Chapter 247: Daily Life at Versailles
A young man in his twenties chimed in:
"Are you talking about the drought and harsh winter, Count?"
"No, those aren't the main reasons," Mirabeau replied emphatically, shaking his head. "The real cause of the food shortage is the nobles' neglect of agriculture. They stay in Versailles and have forgotten where their lands even are. This neglect has turned fields that could yield 18 bushels into ones that only produce 12! It's their stubborn refusal to plant potatoes. Even backward countries like Prussia haven't faced such severe famine as France, all because they have potatoes..."
At a nearby table, Vennio was passionately speaking:
"The little harvest the peasants manage to gather is further reduced by their lords through taxes on mills and ovens. Meanwhile, vast hunting grounds owned by the great nobles occupy large areas of land where not a single grain of wheat is grown!
"Merchants who try to transport grain to regions in need face endless road tolls... We must petition the King to address these injustices if we want to prevent future uprisings!"
The nobles around him nodded in agreement:
"Yes, we should all go together to plead with the King!"
"Let's ask His Majesty to issue a decree to help those poor peasants."
"We must unite and raise our voices for the unfortunate!"
"Let's go see the King tomorrow..."
France had been influenced by Enlightenment ideas for many years, and even in Versailles, nobles who embraced the philosophies of Rousseau and Voltaire were common. Among the younger generation, it had almost become a fashion. So with just a bit of guidance from Mirabeau and others, countless young nobles eagerly responded.
As for the more traditional nobles, they had long grown accustomed to these kinds of voices and pretended not to hear them. If they argued with the progressive nobles, they would almost certainly lose—when it came to debating skills and theoretical knowledge, they couldn't match the younger generation steeped in Enlightenment thought.
The next morning, the young nobles who had passionately debated with Vennio the night before gathered in the Marble Courtyard, loudly sharing the ideas they had discussed. At first, only a few dozen nobles who had been invited during the banquet stood around him, but gradually, more people joined in, and soon, a crowd of four or five hundred had gathered around to listen to his speech.
A guard, seeing the growing crowd, went to consult with Archbishop Brienne:
"Your Grace, there are many people gathering in the Marble Courtyard. What should we do?"
Brienne, already briefed by the Prince, waved his hand dismissively:
"They're just peacefully assembling. No need to intervene."
About forty minutes later, the young man leading the group felt that the crowd was large enough, so he waved his hand forcefully and shouted:
"Let's go petition the Queen to abolish the lords' privileges and focus on the peasants' survival!"
Yes, even though he himself was a noble, he had no hesitation in calling for the abolition of noble privileges.
This was France in this era.
The crowd erupted in cheers of agreement and then began to march towards the Petit Trianon Palace, with their numbers swelling as more nobles joined their ranks. Of course, many young people were forcibly restrained by their parents, who refused to let them participate in such rebellious actions. That day, quite a few young nobles found themselves on the receiving end of a stern beating from their fathers because of this.
As the de facto ruler of France, Queen Marie was well accustomed to nobles collectively petitioning her—it seemed to happen every few months over various issues. She patiently listened to their pleas and then graciously promised to consider their requests. What she didn't realize was that this was just a warm-up...
The next day, at a cabinet meeting, after Archbishop Brienne had gone over some routine matters with the Queen, he placed a document in front of her.
"Your Majesty, this is a proposal from Viscount Chantal, the city commissioner of Montpellier, requesting the abolition of certain feudal privileges."
"Abolition of privileges?" Queen Marie immediately thought of the petitioners from the day before and, curious, opened the document. "It says... they are requesting the abolition of noble hunting, pigeon-keeping, rabbit-raising, and fishing rights. They want to reduce the size of hunting grounds and convert them into farmland to increase grain production...
"They also propose abolishing manorial courts, arguing that they are outdated, and many lords live permanently at Versailles, unable to preside over local cases... Given the successful operation of courts in cities like Paris, they suggest all disputes be handled by courts...
"Peasants expend a lot of labor working the fields, and if they are also forced to work for their lords, it leads to neglected farmland and reduced grain production. Therefore, they propose abolishing the requirement for peasants to work for their lords...
"The lord's contracts with tenant farmers should not be subject to unilateral changes by the lord but should be overseen by the courts, allowing tenants the option to leave their current land...
"The system of serfdom has severely..."
Queen Marie patiently read through the document, her brow furrowing slightly. The proposal called for the abolition of noble privileges, especially those related to land, including everything from labor obligations to manorial courts, to hunting and fishing rights, and even taxes on mills and ovens.
The reasons given were also compelling—it was all to increase grain production and prevent another widespread uprising like the one that recently swept through the southern provinces.
The Queen turned to Brienne:
"Archbishop, these rights have been traditions for centuries. They are symbols of the nobility's dignity and status. Perhaps we shouldn't focus on such trivial matters."
Brienne immediately responded:
"Your Majesty, these are not trivial matters. Viscount Chantal is correct; traditional privileges directly contributed to this recent unrest."
Joseph had already assured Brienne that the Church's privileges would not be affected, and that by supporting the abolition of manorial rights, the Church's reputation would actually improve. So Brienne had no hesitation in pushing this proposal.
Mirabeau added from the side:
"Your Majesty, since the British abolished some of these privileges, their nation has grown stronger."
This was a bit of a stretch. Britain's strength was more due to its colonies and industrial development, though some noble privileges had indeed been abolished during this time, a coincidence in the timeline.
Talleyrand, acting as temporary Minister of Foreign Affairs, also expressed his support.
Since Joseph was the one initiating this, he certainly wouldn't oppose it. The Ministers of Justice and Census were still trying to figure out what was going on, so they kept silent.
After much hesitation, Queen Marie, feeling the weight of the decision, finally rubbed her forehead and announced that they would discuss it another day.
Joseph didn't expect to settle the matter in one go. Even if the Queen had signed the decree today, the nobles whose interests were threatened would find ways to overturn it. Ultimately, the old nobility had to be thoroughly subdued. Today's proposal was just a way to draw them out.
That afternoon, Viscount Chantal's proposal spread like wildfire through Versailles, setting off a storm of discussion.
(End of Chapter)
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