Chapter 35 Immigrants From the East and the West

We went up the Danube River to Pozzony (Budatislava), and after more than ten days of land journey, we arrived at the Kingdom of Bohemia.

As the first of the four secular electors in the HRE, the Kingdom of Bohemia relied on its rich minerals and textile industry to become the most economically developed region in the HRE. Horses, cattle, leather, grain, silver, linen, etc. were exported from the Czech Republic to the upper reaches of the Danube River, Hungary, Venice and other places. The capital, Prague, is the largest city in Central Europe. During the reign of Charles IV, Charles University, the earliest university in Central Europe, was built. It was precisely because of the wealth of Bohemia that Charles IV and his son Wenzel were elected emperors of the HRE.

The Wallachian Chamber of Commerce brings business here. While doing business, the Chamber of Commerce also acts as a spy and recruits talents.

Some craftsmen who went bankrupt for various reasons were their targets, and they used heavy sums of money to bring these craftsmen to Wallachia. They include jewelers, carpenters, and blacksmiths, and most of these people are local ethnic groups who were oppressed by the Germans, went bankrupt, left their hometowns, or became serfs.

"I said, you're not lying, are you? Can you really pay several times the money here?"

In a tavern in Brno, some unemployed and bankrupt workers and craftsmen were surrounding a businessman to ask questions.

"Of course, the lords there have given orders to build many things, and all those who come to settle here will be tax-free for up to three years."

"Three years", some people are tempted. If the market is good, three years can be enough to save a small fortune, and one year can also make some foundation.

Brno was also the place where the conflict between the local ethnic groups and the Germanic people was the most intense. The church and immigrants controlled most of the wealth, especially the church. These priests and monks soon took over the main positions in the Czech church and monastery, occupying a wide area of ​​land, almost reaching the Czech Republic. Half of the farmland.

At the same time, in order to consolidate and expand its power, the church attracted a large number of knights from the HRE, allowing them to share the land and serve Czech farmers and immigrants from Germany. In order to increase the revenue of the treasury, the Czech king also allowed a large number of German HRE merchants and craftsmen to enter the Czech Republic, and allowed the establishment of various autonomous cities and enjoyed various privileges. As a result of the large-scale immigration of Germans, a special social group of German religious and secular feudal lords, urban aristocrats and mine owners was formed in the Czech Republic. They colluded with the Czech feudal landlords to exploit the Czech people. Peasants and urban civilians suffer from double oppression of nationality and class, which makes them "live in their own country like exiles."

The Catholic Church was the largest feudal lord and exploiter, and the upper echelons of the clergy were almost all Germans, so people's hatred was first directed at the church. The church imposed heavy tithes. The Pope plundered through the church and used the Czech Republic as the main source of income for the Holy See.

In this case, the recruitment activities of the chamber of commerce will be smoother. Some farmers and craftsmen were persuaded by the Chamber of Commerce to pack their bags and head to new lands. But most of them are forced by life, and some people are unwilling to go to Eastern Europe, which is full of pagans and backward.

The Chamber of Commerce did not force it, but continued to persuade the craftsmen to go. Some glassmakers, seeing no hope of success in Bohemia, also went to Wallachia. There will definitely be many difficulties along the way, but at least there is still a chance to get ahead.

In Northern Italy, the Chamber of Commerce's goal is the Venetian island of Murano. There are glass craftsmen from all over Venice.

Starting in the 14th century, Murano began to export glass products and is famous for its glass beads, glass mirrors and glass chandeliers.

The glassmakers soon became prominent citizens of Murano. They were allowed to bear swords and enjoyed immunity, allowing their daughters to marry into Venetian wealthy families. Murano's glassmakers were so important to Venice that Murano glassmakers were banned from leaving the Republic of Venice. But some people still took the risk to immigrate to places such as the Netherlands.

Moreover, Murano is not an island. It is an island in name but actually an archipelago. The islands are connected by bridges and form the same island. It is not an easy task to bring out the craftsmen here.

Of course, the largest source of immigrants is the Golden Horde. Periodic captures of Slavs and Wallachians by Crimean Tatars allowed them to begin their migration to Moldova. They engaged in production near the Dniester River, which greatly enriched the border population. Alexandru used the Dniester River to form a line of defense to prevent the invasion of nomadic tribes.

These immigrants enriched the eastern region of Moldova, and farmland was quickly created. Some wild flowers that escaped the disaster bloomed on the ridges of the fields, children played in the fields, and the sound of prayers rang out from the village church.

Hundreds of settlements, large and small, were formed along the Dniester River, and these settlements soon formed towns after being transported by the river. At certain times of each month, some merchants will come here to sell daily necessities.

Salt became the biggest purchase in towns and villages because it was needed to preserve meat during the winter. All salt factories are in the hands of the governor, whether they are coarse salt or refined salt. The annual sales of salt to domestic and foreign countries is a huge sum of money.

Peter also levied a salt tax. Regardless of the price, for every kilogram of salt sold, a fixed proportion of profits had to be handed over. This was also the first indirect tax in Wallachia, and the final burden must have been transferred to the people. This is also a common tax type in many countries.

Merchants from the Hanseatic League also came to Moldova. They traded in Iasi, Suceava and other places, and reached as far as Constanta. Grain, salt, maltose, linen and other items were all traded. Constanta saw a new growth in handicraft manufacturing, including carpentry, leather, weaving and metal processing. The luxury industry appeared here for the first time, and Genoese merchants could not take advantage of it. They could only pay taxes and do business honestly.

Northern Dobruja has become the second food supply base for Constantinople. When Varna was attacked and looted by the Ottomans, Constanta was responsible for most of the food supply to Constantinople. Using the money from trade, Peter began to recruit talents and expand armaments on a large scale. So many people privately said that Wallachia had two rulers, one was Mircea and the other was his son.

Mircea was not angry either. It was common for fathers and sons to rule the country together. Didn't the Eastern Roman Empire have a co-ruling emperor? If he didn't want Peter to gain experience, he would have made him a co-ruler long ago. Now letting him serve as the Governor of Moldova is a disguised form of co-governance.