Chapter 43: Chapter 43 – Abolition of Serfdom

Minister-President von Schwarzenberg was known as a ruthless and decisive man so he quickly agreed with Franz’s approach. The issue between Austria and Hungary had to be resolved through decisive measures. Rather than continuing to compromise with them, they should simply let Hungary rebel and then use force to solve the problem once and for all.

Currently, nationalism was not widespread amongst all the Hungarians. After all, only around 500,000 people were descended from the original Magyars who founded the medieval Kingdom of Hungary. The remaining more than ten million people had mixed-ethnicity due to the hundreds of years of resettlement of Bulgarians, Ruthenians, Serbians and Greeks fleeing Ottoman persecution towards the Hungarian lands.

Currently, the Hungarian nobles and bourgeoisie, who were descended from nobles, did not believe that they had anything in common with the lower classes. Meanwhile, people from the lower class were busy working hard every day just to survive, so they had no energy or time to care about the establishment of a Hungarian nation.

Historically, when Hungarian nobles and bourgeoisie had rebelled in 1848 under the banner of nationalism, the poor didn’t even know what nationalism meant. Most of them did not even speak authentic Hungarian, let alone know Hungarian culture.

“Your Imperial Highness, the situation within the Empire is unstable. If the Hungarians fight against us at this time, the pressure on our military might be heavy!” Foreign Minister von Metternich countered.

Franz smiled slightly as he eyed the old minister. He was aware that this old minister preferred the use of political and diplomatic means to solve problems, rather than military action. This could be good or bad depending on the situation.

Through his outstanding diplomatic skills, Prince von Metternich had begun a 30-year period of peace within Europe, preserved Austria’s status as a great power, but also failed to solve many conflicts that could have easily been solved.

For example, during the peasants uprising in Galicia in 1846, the government could have solved the problem and promoted ethnic and national integration, yet it chose to compromise with the nobles, simply treating the illness rather than curing it.

“I understand the risk, Your Excellency, but once this opportunity is missed, we will not happen across another such opportunity in our lifetime. Austria is already very old and it has too many internal conflicts. If these internal conflicts are not resolved soon, the Empire will implode sooner or later.

As for the heavy pressure on the military, we can find a way to solve it. Your Excellency and your Foreign Ministry should reach out to the Russians as soon as possible because we will need the Czar’s support. If even that is not enough and the situation continues to deteriorate, I would rather compromise with the French or the Prussians than compromise with these rebels!”

Franz displayed his dissatisfaction with the previous administration headed by Prince von Metternich as well as his determination to suppress the rebellion.

Historically, the turmoil within the Empire had been worse due to the loss of Vienna to the rebels. As a result, the government had decided to give up Milan to ease the situation. However, Marshal Radetzky had refused to execute the order and remained in Milan with his troops, insisting on suppressing the revolution.

The situation now had not yet deteriorated that much. At worst, Austria could concede the Kingdom of Sardinia to France. Currently, the situation in France was no better than Austria. As the cradle of revolution, the banners of revolution fluttered in most French cities. Consequently, France wouldn’t be able to start a war even if it wanted.

The great revolution had not spared Prussia, either. If it wasn’t for the unrest within the borders of its two biggest enemies, the Austrian Empire would not have lasted beyond the end of this year.

 

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The cabinet meeting continued.

Finance Minister von Bruck looked at his peers and steeled his resolve before he proposed,“Your Imperial Highness, to address the current situation in Austria, we must carry out an internal reform; the abolition of serfdom is an issue that cannot be avoided.”

All the cabinet ministers were nobles, members of the class whose vested interests would be affected by abolition of serfdom, resulting in many giving him dirty looks. However, they were also aware that it was no longer possible to delay reform in Austria, so they remained silent, neither supporting nor opposing.

Franz nodded. He was aware that he, himself, was the only person who could put forward a complete reform plan since counting on anyone else would only result in an incomplete reform.

“The abolition of serfdom has become inevitable, however, the biggest problem is what comes after the abolition of serfdom. How do we ensure that the released serfs are able to earn a living and lead a better life? I believe everyone here is aware of the solution to this problem. It is to provide the serfs with land so that they can at least earn a decent living.

But then comes the even tougher part: all the land in Austria is already owned by someone, so there is no extra land which can be given to them. In fact, the British and the French have already experienced this problem. Either the nobles must sell their land, or we must forcibly deprive them of their land through revolution. I’m sure no one here wants to even consider the latter choice, so we really only have one choice.”

Franz was aware that alienating the nobles would only do him harm, so he simply brought up the problem and waited for the cabinet ministers to respond.

The , from which Minister-President von Schwarzenberg hailed, owned more 470,000 hectares or 4,700 km² of land. Now, not would he lose his free labor, but also his land. Naturally, he couldn’t be happy with this situation.

Minister-President von Schwarzenberg hesitantly said, “Your Imperial Highness, it is still acceptable to abolish serfdom, but to deprive the nobles of their land is-”

Franz quickly interrupted him and said, “I have no intention to forcibly deprive you of your lands. In view of the current situation, I think we have two ways to go about solving this problem.

First, all the nobles who participated in the rebellion or aided the rebels will be deprived of their lands, which will be kept by the Treasury. These lands will be leased to the released serfs, so they can farm on it and earn a living. The released serfs can obtain ownership of these lands through making small payments over the course of three or four decades.

The nobles who are still loyal to the Emperor will not be subject to such harsh measures. I personally suggest that they sell all or most of their land, but they will not be forced to sell. However, in return, after the abolition of serfdom, the nobles who choose not to sell their land must provide work to the released serfs as either farmers or workers on their land.

In addition, in order to ensure that the released serfs are not oppressed, the lease should be no more than 50% of the yearly land revenue. Finally, after the completion of the reform, the nobles will also be subject to pay taxes!”

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