Chapter 127

The government's strategy of buying back noble land at a high price is still very effective. After the law of buying back noble land at a high price was introduced, many nobles on the verge of bankruptcy chose to sell part of their land to the government in exchange for emergency funds.

In just over a week, the amount of land purchased by the government from the nobles has exceeded 2,500 acres, which is about 10 square kilometers of land.

These lands are actually not much, just a few small nobles with not rich assets.

Why are nobles considered pests in Spain? Because at the peak of the nobility, only 2% of the population of nobles occupied 95% of the total cultivated land in Spain.

Of course, a large number of priests, businessmen and professionals were also counted, but such data is also extremely exaggerated.

At that time, 95% of the population in Spain were farmers, and the land owned by these farmers accounted for 5% of the total land in Spain.

The nobles not only had a lot of land in their hands, but their land was also fertile plains and valleys, leaving the farmers with poor land.

Although after a long period of development and revolution, the land in the hands of the nobles has been greatly reduced, it still occupies 40% of the cultivated land.

The land in the hands of the nobles and the church is more than that in the hands of the peasants, which not only affects the development of Spanish agriculture, but also forces a large number of peasants to become tenants of these nobles and the church.

The nobles and the church not only have to collect rent from these tenants, but also have to make them pay a large amount of agricultural taxes including tithes and land taxes.

This is also the real reason for the outbreak of the revolution in Spain. The premise for the nobles and the church to enjoy a luxurious life is the continuous exploitation of the peasants. The Spaniards can't afford to eat, so they naturally have to find a way to keep themselves alive.

After the revolution, the proportion of land in the hands of the nobles has been reduced to less than 35% of the total cultivated land, which is good news.

The government has obtained a large amount of land from the nobles and the church, and these lands are rented out to farmers for cultivation at a lower rent.

The peasants have no shortage of land to plant, and there is no too harsh taxation. Naturally, they will not have any other ideas if they can live a decent life.

In fact, compared with local landlords, it is obviously more potential to engage in industry and finance in this era. Compared with the more traditional landowners, Carlo obviously values ​​the new aristocracy more.

The new aristocracy does not have much land. They will invest their property in industry and finance and stimulate the development of the Spanish economy.

The capital formed by the nobles united is also a considerable influence. Compared with holding the land and offending a large number of farmers, it is better to be a capitalist controlled by the government and the royal family and enjoy the life of counting money until your hands cramp.

As time entered mid-May, the Royal United Bank and the Spanish National Bank, under the supervision of the Currency Issuance Committee, manufactured and issued the latest peseta currency system in the Kingdom of Spain.

The exchange rate between peseta and pound sterling is 26.02:1, and the value of 1 peseta is about 0.282 grams of gold.

There are two types of pesetas issued by the two banks, one is paper currency with the seal of the bank and the currency committee, and the other is a silver coin with a total weight of 4.23 grams of silver.

According to the current value of gold and silver, the value of 4.23 grams of silver is exactly equivalent to 0.282 grams of gold. The silver coin made of 4.23 grams of silver is the coin version of the peseta, and it is also the most common version.

The silver coin made of 4.23 grams of silver is 1 peseta, which is equivalent to 1 peso in the Spanish colonial period.

Above the 1 peseta coin, there are 5 pesetas made of 21.15 grams of silver and 10 pesetas made of 2.82 grams of gold.

Of course, these weights are only the weights of pure gold and pure silver, and some other metals are mixed in to make these gold and silver coins made of precious metals more durable.

Below the larger denomination 1 peseta, there are also cents made of copper coins. 1 peseta is divided into 100 cents, and 1 copper coin is 1 cent. According to the different weights of the same coin, it is also divided into 1 cent, 5 cents, 10 cents, 20 cents and 50 cents, as the most commonly used currency in people's daily life.

This is also the characteristic of the currencies of various countries during the gold standard period. Generally, there are two kinds of currencies, one is a currency with actual value made of gold, silver and copper, and the specific content of gold and silver in the currency also determines the exchange rate of the currency.

Another currency is paper money that is equivalent to the value of gold and silver coins. Generally, paper money issued by various governments is circulated domestically, and international trade mostly uses gold and silver coins because gold and silver coins are more valuable and more recognized by international transactions.

At present, Spain's gold and silver coins are engraved with Carlo's bust, large head and the family crest of the Savoy Dynasty.

The copper coins are engraved with Prime Minister Primo, Archduke Serrano and other famous figures in Spanish history.

After the new peseta currency was issued, the Spanish government also promulgated a new law, the "Minimum Income Law for Workers".

According to this law, anyone with Spanish nationality is considered a Spanish citizen.

When Spanish citizens perform various jobs in Spain and exchange labor for income, business owners and factory owners should follow the "Workers Protection Law" and the "Minimum Income Law for Workers" to provide Spanish citizens with at least the minimum level of guaranteed income.

The minimum weekly wage for adult male Spanish citizens is 1 pesetas 75 copper coins, and the minimum weekly wage for adult female Spanish citizens is 1 pesetas 15 copper coins.

The minimum weekly wage for male Spanish citizens over 50 years old is 1 pesetas 10 copper coins, and the minimum weekly wage for female Spanish citizens over 50 years old is 85 copper coins.

The minimum weekly wage for child laborers is 75 copper coins, and child laborers should enjoy at least one day off per month, and the daily working hours should not exceed 12 hours.

Because the economic development of various regions in Spain is different, the minimum income in various places has a certain degree of fluctuation.

In order to prevent high-income regions from taking advantage of the minimum income law, the government also stipulates that various places shall fluctuate according to the actual situation of the per capita annual income of various places, but only increase but not decrease.

In more developed regions such as Madrid and Barcelona, ​​the actual minimum income still needs to increase.

Especially in Barcelona, ​​after the industrial zone is built in the future, the minimum income of workers will definitely not be as simple as stipulated in the law.

If there are capitalists who want to exploit loopholes in the law and desperately squeeze the Spanish people, Carlo doesn't mind letting them feel what it feels like to be hung on a street lamp.

All the factories and enterprises of the royal family will naturally implement the newly promulgated laws of the government honestly. However, the good news is that the income of employees of royal enterprises is basically above the minimum income stipulated by the government, which also means that the laws promulgated by the government have not had much impact on the royal enterprises.

For those capitalists who have been desperately squeezing the people and even child laborers, if they want to squeeze the people next, they have to consider the attitude of the government.

Needless to say, the people are quite welcome to the laws promulgated by the government. The actual beneficiaries of this law are the Spanish people, who can ensure that they have the minimum income to obtain when they work, without worrying about excessive exploitation by capitalists.

The most noteworthy thing is the minimum wage for child laborers stipulated in the law.

The issue of child labor is a topic that cannot be avoided in this era and even in later generations.

Simply put, every country has a poor group. It is not that they do not love their children to let them go out to work, but that the family cannot make a living anymore, so they must let these underage children go out to work to earn income.

Although the minimum weekly wage for child laborers is only 75 copper coins, this level is already in the upper middle level among all the child laborers in Spain.

After ensuring the minimum weekly wage for child laborers, it can not only effectively improve the income of child laborers themselves, but also improve the living standards of families who are forced to let their children go out to work.

However, after the income of adult citizens increases, it is better for these children to receive education. After all, only by receiving education can we enter a higher class, and knowledge can change our destiny.

Of course, this so-called knowledge is not just knowledge in books, but any knowledge that can be actually used, including various technologies and thinking.

Such a minimum income level is carefully calculated by the government. It is difficult to eat and wear warm clothes with this level of minimum income, but it can ensure that most Spaniards who enjoy the minimum level can eat.

As for living a better life, pursuing food and clothing, or even eating and dressing well, a large number of Spaniards need to work hard in their working hours and jobs, such as sending their children to school to study, allowing them to enter more advanced positions, etc.

The salary of an ordinary worker is different from that of a skilled worker, and the salary of a skilled worker is different from that of a technical worker.

Even for the future quality of life of their own family, the Spanish people will eventually choose to let themselves or their children climb higher and enjoy better jobs and salary benefits.

If the Spanish government in 1871 was mostly working on industrial development and economic development, then Spain, which had stabilized in 1872, officially began to explore legal reforms.

At present, the effects of the two bills, the Land Lease Act and the Minimum Income Act for Workers, are still quite good.

The former takes care of the vast peasant masses in Spain, and the latter takes care of the emerging workers and workers in Spain.

Although this offended a large number of conservatives, including the nobles, the good news is that the nobles did not react too much.

As for the power of the capitalist class, it is still very weak in Spain. As long as the more powerful nobles, the church and the radical republicans do not react, the capital power in Spain will not be able to have an impact on the stability of the government and the country.

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