Chapter 533 Piracy Act
His Majesty the King was very angry, and the consequences were serious.
The entire city of London, the economic and political central city, suddenly fell into a serious and dignified atmosphere as His Majesty the King lost his temper, without the entertainment and prosperity of the past.
As the capital of the United Kingdom, the political atmosphere is unparalleled and sensitive, and the citizens of London are also the most discerning.
Just like that, London suddenly lost its happy scenes for a few days, and even the popular dramas stopped because of this.
At this time, the London Daily, which is the official throat, with a daily circulation of more than 10,000, published a review article at this time:
"On why the political atmosphere in London is tense recently"
Recently, the Palace of Westminster, the leader of the United Kingdom and the guardian of the state religion, His Majesty Edward, was reprimanding a group of people in his own office.
Among the group of people who were reprimanded were the Prime Minister of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom, ministers, senior officials and military leaders from various regions.
Facing His Majesty's repeated reprimands, everyone remained silent, willingly being reprimanded.
The reason for this is mainly that a few days ago, the Spanish ship suddenly appeared near the Thames Estuary...
The Secretary of the Navy, General James Leo Shesley, also took the blame and resigned because of this, which gave us a warning: the strength of the navy is the foundation of the rise of the kingdom.
In London and Portsmouth, two naval academies will be born, and everyone is welcome to sign up.
...
Subsequently, English Weekly, Irish Weekly, Scottish Weekly, Welsh Weekly, and the largest United Weekly covered also jointly reprinted and commented on this highly inflammatory article.
So, after only half a month, most of the lecturers were asked to interpret this article about a powerful naval power, and most citizens of the United Kingdom already knew about it.
The slogan of naval power was immediately chanted throughout the United Kingdom.
At this time, among the people of the United Kingdom, the wave of opposition to Spain gradually unfolded, and voices against Spain, large and small, also slowly swept up. Driven by vague forces, it gradually became a mainstream value in society.
Against Spain, become the correct mainstream value.
Although politically, the support for business is also increasing.
For example, "Company Law", "Trade Law", and "Guild Law", "Labor Law" and other bourgeois laws have been promulgated one after another. For the business of the entire United Kingdom, it is no less than a shot of stimulant , Let the business of the whole United Kingdom take off rapidly.
Coupled with the shrinking of the textile industry in the Netherlands and the expansion of emerging markets, it has profoundly changed the entire United Kingdom.
Before this, although the government continued to support business, it still did not change the social structure of the United Kingdom.
The so-called United Kingdom is the joint governance of the government and the local gentry. The cities are governed by government officials, while the rural bottom is still dominated by squires, gentry and low-ranking nobles. The changes in the cities have no effect on the countryside. .
In terms of values, although morality and bloodlines are still worshiped in the city, the pursuit of wealth is also concealed, sought after by many people, and no longer held in contempt.
Accept it shyly and timidly.
In the countryside, the naked (luo) pursuit of money is still contemptuous, and the cleanliness of blood and morality is still the highest standard.
For example, as a businessman, you can discuss your business and the money you earn without shy away in the city. Although you will receive a lot of contempt, but more often, you will gain a lot of envy and hatred.
But in rural areas, your behavior like this will be despised by farmers and expelled by squires. Of course, you are more likely to be robbed of your body and then thrown into the wilderness.
The solid social structure in rural areas, even as a government, will not be easily broken.
The more new people are born every year, the more people will have more labor force, and the fields are fixed and owned, and there are very few people engaged in business, so pirates have become a very promising profession.
Pirates became more and more sought after after the appearance of privateer licenses and Spanish-hating values.
After all, working in a factory was exhausting and dangerous (the machines were crude at the time, casualties were prone to occur, so workers were not easy to do!), and the salary was not high. How could pirates have a future.
Thus, the surplus labor force in the city was invested in commerce, and the surplus labor force in the countryside was invested in pirates.
In just one month, the team that has obtained a privateering license and registered pirates has exceeded 20 people and thousands.
In order to manage the increasingly large and rebellious pirates, the "Pirate Law" was newly released.
For example, although it stipulates that even if the pirate has not violated the law, as long as he is found, he will still be arrested, but the hidden condition is that the pirate can obtain parole only by paying ten pounds.
This is obviously a law against pirates, but secretly it is lenient towards pirates. The promulgation of the "Pirate Law" has aroused applause throughout Europe. This is the first formal law on piracy in Europe in the strict sense. .
But in the United Kingdom, for those who know this law better, this is simply a blatant cover-up for piracy, and it is a forgiveness for criminals.
In the kingdom, there was a huge discussion voice, support and opposition, you argue, come and go, it is difficult to stop.
At this time, the terrifying pirate army from the United Kingdom had already begun to sweep across the Baltic Sea, the Caribbean Sea and even both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, lingering to the entire eastern route.
Relying on this era of great voyages, the profession of pirates officially began its active era under the momentary anger of His Majesty Edward. 1565 is also known as the first year of pirates.
According to the statistics of later generations, in 1564, the number of young people in the kingdom who participated in piracy reached 20,000, and the growth rate continued to increase at a rate of 50%.
The survival rate of pirates is less than 70%. In the following years, the death rate of young people in the United Kingdom has also remained high.
However, in the three years from 1565 to 1568, under the violent training program, at least 50,000 skilled sailors were brought to the United Kingdom, which saved a lot of training funds and laid the foundation for the Kingdom's navy to dominate the world. established a firm foundation.
And Edward Tudor, also known as the pirate monarch.
The first to experience this evil result were the Spanish businessmen.
(end of this chapter)