Rise of Empires: Spain.

Chapter 127 Minimum Income for Workers Act

The government's strategy of buying back noble land at high prices was still very effective. After the law was introduced to buy back noble land at high prices, 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 government had acquired more than 2500 acres of land, or nearly 10 square kilometers, from the nobles.

These lands are actually not that much, they are just the size put together by a few small nobles with not much assets.

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

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

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

Not only did the nobles own a large amount of land, but their lands were all fertile plains and valleys, leaving the peasants with barren land.

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

The combined land held by the nobles and the church was greater than that held by the peasants. This not only affected the development of Spanish agriculture, but also forced a large number of peasants to become tenants of these nobles and the church.

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

This is also the real reason why the revolution broke out 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 no longer afford to eat, so naturally they have to find ways to keep themselves alive.

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

The government acquired a large amount of land from the nobility and the church, and then rented the land to farmers at low rents.

Farmers no longer lack land to farm, and are not oppressed by overly harsh taxes. Naturally, they have a decent life and don't have any other thoughts.

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

The new nobility did not have much land, so they invested their property in industry and finance and stimulated the development of the Spanish economy.

The capital formed by the united nobles also has 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 a 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 Board, manufactured and issued the Kingdom of Spain's newest peseta currency system.

The exchange rate between the peseta and the pound was 26.02:1, and 1 peseta was worth approximately 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 Monetary Board, 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 is also the most common version.

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

在1比塞塔硬币之上，还有21.15克白银制成的5比塞塔硬币和2.82克黄金制成的10比塞塔硬币。

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 of 1 peseta, there are 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, which are 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 the currency with actual value made of gold, silver and copper. The specific content of gold and silver in the currency also determines the exchange rate of the currency.

Another type of currency is paper money that is equal to the value of gold and silver coins. Generally, paper money issued by various governments is circulated domestically, while gold and silver coins are mostly used in international trade because they are more valuable and more recognized by international traders.

Currently, Spain's gold and silver coins are engraved with Carlo's bust, large head and the family emblem of the Savoy dynasty.

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

After printing the new peseta currency, the Spanish government also enacted 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 their labor for income, business owners and factory owners should follow the "Workers Protection Law" and the "Workers Minimum Income Law" 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.

50岁以上男性西班牙公民参加工作时的最低周薪为1比塞塔10铜币，50岁以上女性西班牙公民参加工作时的最低周薪为85铜币。

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

Because the economic development of different regions in Spain is different, the minimum income in different places fluctuates to a certain extent.

In order to prevent high-income regions from taking advantage of loopholes in the minimum income law, the government has also stipulated that local governments can adjust the minimum income based on the actual per capita annual income in each region, but only increases are allowed and no decreases are allowed.

In more developed regions such as Madrid and Barcelona, ​​the actual minimum income will still have 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 by law.

If there are capitalists who want to exploit loopholes in the law and desperately exploit 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 naturally implemented the new laws issued by the government. However, the good news is that the income of employees of the royal enterprises is basically above the minimum income stipulated by the government, which also means that the laws issued by the government do not have much impact on the royal enterprises.

For those capitalists who have been desperately exploiting the people, and even exploiting child laborers, if they want to exploit the people again in the future, they will have to consider the attitude of the government.

Needless to say, the public is quite welcoming of the law promulgated by the government. The actual beneficiaries of this law are the Spanish people, who can be guaranteed to have a minimum income when working, without having to worry 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 future generations.

Simply put, every country has impoverished groups. Sending children away from home to work does not mean that the family does not love their children, but that the family really can't make ends meet and must let these underage children go out to work to earn income.

Although the minimum weekly wage for child workers is only 75 copper coins, this level is already upper-middle among the current incomes of all child workers in Spain.

Ensuring a minimum weekly wage for child workers will not only effectively improve the income of the child workers themselves, but also improve the living standards of families who are forced to send their children to work outside.

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

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

This minimum income level is carefully calculated by the government. It is difficult to eat and clothe yourself with this level of minimum income, but it can ensure that most Spaniards who enjoy the minimum income can eat.

As for living a better life, pursuing to have enough food and clothing or even to eat well and dress well, a large number of Spaniards need to work hard during working hours and in their jobs, such as sending their children to school, allowing them to enter more advanced jobs, and so on.

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 sake of their family's future quality of life, Spanish people will ultimately choose to let themselves or their children climb higher and enjoy better jobs and salary benefits.

If in 1871 the Spanish government focused mostly on industrial and economic development, then in 1872, when Spain had become stable, it officially began to explore legislative reforms.

At present, the effects achieved by the two bills, the Land Lease Act and the Workers Minimum Income Act, are quite good.

The former took care of the vast peasant masses in Spain, while the latter took care of the emerging groups of workers and employees 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 power of capital in Spain will not be able to affect the stability of the government and the country.

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(End of this chapter)