1444, Byzantium Resurrects

Chapter 132 Imperial Parliament
"April 1454, 4. Clear, calm."

"This is the second month of our expedition. The fleet has officially entered the Gulf of Guinea and is about four days' journey from the prestigious Port of Queens."

On the sparkling sea, the surface of the sea is rolling with small waves, which look like pieces of broken gold under the reflection of the sun.

In the captain's room of the fleet's flagship, the Saint-Pierre, explorer Denis Dias was writing his log.

"After leaving the Governorate of Bijagos, we entered the Guinea Calm Belt. The northeast wind gradually died down. The fleet could only sail along the coast, and the speed of the ship slowed down significantly."

"Bijagos is the largest governorate of the empire on the West African coast. It was established in 1446, and it has been eight years now."

“It is located on the outskirts of the Greater Bay Area, very close to the West African mainland, and can be reached by simple canoes.”

"The governor of Bijegos is Count Gosia of Baltan, a middle-aged man with a bad temper, who was once the boatswain of the Saint Nicholas."

"Although the Governor of Gothia was rude, he was very loyal to the emperor. He sent his eldest son and younger brother to study at the Royal Knights' College and the Navigation School respectively. He also owned a lot of land in Bilinchi and Constantinople to show that he had no intention of rebelling."

"He has received the news and prepared a banquet in the Governor's Mansion. He also prepared all the materials needed for the voyage in advance, which saved us a lot of effort. Everyone is very grateful to him."

"Now, there are more than 10,000 people in the archipelago, nearly half of whom are local indigenous people."

"It is said that these natives were very barbaric and often attacked the settlers who came to settle here. Many tribes also had the custom of performing living sacrifices."

"Since the establishment of the Governorate of Bijagos, Governor Gosia has formed a garrison with strong combat effectiveness based on brave sailors, and defeated several of the strongest indigenous tribes one by one."

"At the same time, he also took advantage of the conflicts between the various indigenous tribes, sowed discord, cultivated his cronies, and gradually weakened the indigenous forces."

"Now, there are no indigenous tribes on Bijego Island and Baltan Island. The remaining indigenous people have been driven to several barren islands in the west, where they continue to kill each other."

Denis stopped writing and dipped his pen in ink.

"Compared to the prosperous La Palma Port, Bijagos Port is more remote and mainly engaged in slavery and the service industry. Some wet plains are also planted with rice as a local food source."

"In the past two years, the Port of La Palma has become increasingly prosperous, and the Queen's Port and the Governorate of St. William have gradually risen. Ocean-going merchants have gone north, gold diggers have gone east, and plantation owners have gone south. As a result, the Governorate of Bijagos has begun to decline and gradually become a stopover and transit station."

"The governance level of Gothia Governor is not at the same level as that of Lothair Governor. His governance methods are extremely crude, and his laws and regulations are simple and crude."

The image of the rough and bold Governor of Gothia unconsciously emerged in Denis' mind. Thinking of his honest and sincere heart beneath his fierce appearance, a smile rose unconsciously on his face.

After thinking for a while, he continued writing.

"Perhaps only a governor like this can both control the still powerful indigenous forces and reassure His Majesty the Emperor."

Denis closed his notebook and looked out the porthole at the surging sea.

They are already halfway through their journey in the known world, having witnessed the prosperity of La Palma and the barbarity of the Bijagos Islands. Next, they will head to the legendary Queen's Harbor, which is full of gold, and the St. William Islands, which are full of plantations, for final replenishment.

Further ahead is endless darkness, a forbidden zone for humans and a paradise for adventurers.

……

Birinci, the Grand Executive Palace, where the first Imperial Diet is in session.

As early as the beginning of the establishment of the North African territory, Isaac began to establish parliamentary organizations such as city councils, merchant associations and handicraft associations in major cities, aiming to resolve conflicts through peaceful negotiations and reach consensus as much as possible.

Later, as the population and religious sects in the territory increased, Isaac specially summoned the leaders of various sects and announced that the Council of Birinci would be held every three years to resolve sectarian disputes and defuse religious conflicts.

In a sense, these parliamentary organizations do play their due role, acting like lubricants to make the state machine run more smoothly.

But this is not enough.

The state is the most complex political entity since the birth of mankind. Different people form different political forces. Their interests are certainly different, and internal conflicts are naturally inevitable.

Merchants want to make money and hope to further expand their business territory; priests want to preach and try to defeat other religious sects and dominate the world; and nobles hope to maintain their noble status and continue to be superior to common people.

If the monarch's prestige is too low, his methods are too poor, or he is interfered with by external factors, and internal conflicts intensify to a certain extent, the country will face the danger of division.

Isaac had no shortage of prestige and means, but he faced far more problems than ordinary monarchs, and the situation in his territory was more complicated.

If we continue to use prestige and force to oppress and block those who raise questions, then problems will accumulate and contradictions will become deeper and deeper. The country will be like a barrel filled with gunpowder, which will explode at any time.

Drinking poison to quench thirst is a very bad strategy.

Therefore, Isaac decided to formally establish the Imperial Parliament organization to bring together all political forces in the territory to discuss national affairs together.

The Imperial Parliament was further divided into three estates and city councils, representing classes and regions respectively.

In the three-level parliament, the first level mainly includes major sects, the second level is composed of nobles and tribal leaders, and merchants, citizens and farmers together constitute the third level.

Of course, this is just a general division.

In the First Estate, the Greek Orthodox, Coptic Orthodox and Armenian Churches represent different interests and have a total of ten seats.

In the second estate, the interests of the nobles and tribal chiefs were also inconsistent, occupying four and six seats respectively.

The third level represents the most diverse forces and has the most seats, a total of thirty.

Unlike the three-level parliament of the Kingdom of France, in addition to discussing tax distribution, the main powers of the three-level parliament of the Eastern Roman Empire were to resolve conflicts between different classes. At the same time, it discussed and proposed major and minor affairs in the territory, bypassing the administrative agencies and submitting them directly to the emperor's desk.

Price regulation of grain, mining and contracting of minerals, taxation of slave trade, establishment of church schools and orphanages...

The members of the three-level parliament are elected and appointed by the lower-level parliaments. The emperor has the right to nominate and veto the members. The members are not imperial officials and do not receive salaries or benefits.

Of course, when parliament is convened, the imperial central government will be responsible for the food, clothing, housing and transportation of the members.

The number of city council members is not fixed and may increase or decrease according to changes in the territory and the development of the city. It is temporarily set at fifty.

Among them, Birinci has five members, Soult has three, the capitals of the other regions have two each, and the remaining cities have at least one.

It is worth mentioning that as part of the empire, the governorate and military district also have their own city seats, the La Palma Governorate and the Aulon Military District have two, and the rest have one each.

The main responsibilities of the city council are to coordinate development plans among various cities, break down trade barriers, and closely connect the entire territory.

Generally speaking, the Imperial Conference is independent of the various administrative agencies, and the prime minister and ministers have no right to interfere. It has the powers of consultation, proposal, deliberation and supervision, and is held once every three years.

The first president of the Imperial Council was John of the House of Gavras, a distant relative of Despot Theodore and one of the traditional nobles of Constantinople.

The Gavras family of Constantinople had long been involved in Isaac's overseas expansion. They owned several sugarcane plantations in the Governorate of St. William and, with the lucrative profits from ocean trade, they organized a small fleet dedicated to the transportation of sugarcane. Gavras was a businessman, colonist, and traditional aristocrat. He was also a devout Orthodox Christian with a clean political background and a kind personality, making him the most suitable candidate.

I believe that in this parliament whose main purpose is to smooth things over, he can play an important role with his own advantages.

Unlike the joint military and political meetings, the Imperial Conference is not confidential. In addition to the members of parliament, Isaac will also send royal representatives and civilian representatives to sit in and supervise the normal conduct of the parliament.

As soon as the "Parliamentary Act" was released, the whole country was filled with jubilation.

Because, in their eyes, this marked that the dictator of the Palaiologos family was finally ready to cede some power to the people, although it was still insignificant.

From then on, the voices of the people could be transmitted directly to the highest level of rule without going through administrative agencies, and be reviewed and approved by the emperor.

In Isaac's view, the Imperial Parliament was also his legacy for the Roman Empire. As productivity gradually developed and people became more civilized, the era of monarchy would come to an end. A parliament that was always full of vitality would be a bridge for dialogue between the monarchical class and the emerging class and a link for the transfer of power.

Of course, if his descendants completely dismantled the parliament, only convened the three-level parliament for symbolic discussions when there was a shortage of money, and then put all the burden on the people, then he deserved to be beheaded.

On May 1454, 5, Isaac rushed back to Birinci with his wife and children and convened the first imperial meeting.

"Okay, then the contract proposal for the Euboea Iron Mine has been officially approved. We will sort it out and submit it to Your Majesty for approval..."

Just above the seats, Speaker Gavras presided over the parliament and occasionally glanced at Isaac sitting in the royal representative seat.

Since there were very few descendants of the Eastern Roman royal family and even fewer adult males, Isaac thought about it but could not find a suitable candidate for the royal representative, so he simply took the role temporarily.

Isaac then prepared to pass the seat to his heir as an extension of royal authority.

"Don't look at me. I'm just an observer and won't interfere with your normal meeting."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Speaker Gavras nodded quickly, but he would still glance at Isaac from time to time.

As a result, the congressmen all sat very still, watched each other's noses and minds, and made proposals very carefully, which made Isaac laugh.

This is an opportunity given to you by the authorities to complain. If you don’t cherish it, you will have to wait another three years for the next one.

I feel a little nervous now, but I hope things will get better in the future.

Isaac looked around and frowned at the still full cups on most of the congressmen's tables.

The liquid in the cup is black, exuding a dense and rich fragrance.

This is coffee, from the Governorate of St. William.

Many years ago, Isaac sent people to the Ethiopian Plateau to explore the secret of coffee beans. He stole some high-quality coffee seeds from some Arab businessmen and kidnapped several coffee growers, preparing to test planting in the colonies in West Africa.

Nearly four years later, the first batch of coffee trees finally grew up and bore fruit. The picked coffee beans were processed and sent back to Birinchi by Colonial Secretary William.

The growing conditions for coffee are relatively harsh, with strict requirements on altitude, temperature, light and rainfall. It is mainly distributed in tropical rainforest areas with a certain altitude.

As a latecomer and coffee lover, Isaac was naturally very aware of this and chose the Governorate of St. William to try growing coffee.

This place later belonged to São Tomé and Principe, and coffee is one of the main cash crops in the area.

In the original time and space, after coffee spread to Europe, it quickly caused a craze. Coffee beans were called black gold and were a delicacy that only nobles and high-ranking clergy could enjoy.

Now I’m offering it to you for free, hoping that you can help sell the products, but why do you all look so miserable?
Drink, drink, hey, why doesn’t he drink!
Isaac looked at the parliamentarians with disappointment. Feeling the emperor's gaze, they straightened their backs and looked straight ahead.

Previously, Isaac had sent a batch of coffee beans to monarchs and senior clergymen of various countries, which received good responses. Even the Pope praised them highly, and many people chose to continue to buy from Isaac.

At the Lodi Peace Conference that was being held, envoys from various forces drank coffee provided by Isaac and chatted all day long, making the Venetian envoys very anxious.

In just one round of sales, Isaac earned back his costs.

This is the charm of the great voyages. In addition to land, slaves and gold, it can also bring new animals and plants, and bring new vitality to the commodity market.

Strictly speaking, coffee is not a New World plant yet. It was only because of the monopoly of Arab merchants that it was not yet known to the Christian world.

Isaac secretly decided that once he had grown strong enough, he would start exploring the new continent and get the first round of benefits from the new products.

Tobacco, cocoa, corn, cassava, potato, sweet potato, tomato, cinchona, cotton, various rare animal materials...

These things either bring huge profits or have important civil value. Just thinking about them is tempting enough.

It took the colonists in the original time and space a long time to figure out the functions of various plants. Potatoes were originally used for potted plants, and tomatoes were considered poisonous, which was a waste of resources.

Isaac, standing on the shoulders of his predecessors, knew the value of these things very clearly and could just follow the instructions.

On May 1454, 5, the first imperial conference ended successfully, with a total of more than twenty proposals produced, far less than Isaac had expected.

The members of parliament still had some concerns about this meeting. The proposals put forward were carefully selected, mainly focusing on the people's livelihood in the territory and did not involve any complicated political issues.

In order to increase their enthusiasm, all these proposals were passed and submitted to Prime Minister Isult and Chief Justice Adnan for review and the formulation of specific decrees.

It seems that due to the aftermath of last year's volcanic eruption, the summer of 1454 was not very hot and quickly passed in a lazy atmosphere.

In Italy, the Peace of Lodi continued to drag on, and the Venetian Council continued to quarrel.

During this period, Jacques, the only son of Venetian Doge Foscari, died suddenly in a prison in Crete. This incident completely crushed the old man who had been in power for 30 years. He began to submit his resignation frequently, but all were rejected by the Great Council.

During this period, colonies and ocean trade continued to develop. Genoa and Aragon began to formally join in colonial development, opening up the New Galata Colony and the New Calabria Colony near Porto Reina, and an alliance was initially formed.

During this period, Henry the Incompetent of Castile ascended the throne and was crowned Henry IV, and the political divisions in the Kingdom of Castile became more serious.

During this period, the Prussian Confederation officially raised the banner of resistance against the Teutonic Knights. The Kingdom of Poland, despite strong opposition from the German princes, insisted on intervening in the war, and the Thirteen Years' War officially began.

During this period, after several small-scale conflicts with Karaman and the White Arowana, the Ottoman Empire gradually lost patience and began to prepare for a decisive battle. The Sword-wielding Vizier Mahmud Pasha took charge of the army for the first time and led the army into battle.

During this period, the Eastern Roman Empire gradually emerged from the trauma of war, its military strength gradually recovered, its business prospered, and it began to turn its attention to the gradually declining Muslim forces in the surrounding areas.

Sharpening the knife.

I need to check some information, so I am late. Sorry.


(End of this chapter)