possible.The merchant is different from the country gentleman who is used to extravagance.The squires only know how to spend money. As for making money, they never think about it.Businessmen are different. They often invest in some profitable business, hoping that through investment, not only can they get back their principal, but they can also make some profits. Since businessmen and squires have different thinking habits, their performance when facing their careers is naturally different.In the same business, businessmen are often very brave, but country gentry are more timid.For example, for a businessman who invests a large amount of capital in improving the land, as long as he hopes to increase the value of the capital in proportion to the expenditure, he will immediately start doing it; but the squire is different, even if He has enough capital, and he generally dare not do it.Even if the squire does improve the land, the capital he uses for the improvement is only the annual surplus income, not the capital he has saved.If a city is surrounded by a great deal of uncultivated country, the native merchants must be much more active in clearing the land than the country gentry.This is something that people who live in the local area are lucky enough to see.In addition, in the process of doing business, businessmen have also developed good habits of orderliness, thrift, and prudence.These good habits are conducive to his investment in improving the land, so he can easily succeed and profit from it.

Third, since the development of industry and commerce, rural residents have reduced wars with their neighbors and gradually lost their dependence on the government.Under the influence of developed industry and commerce, the political situation gradually improved, and rural residents gradually lived an orderly, safe and free life.This effect is the most important result of the development of industry and commerce, but the world has not noticed it.So far as I know, only Mr. Hume has so far noticed this. If a country had neither foreign trade nor fine manufactures, the greater part of the produce of the land which the local great proprietors received from the cultivators, would be spent carelessly on hospitality, because there was no market for exchange.If this part of the produce of the land can feed a hundred people, he will spend all of it on the hundred; and will not be used for any other purpose.This can be seen just based on the fact that there are often groups of maids, servants and retainers around him.He provides for their necessities without compensation, so naturally they obey him as soldiers obey a king.Before the large-scale development of industry and commerce in Europe, the great figures from the princes to the rich like the little lords all treated guests with extravagance beyond our imagination.For example, William Rufus's Westminster restaurant was often overcrowded, so that Thomas Polk often paved the floor with clean grass to prevent warriors and literati who had no seats from getting their clothes dirty when they sat on the floor.The Grand Duke of Warwick entertained more guests. It is said that he entertained guests in various manors every day, and the number of guests was as many as 30,000.Although this statement is a bit exaggerated, but since the rumors are so exaggerated, the actual number must not be too small.This large-scale hospitality phenomenon was relatively popular in the Scottish Highlands a few years ago.This is a fact that everyone knows.This kind of ethos seems to be commonly seen in other ethnic groups with extremely underdeveloped industries and commerce.Dr. Burkirk once said: "I have seen a sheik in Arabia who, in the bazaar in which he sold his cattle, entertained every passer-by, including beggars."

Shareholders are farmers who can withdraw their rent at will, unlike lowly slaves, but they depend on the big lord just like maidservants and domestic servants.The ground rent they pay is not equal to the means of subsistence that the land can provide.In the Scottish Highlands a few years ago, the rent of land sufficient to support a family was only a crown or a sheep, or even half a crown or a lamb.This is often seen in some places at present, and a given amount of money can buy no more commodities than in other places. In some villages the surplus produce of the great estates can only be consumed locally.At this time, the landlord will, out of convenience, think that instead of consuming all the surplus products in his own home, it is better to take part of the surplus products and consume them not far from home, so as to consume these surplus products. People who are things, can be as obedient to themselves as doormen and servants.In this way, he was spared many troubles, and he could live a normal life with a relatively small family.

Tenant farmers who can withdraw the lease at will only need to pay a small part of the land rent which is slightly more than the exempt rent, and they can own a piece of land enough to support the whole family.However, he is still attached to the lord just like the maid and domestic servant, and must obey all the orders of the lord unconditionally.For this kind of lord, there is no difference between raising tenant farmers and raising maidservants and domestic servants.Therefore, the food needed by the tenant farmers, maidservants, and domestic servants to maintain their lives was "gifted" by the lord.Once the lord is unhappy, he can decide at any time whether to continue this kind of "charity".At this time, the great lord must have the authority to control his tenant farmers and domestic slaves.It was this authority which formed the basis of all aristocratic power in antiquity.The aristocrats adjudicate the life conflicts of the residents in peacetime, and act as the commander-in-chief of the residents in wartime to fight against lawbreakers.Therefore, they are the only vigilantes and law enforcers of the residents in the territory. This power cannot be enjoyed even by the king.The ancient king was only the largest lord in the territory. He could only get some respect from other lords when he defended against the enemy together with other lords.If the king dared to exceed his authority and use his own power to force the people in the territory of a large lord to pay a small debt, then once those residents unite, the price the king will pay for this may be equal to the effort it takes to quell a civil war.Therefore, he had to let the rural law enforcers control most of the rural judicial power, and he also had to let the people in charge of the militia control the power to command the militia.

Some people think that the origin of this local jurisdiction is feudal law.This statement is actually wrong.Hundreds of years before the so-called feudal law, great lords with the highest civil and criminal jurisdiction appeared in Europe. They also held all the powers including recruiting soldiers, minting coins, and formulating local administrative regulations.For example, after England was conquered, the Norman lords had powerful ruling and judicial power; in fact, before England was conquered, the Saxon lords had already mastered the same ruling and judicial power.Therefore, the local jurisdiction in England did not appear after it was conquered by feudal law.

The dominion and jurisdiction of France undoubtedly preceded the emergence of feudal law.In fact, these powers are accompanied by various property institutions and customs.Here, let’s not talk about the ancient British and French kingdoms. Even in modern times, we can find some evidence to prove that these results were caused by institutions and customs.In Roheba, Scotland, more than 20 years ago, there was a gentleman named Cameron who even had the power to execute the highest criminal verdict on his people, but he was actually just a retainer of the Duke of Yager. A formal commission, not a justice of the peace.It is said that although he did not follow certain judicial ceremonies for trial and ruling, his verdict was very fair.His annual rent was only five hundred pounds. I think the reason why he assumed this power at that time was probably only forced by the real situation of local law and order. In 1745, he led 800 people in the Stoya uprising.

The purpose of implementing feudal laws is definitely not to enhance the power of feudal lords, but to weaken the power of feudal lords.Feudal law divided the upper class into different levels from the king to the lord, and each level had its own rights and obligations; all land rent and land management rights of minor lords were controlled by their immediate superiors.In the end, the king mastered the land rent and land management rights of the major minor lords.For these minor lords, the king not only has the responsibility to protect and educate them, but also has the duty of guardianship, and has to choose suitable marriage partners for them.The original intention of this law is to strengthen the power of the king and weaken the great lords.However, since its own property system and customs are the cause of social chaos, it is impossible for it to bring good social order and government rule to rural residents.At that time, the power of the government was still very small, and the power of the nobility was still as great as before.It is precisely because the power held by the nobles is too strong that the power of the government is seriously weakened.Therefore, even with the establishment of a feudal hierarchy, the power of the king is still not enough to subdue the big lords, only the big lords are as violent as before.There were still constant wars between the various nobles, and sometimes even the king, which threw large swaths of the country into a riot of usurpation.

The power of the great lords, which feudal law could not weaken by all means of coercion, was gradually broken down by foreign commerce and manufactures.Since the advent of foreign commerce and manufactures, there has been a market for the surplus produce of the land acquired by great lords, in exchange for other goods.Moreover, the other items obtained by the great lord in exchange for this do not need to be shared with the tenant farmers and serfs, and can be exclusively enjoyed by him.Thus, the creed of "specially benefiting oneself and not benefiting others" appeared.This creed has been recognized and observed by almost all masters.Therefore, once they discover the method of enjoying all the value of land rent exclusively, they are unwilling to share these values ​​with others, and would rather use enough grain to maintain the life of a thousand people for a year in exchange for such useless things as diamond buttons. items of value.What they gave up, besides this food, was the authority that this food brought them.The diamond buttons belong to him alone, but the food has to be shared with a thousand people. The difference is extremely obvious, but it also requires wise judgment to make a choice.In the end, in order to satisfy their naive and despicable vanity, they abandoned the authority that feudal law could not break down by all means.

In a country without foreign trade and fine manufactures, if a man has an income of ten thousand pounds a year, he may spend it only by supporting a thousand men who are obedient to him because they are dependent on him.However, in today's Europe, the situation is completely different. Even if the income of this ten thousand pounds is not used to feed twenty people or employ more than ten servants, it can be directly consumed.In fact, this income of ten thousand pounds is often directly consumed in its entirety.This kind of consumption can indirectly sustain the lives of some people, perhaps as many people as before, perhaps even more than before.Maybe those grains can only be exchanged for a small amount of treasures, but the cost of collecting and manufacturing these treasures is obviously more, including not only the wages of workers, but also the profits of direct employers.Because of this, the price of this treasure is very expensive.What he pays directly is the price of the treasure; what he pays indirectly is the wages of the labor that keeps the worker alive, and the profit to the employer.The indirect value paid by him only accounts for a very small part of their annual living expenses, and rarely even accounts for one tenth of their total living expenses, usually only one percent, sometimes even less than one thousandth. One in ten thousand.He maintains part of their life, but not their long life, so they are generally independent before him.

In the era when there were tenant farmers and retainers, the big landlords used their land rent to maintain the lives of these tenant farmers and retainers.When merchants and artisans appeared, the total rent could support about the same number of people as before.However, because the country-style hospitality often involves a lot of waste, the number of people that can be supported by the same amount of land rent may be much larger than before.But the contribution of these rents is insignificant, as soon as the subsistence they provide for these persons is taken into account.At this time, the living expenses of each merchant and craftsman were almost provided by hundreds of different customers, instead of only one person as before.The consumption of the big landlords is also provided to a certain extent by these merchants and craftsmen. In this case, the big landlord's personal consumption began to gradually increase, so that his retainers became less and less, until he had none.In the same way, some tenant farmers were gradually sent away because there was no need for their existence.While vigorously cultivating and improving the farmland, the landlords ignored the complaints caused by the reduction of tenants and went straight to reducing the number of tenants to the minimum level required at the time.In this way, unnecessary parasites are gone, and the surplus production that the landlord collects from the tenant farmers gradually increases.Moreover, since manufacturing provides him with the means of direct consumption of these surplus products, he has them to himself.As a result, his personal consumption increases.And the increase of personal consumption has strengthened their expectation that the land rent they can earn now can exceed the current land productivity.However, further improvements to the land are required to realize this expectation.As a result, the tenant farmers have to increase the investment in improvement costs.However, if the tenant farmer cannot recover the increased capital and its profits before the land lease expires, he will never agree to the landlord's rent increase, or ask for an extension of the land lease.Because the landlords love vanity and are used to extravagance and waste, they finally agreed to the conditions of the tenant farmers.It is for this reason that long-term land leases have emerged. As long as the tenant farmer pays a sufficient price, he can cultivate the land at will or withdraw the lease. He is not the property of the landlord.Between him and the landlord, there is a relationship of equal monetary interests.Since the tenant farmer can withdraw the lease at will, he will never sacrifice his life and property in order to provide services to the landlord. Even after the lease of the land is extended, he is independent and does not need to make any lease or custom for the landlord. one thing. Now that the big lord is independent from the tenant farmers and retainers, the power of the big lord to enforce or interfere with the law also disappears, and naturally he can no longer disturb social order.In this way they have sold their age-old rights, not because of hunger or after gems or diamond rings that adults should crave, but simply for childish entertainment. .Gradually they become like well-to-do citizens or ordinary merchants in the city.Therefore, whether in cities or villages, governments were established.Since then, both urban and rural politics began to be in a stable and orderly state. The following incident does not seem to be connected with the above subject, but it is necessary to mention here: In commercial countries, it is rare to see the phenomenon of large estates being passed down from generation to generation.However, this phenomenon is generally seen in countries with underdeveloped commerce such as Wales and the Scottish Highlands.Arabia is a country full of aristocrats, and there was a Tatar khan who wrote a history book, which was full of deeds related to the noble line, and this book was translated into several European languages.It can be seen that in these ancient countries, the family of descent is generally visible. If the income of the rich in a country can only be used to support as many as possible, the rich will often not enjoy his income to himself, but will love and earnestly hope that he can support more people, and even try to support more than he can. number of people.But when a large part of the income of a rich man in a country can be his own alone, he will often consume it without limit, in order to satisfy his personal vanity, which can never be satisfied.Therefore, even in a big commercial country where extravagance and waste are strictly prohibited, there are few families that can maintain prosperity for a long time.The situation is different in commercially underdeveloped countries. Even if there are no laws against profligacy and waste, there are still many local families that can maintain prosperity for a long time.As for the nomads, such as the Tartars and the Arabs, since their surplus property is not easy to consume, there is no need at all to promulgate laws against waste. Giving the public happiness is an extremely important mission.This task was performed by two classes, the great lords and merchants, who had no regard for the happiness of the public.The sole motive of the great lord is the gratification of his childish vanity; and the merchant and artisan, likewise, act out of selfishness.Their ultimate goal is to make money, as long as they can make money wherever they can, they will go there.In the end, this mission was gradually completed with the joint efforts of the stupid lord and the hardworking businessman.Even so, they are completely ignorant of this mission, and do not foresee that it is objectively fulfilled by them. Therefore, in fact, urban industry and commerce promoted the development and development of most rural areas in Europe, rather than rural development and development leading to the emergence of urban industry and commerce. However, since this development goes against natural trends, its development speed is also slow and full of uncertainties.For example, European countries are rich countries based on industry and commerce, so their progress is relatively slow. In nearly five hundred years, the population of most areas has not doubled; while our colonies in North America are based on agriculture. Rich countries are based on the foundation, so the speed of progress is relatively fast. In some areas, the population has doubled in 20 or 25 years. The number of small landowners could not be increased, owing to the laws of primogeniture and various rights of perpetuity in Europe, which prevented the division of large local estates.We also know that the small landowner who owns a limited amount of land knows and loves his lands very well, and loves to develop and improve them.Of all cultivators, the small landowner is the most industrious, the cleverest, and therefore the easiest to succeed.However, since the law of primogeniture and various rights of perpetual possession restricted the freedom of sale of the land, so that the capital purchased for the land was much larger than the land that could be sold, the sale price of the land was often ridiculously high.However, the rent of these lands is often not enough to cover the interest on the purchase price, let alone the land repair costs and other various expenses.Therefore, the least profit can be obtained by purchasing land in Europe with a small capital.However, some people who were originally engaged in industrial and commercial activities will spend a small amount of capital to buy land out of capital security considerations.In addition, there are also some merchants who specialize in individual occupations, and they also buy land for the sake of capital security. If a person is unwilling to engage in industry and commerce, but is willing to spend two or three thousand pounds to buy and develop a small piece of land, then he can indeed live a happy life on his own, but it is absolutely impossible to become a rich man or a famous person.However, if he invests in other fields, then he has the hope of becoming a millionaire or a celebrity like some others.In addition, such people do not wish to become landlords or farmers.In addition, there is relatively little land available for purchase, and the price of land is very high, so a lot of capital that might have been invested in land development and improvement has flowed into other industries. The situation in North America is the opposite. Locally, it only costs fifty or sixty pounds to start a farm; moreover, no matter whether a large amount of capital or a small amount of capital is used to purchase and develop land, the maximum profit can be obtained.The most direct way to become rich or famous in these regions is to buy and develop land, because it costs little to acquire local land, and the value of the natural products obtained is relatively large. It is absolutely impossible for such things that happened in North America to happen in countries like Europe where land has long been private property.However, if a deceased grand master's estates are divided equally among his children, then the estates may be sold.In this way, there will be more land for sale, thereby reducing the ridiculously high price of land, and gradually enabling free rents to pay the interest on land purchases.At this time, the purchase of land with a small capital will be as profitable as other purchases. England not only has natural and fertile land, but also has a relatively long coastline and criss-crossing navigable rivers, so its inland water transportation is relatively convenient. It is more suitable for foreign trade and export manufacturing than any other big country in Europe. Various improvements arising from the above-mentioned circumstances are carried out.Moreover, since Elizabeth came to the throne, laws that specifically protect the interests of industry and commerce have been established one after another.These laws had a more favorable influence on industry and commerce than any other country in Europe, not even Holland.Therefore, since Elizabeth came to the throne, British industry and commerce began to develop continuously; in addition, the British countryside has also been continuously developed and developed, but the speed of progress is not as fast as industry and commerce.Much of the land was cultivated before the Elizabethan period, although a considerable portion remained undeveloped, and the cultivated land was largely unsatisfactory. The encouragement of agriculture by the laws of England is not only indirect, by means of the protection of commerce, but also direct.For example, as long as it is not a poor harvest year, grain can be exported freely, and there are bonuses to encourage it; while in a normal harvest year, a high tariff equivalent to prohibiting importation is levied on importation; as for the law that only allows the importation of live animals from Ireland, It was also promulgated not long ago.The two most important produce of the land, therefore, are practically exclusive to the tiller of the land, bread and meat.Such rewards are ultimately illusory, and I will elaborate on this later.We may at least infer from this, however, that the English legislature did intend to subsidize agriculture.Moreover, the English law has made the greatest efforts to ensure the stability and independence of the people, so it has been generally respected by the people, and this is the most important point.So even though primogeniture still existed in England, tithes continued, and sometimes illegal perpetuities were imposed, it encouraged agriculture more than any other country in Europe. Even so, however, English agriculture was not in good shape.It is evident that the state of agriculture in England would be much worse if it had been indirectly encouraged by the progress of commerce, and not directly encouraged by the government, but had remained in the same position as the rest of Europe.It has been more than two hundred years since Elizabeth came to the throne, usually the longest period of human prosperity. About a hundred years before England became a commercial power, France had a very considerable foreign trade.According to people's assumptions at the time, the French navigation industry was already very impressive long before Charles VIII's expedition to Naples.The cultivation and improvement of the lands of France, however, are still, on the whole, inferior to those of England.French agriculture has never been directly rewarded by French law. When Spain and Portugal conduct foreign trade with other European countries, most of the ships used are foreign.Notwithstanding, their foreign voyages were considerable; and the commerce of these two countries with their rich and extensive colonies was mostly in their own ships, and was on an even greater scale.However, even such a large-scale foreign trade has not led to a large-scale export manufacturing industry in these two countries; moreover, there are still a large part of the land in these two countries that has not yet been developed.Apart from Italy, Portugal was the first country in Europe to conduct foreign trade. Of all the countries of Europe, Italy alone seems to have had its lands fully developed and improved by foreign trade and exported manufactures.According to the records of Guciardini, Italy had already begun to cultivate its domestic land long before the invasion of Charles VIII.Both the flat, fertile land and the barren hills were cultivated.The reasons are, first, that the country's geographical environment is quite conducive to the development of agriculture, and second, that a large number of small lords in its territory have contributed to the overall development of the land.But even if Italy had been as well cultivated as this wise modern historian claims, it still might not have been able to match the present level of land improvement in England. However, the capital obtained through industry and commerce is generally unsecured property, and its security can only be guaranteed if it is transformed into capital for land development and improvement.There is a saying that merchants do not belong to a particular country, and it is true.For, to a businessman, it does not matter where the place of business is located.If they have some small opinions on a certain country, then they can directly withdraw their capital from this country and take the capital to invest in other countries.Now that capital has migrated, the industries maintained by capital must also migrate along with it.Capital does not belong to a country until it is fixed there in the form of buildings or permanent improvements in land.The vast wealth of the Hanseatic League, which left only vague traces in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, is now gone.Moreover, some of these cities have only Latin names. As for which part of Europe they belong to and their specific location, it is not easy to determine. Between the end of the fifteenth and the beginning of the sixteenth centuries, Italy suffered a catastrophe which greatly weakened the industry and commerce of Lombardia and Tuscany.But now, these places are still densely populated and their lands are in very good condition of improvement.Something similar happened in Flender.After the civil war, Flanders was ruled by the Spaniards, so that the great commercial progress of Antwerp and Brussels was hindered to some extent.However, Flanders is still the wealthiest place in Europe, its population density is the largest in Europe, and its farming level is also the most advanced in Europe. Wealth, whose sole source is commerce, is more easily affected by wars and general changes in politics, and is easily exhausted.In contrast, the wealth accumulated by agricultural improvement is much more reliable; only the drastic changes caused by the invasion of foreign enemies, such as the collapse of the Roman Empire, which lasted for nearly two hundred years, could destroy its stability.