Chapter 776: Scholar's Suggestion
Edward III's annual income is 30,000 pounds, France's annual income is more than 80,000 pounds, and the annual income of the Templars is at least 6 million pounds, and the annual income of the Templars can catch up with 200 British pounds. And more than 70 French gross income too.
Edward III blatantly denied that he did not want to pay back the money. With a loan of nearly 500,000 pounds plus 50% interest, how could Britain, which earns 30,000 a year, pay it back.
According to historian Paul Gallagher's conclusion in the article "How Venice Caused the World's First and Worst Global Financial Crash", this time the bankruptcy far exceeded the economic crisis of the 1930s in terms of population size. , affecting nearly 50% of the European population, and coupled with the epidemic of the Black Death, the history of the Great Depression spanned from 1340 to 1440, and the European economy experienced a decade of decadence.
The difference from today's global economic crisis is that in this financial crisis more than 600 years ago, most of Europe in the 14th century was a city-state, and even the country had not yet been established. No government had the right to control banks and credit, or force them to be orderly. Bankruptcy, which is completely different from today's background where countries around the world can join hands to save the market.
During that time, apart from the church distributing food, the farmers had no means of survival. Every day, there were many people waiting for relief at the church gate.
Paul Gallagher concluded, "It is like a myth that these sober bankers were led astray by belligerent, extravagant kings and forced or foolishly lent to them, leading to the budding private Capitalism regressed again, and in subsequent famines, wars, and the Black Death, nearly 30 million people died in Europe. Cities and nations could only exist if bankers insisted on calm and free trade, and kept themselves isolated from warlike and profligate kings prosperity".
Although the Peruzzi Bank is gone, their information is still there, especially the account books, which are the most likely evidence to reveal where the assets of the Templars have gone. After all, the King of France is not as shameless as Edward, but he is shameless. It's also limited, the handsome man and the Pope robbed the Templars together.
From the beginning of the Hundred Years War in 1337 to the end in 1453, it happened to almost span the century of economic depression.
People in the midst of war do not feel the pain brought by the economic crisis, after all, their lives are at stake. Monasteries need food to feed the poor, and France is the breadbasket of Europe, so it is not surprising that successive popes have been French.
The Vikings knew how to rob monasteries. In their eyes, those golden crosses and candlesticks had nothing to do with sanctity, and there was always food and wine in the monastery.
Italy also produces food, but the population of Italy dropped sharply after being attacked by the Black Death, not to mention that Italy was still divided at that time. When it needed to rely on food from France, the pope continued to be French, and the emperor took away the privileges of the church It is also reasonable, when Innocent VI Charles IV abolished the pope's right to elect the emperor.
Charles IV, the third son of King Philip IV of France, was not a good governing monarch. During his reign, taxes were greatly increased, which made the people overwhelmed. Currency was degraded; the king confiscated the lands of his subjects as a source of income.
The darkest part of the so-called dark middle ages is the period of the Hundred Years War. There is no hope at all. The city has become empty and depressed everywhere. There was still a little joy in the past. After so many people died, there was no music. Now, only the silence and the crowing of crows, and the beaked doctors who occasionally appear in these empty cities.
They are misunderstood by people as gods of death, the incarnation of terror, and they need a target to vent their negative emotions. "Burning wizards to death" is the best way to entertain them at the stake.
Italian food is actually an expression of the country's cultural, political, and ideological "resistance to globalization." The first feature of "resistance to globalization" is to defend its own terroir.
The new Italian restaurant Diana introduced by this boatman is one of them.
The "Eat Local" in Italy is not the same concept as the "Eat Local" popular in the middle-class world in Europe and America.
Most of the Eat Local sold in New York, Barcelona, and Milan are supplied from agricultural areas within 500 kilometers. They have bright packaging and sell value-added commercial products through social marketing. The trademark often has "organic food" , "Pure Natural", "Super Grade" and other signs.
Eat Local in Italy is a kind of abandoning department stores and large shopping malls, and planting crops in their own backyards and villages.
Many farmers on the island of Venice have their own peaches, oranges, asparagus, tomatoes, etc., and the chef will go to these people's homes to taste and purchase from his farm.
Michelin restaurants are not the first choice for gourmets in Italy. They are very localistic and call themselves "food police".
Lemons can be used casually, but it cannot be said that the lemons from the Campania region are used. This is a trademark infringement. If you call this name, you have to follow the quality requirements of this local brand.
Venice’s specialty Dorona wine can’t be drunk in other places. If the wine made in other places wants to be called Dorona, it must follow the standards of Venice. The ancient grape variety for making Dorona is still planted in the Venice Lagoon Vineyard.
Before 1999, people thought that this variety of grapes was extinct. Later, an out-of-town vintner knew that there was an old vineyard planted on Mazorbo Island, which allowed this Renaissance wine to be revived. Back to people's table.
The British are also very nostalgic, but the style is completely different from Italy. From the terrace of this restaurant converted from a salt warehouse, you can see the scenery of the Adriatic Sea. There is not much modern decoration. The beige exterior wall is similar to the golden house. Gothic windows, the patio table is covered with "real Venetian lace", and they don't worry about customers getting it dirty when they eat.
Of course, the price of this kind of restaurant is not comparable to that of Fabio, which serves tourists, and it is not affordable by the middle class. God knows how the boatman knew such a high-end restaurant.
"Oh, Gianluca!"
While Gianluca and Severus were discussing the search for the Peruzzi family's bank books, a middle-aged man with a bald head came towards them with his arms outstretched.
"Professor!" Gianluca stood up.
"You know him?" Pomona asked Monica.
"He's in college." Monica said blankly, as if this sentence answered all the questions.
"This is Professor Luigi Oparo, who teaches hydraulic engineering at the University of Padua, and I belong to the same yacht club." Gianluca introduced.
"The University of Padua? The school where Galileo taught?" Pomona said in surprise.
"He is a great scientist, but he doesn't like to look at the students' homework." Professor Oparo said with a smile, "He thinks that the homework is a torture for the teacher and the students."
"Do you like homework?" Pomona said with a smile.
"You haven't introduced me yet, who are these?" Oparo asked.
"These two are teachers from England, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, this is..."
"Friend." Monica took the initiative to shake hands with Oparo, "My name is Monica."
"How did you come to Venice?" asked Gianluca.
"Forget it." Oparo sighed and began talking to Gianluca in Italian.
"The Port Authority wants to build another canal." Monica lowered her voice and said to the two, "It's called the Angel Canal. After this canal is repaired, cruise ships don't need to go through the Jucardi Canal to get to Venice Port."
"Sounds like a good idea," Severus said nonchalantly.
"He believes that doing so will repeat the mistakes of the Petroli Canal and cause greater damage to the lagoon. It will have no other effect except to make the pockets of Roman officials richer." Monica said, "Those bureaucrats themselves said They are not allowed to fill the lake, but they are breaking the law, and the silt produced by digging the canal will form new islands to resist the wake of the ships, so they can sell the islands again."
"What's the budget for the project?" Severus was more interested in another question.
"They didn't say anything." Monica said numbly, "The professor opposed the plan, but no one listened. Such destructive development will destroy the lagoon."
Pomona sighed, who is not like this among the current scholars.
Professionals have to listen to politicians, and everything is based on economic interests.
This is an era of carnival of capital and consumerism, and we don't know how to survive the next round of depression.
At this moment, the roast suckling pig they ordered came. It looked so delicious that it could smell the aroma from a long distance away. In addition, there were seafood such as spider crabs and boiled razor clams.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Jankuka invited Oparo to have dinner with them. The professor was obviously out of breath and kept talking, as if all teachers had this problem, and couldn't control his tight mouth.
