New Shun 1730

Chapter 1332: Philadelphia Conference Intimidated (Part 3)

This kind of understanding is also normal, because before economic problems break out, small producers, farmers, and petty bourgeois will always believe these things.

At this time, North America only counts white people... To be precise, if it only counts non-Irish and non-German Protestant white people, the average living standard in North America at this time is much higher than that in the United Kingdom, and higher than that in the whole country. The world is much higher.

The real contradictions had to wait until the post-war depression, the deflation caused by the hoarding of silver by landowners and merchants caused by the new coinage law, and the prohibition of reclamation across the Appalachian Mountains, before the dissatisfaction of the bottom was completely aroused, and only then did the Thirteen States Revolution in North America conditions for widespread mobilization.

But now, this condition is obviously still early.

At the very least, the issues of the Coinage Act and the prohibition of reclamation across the West, which would be the most harmful and influential to the bottom, had not yet occurred.

Hancock couldn't say anything about this. He could only nod and said: "Maybe, maybe this is a conspiracy. However, those who are in the liqueur business, those who open plantations, those who speculate on land, those who intend to cultivate their own crops, Tobacco farmers and rice growers have different interests. There are definitely people who support and people who oppose the same policy.”

"But clearly the Chinese have given us a possibility. A possibility in which the majority will benefit but the minority will oppose it."

"For example, the national debt issue is an issue that cannot be ignored. In order to repay the national debt, the UK will definitely find ways to tax."

"And the Chinese have offered us a plan to repay the national debt that seems likely to satisfy most people... reduce tariffs on all Chinese goods such as tea, cotton, porcelain, metal products, silk, medicinal materials, etc. Use import tariffs to repay the national debt."

"And this is what the Chinese mean by helping the British government correct their wrong trading system. Of course, this also includes helping the thirteen states strive for free trade."

"At least, I think this is beneficial to most of us. Because they told me that China's industry does not conflict with North America's industry. The Chinese will neither come here to sell wine, nor will they come here to sell shoes. , let alone selling corn, cattle and sheep here..."

"What the Chinese mean is that they will exert military pressure on the British government. People from the thirteen states should take this opportunity to come up with a feasible plan that is recognized by all states and take the opportunity to implement it."

"But this plan cannot be too outrageous or unrealistic. That's why they have to tell us again and again that they will never allow us to occupy Canada northward, let alone expand in Ohio, and it is even less possible to go west."

"There will definitely be some supporters and some opponents. What we need is to convince those who oppose it, unite those who support it, and help the British government correct the wrong trading system..."

"Or to put it more clearly, they are opposed to the British government's oppression of our trade, but they are also opposed to our killing of Indians, our slavery, and our land speculation..."

These words themselves are very controversial.

Slavery, massacre of Indians, land grabbing, land ownership, whether wild land is privately or publicly owned... any one of these things will trigger a lengthy debate.

Hancock's narration immediately aroused dissatisfaction among some people, who began to debate whether slaves were human beings, why Indians could say that the land was theirs, and so on.

In the chaos, the slave trader John Rowe, who had been silent, cleared his throat and said: "Brothers and gentlemen, the problem we are facing now is not eternal justice or supreme truth... but the helpless reality. question."

"To put it simply, if the French are not driven out of Canada, if the Chinese do provide weapons to the Indians...then do we accept the British garrison?"

"If we accept, will we have to pay taxes to maintain a garrison to protect us?"

"If not, then does our loose militia need a military service system?"

"Even with the Selective Service, if western Virginia is at war with the Indians, or we're at war with the French, are the Southern states going to have to fund our military?"

"Gentlemen, it is meaningless to discuss eternal justice and supreme truth now. The reality is that the Chinese have surrounded Gibraltar and have determined that they will absolutely prohibit us from crossing the Allegheny Divide, and the French will definitely Canada continues to station troops..."

"Now, it is we who are asking the British government to keep a garrison here. At the very least, we need, especially those of us who participated in the Acadian expulsion and scalping of the Indians, the protection of the mother country."

"This is the current situation that needs to be discussed. Rather than empty talk about eternal justice and supreme truth."

"Although those infidels are enemies, sometimes what the enemy says is not necessarily wrong. Regarding the national debt issue, we must tax us; there are also tariff issues, military expenses for garrison... This is more important at this time. "

"The reality is that the French are more terrifying than the British government. I think Paul Levi should know this better than anyone else."

Paul Levi knew what John Rowe meant.

He stood up, agreeing with John Rowe's thoughts.

"My father was a Huguenot."

A simple sentence is worth a thousand words.

They are French by blood, but their faith is Protestant. Their encounter in France only needs a simple explanation of "Huguenots" for everyone present to understand.

Thirty Years' War has long passed, but even a hundred years later, Massachusetts still burns and hangs too many people around sectarian disputes.

They can even oppose Britain because of Britain's religious tolerance policy. Because religious tolerance means not being pious enough to the "orthodox" faith.

The uprisings that have occurred one after another and the strong pressure from the British government defeated the Puritan Congregational Church's ambition to control Massachusetts and integrate church and state, but tolerance is only for Quakers, Presbyterians and Congregationalists, not Catholics.

As long as the French are still there, Britain will always be closer to the French. There is no doubt about this.

Now, it is impossible to completely defeat France's power in North America after Dashun joined the war.

The population of the Thirteen States is large enough, definitely more than that of France.

France is living a good life now. Ordinary people in Britain can only eat oatmeal bread, while ordinary people in France already eat wheat bread.

Although the number of immigrants is here, the question still remains: Why would people in the southern states give money, manpower and guns to fight Canada and let the land speculators in the northern states profit?

And relying on the power of Massachusetts alone, or the power of the northern New England region, it is impossible to defeat France.

In addition, France has Indian allies.

This is a very realistic problem.

If it were not for the two unexpected situations of India and the subsequent industrial revolution, Britain would actually be quite a failure in the Seven Years' War.

Fanaticism has kidnapped British politics and diplomacy.

The fanaticism instigated by Pitt has made anyone who wants to take a step back and engage in diplomacy be labeled a traitor.

The French know that once they leave Canada, the thirteen states will be in trouble.

Some British politicians actually know this.

This is very obvious. But by then, no one can be the traitor and return Canada to France.

The Dashun troops used force and reality to cool down the fanaticism of Britain, leaving France no chance to give up Canada.

In this way, the thirteen states of North America will be united and continue to be loyal to Britain for the time being.

This is not helping Britain, but hiding the contradictions that are not too big now, continuing to accumulate, letting the contradictions continue to grow in compromise, and preparing for the earth-shattering explosion in the future.

Freemasonry wants to talk about eternal justice, supreme truth, and abstract freedom.

Then Dashun will talk about the helplessness of reality, the details of taxation, and the specific economy.

What is the specific economy?

The garrison in North America costs money.

The national debt borrowed for the war must be repaid.

Britain has no gold and silver mountains, where can it get these money and government debts except relying on taxes?

Taxes, as long as taxes are collected, New England will usher in a great economic depression.

Because New England's brewing industry advantage is because people on the British mainland have to pay taxes, while they can get tax-free smuggling honey.

Equalizing taxes, New England has such a high standard of living at this time, how can the manufacturing industry compete with the British mainland, which has basically eliminated self-cultivating farmers?

Moreover, if Britain really has no money for smuggling, it can only choose one way, that is, to let the customs that eat royal food handle the case, rather than letting the local gentry jury and state assembly handle it themselves.

Once the case is handled by someone who is paid by the emperor, more smuggling issues will surface. Food, cattle, canvas, shoes... these things, Southern Europe, West Africa, the Caribbean and other places are the main markets.

The industry of New England is decoupled from that of Old England.

Once the New England economy is depressed and the main industry is broken, it will not only affect the brewing industry. It will directly affect the lives of most people in the city. Even if you are a hotel owner or a restaurant owner, you must have a real industry to support you.

These things are very realistic. Money... at least now, it is not printed. Britain's finances have collapsed, and a year's fiscal revenue is not enough to pay the interest. And it is obvious that after Dashun joins the war, the interest rate of new debts that Britain wants to borrow will definitely soar. It is difficult to reduce the interest rate from 10% to 3%, and it is about to rise sharply.

Dashun has now proposed a plan for the support of the British in North America. That is to rely on tariffs on Eastern trade goods to replace specific taxes and repay national debts.

Then, this is of course an internal division.

This division stems from a fundamental question: where do people make money?

John Hancock made his money through trade and smuggling.

George Washington was anti-British because he speculated on land in the West, and Britain prohibited reclamation in the West and prohibited private companies from occupying land in the West.

The reason why southern plantation owners and slave owners were anti-British was that Britain denied paper money, and they owed British merchants a debt of 15 million pounds. They were originally preparing to print paper money to repay part of the debt, which was equivalent to devaluing the debt. A British decree prohibiting the use of paper money to repay gold and silver debts directly prompted the southern plantation owners to oppose Britain.

If the French left, then the merchant group represented by Hancock, the large landowners and land speculators represented by Washington, and the southern plantation owner group headed by Henry Middleton would unite together.

If the French did not leave and Britain accepted the tariff repayment plan, then these interest groups in North America would explode in an instant.

For example, if the French left, Washington and other big landlords and land speculators would firmly oppose Britain. If the French did not leave, Dashun would force Britain to liberalize tariffs. In fact, there was no need to force it. The East India Company was dead, and such a large national debt had to be repaid. The plan proposed by Dashun to use tariffs to repay the national debt was the best plan at this time. He wanted to oppose both Britain and France. In this case, for merchants such as Hancock: What does it have to do with me? I don't speculate on western lands. I just sell goods. I fight for freedom in the abstract and for less tax on trade in the concrete. I have obtained the concrete things, so why should I fight for the abstract?

In the absence of concrete economic interests, how many martyrs can be raised by abstract things?

What the slave trader John Law said was very practical. Now let's not talk about eternal justice and supreme truth. Let's be pragmatic and talk about how to contact Dashun and put pressure on Britain together. Your farmers, landlords, and land speculators in the west want to go to war with the French and Indians. That's your business. We have no interests and will not contribute money or manpower.

Everyone knows that the purpose of fighting is to grab money, food and land. In 1954, so many militias followed the war, and it was not for the original promise that all participants would be given land.

Now that the French have not been driven away, how can the promise of 1954 be fulfilled?

Later, why did Washington fight against Britain so passionately? Wasn't it because the 150,000 acres of land promised in 1954 would be distributed to the militias who participated in the war at the time after the war? He lied to the militia that the land was bad land and hills, and bought 140,000 acres at a low price and invested in a land speculation company?

The British were afraid that the French would make a comeback, and they could not afford to fight the Indians in the west, so they drew a line to stop them from going west. This is equivalent to spending money and cheating on more than 100,000 acres of land, plus 15 million acres of land occupied by the company, all gone at once. How can they not be anti-British?

But the question is, what does the land of those who went to the war in 1954 have to do with the people of Massachusetts? Should Massachusetts pay money and send people to help the people of Virginia to grab the land back? France could at most support the Indians in the West with muskets and cannons, but in the north, France could really send warships and regular troops to Boston.

Talking about unconstitutionality, when the Sugar Tax Act was introduced in 1933, it could directly seize the unconstitutional justice.

This justice could have been used long ago, but the reason why there is no movement now can only be that there are too few people who "would rather die than not free", and more people are just petty bourgeoisie living for their own interests.

In this case, John Law's meaning is very clear.

Or, just raise the banner and do it, not only to do Britain, but also to do France, and to do the Indians supported by Dashun, and by the way, go to war with Dashun, you are all garbage, all aristocratic monarchy, all reactionaries, and at the same time suppress the British aristocratic landlords such as the Byng family, divide the land equally, and grant land to the state, just to build the first version of the self-cultivating farmers in the city on the hill, so that the intervention forces of various countries will go away in disgrace.

Otherwise, don't raise the banner, talk about specific things directly, compromise with Britain directly, take a step back, and see what kind of tax law and tax rate this side can accept. With the help of Dashun, put pressure on the motherland together and reach conditions that are beneficial to themselves.

Tap the screen to use advanced tools Tip: You can use left and right keyboard keys to browse between chapters.

You'll Also Like