The return of the fallen king

Chapter 33: Unpopular reforms

<<'' Leave the matter of religion to the family altar, the church, and the private school, supported entirely by private contributions. Keep the church and state forever separate. ''>>

--Ulysses S Grant

Charles has been in charge of Naples for several months.Naple's Citizens have learnt to deal with the new realities of life under Charles' rule, and they have carried on with their daily lives as best they can despite the new conditions. There was no friendliness between the two sides caused by the initial days of plundering and pillaging; rather, there was just a tacit accord, ready to be thrown aside at the slightest hint of weakness. This, however, was overlooked by both the monarch and the nobles, who were preoccupied with other matters. After all, they needed to create strategies to eliminate the remaining impediment to gaining complete control of their new dominion.

Nonetheless, in order to do so, they needed to replenish the kingdom's finances, which Charles had depleted during his conquest.

One of Charles' first goals after ascending to the throne in Naples was to stabilize the kingdom's finances. His costly capture of the city had left a large hole in the crown's coffers, which he was determined to repair as soon as possible. This meant that he was looking for ways to collect finances and improve revenue as fast as possible, and he was not afraid to take controversial measures to do it.

To do this, the most powerful lords in the newly constituted kingdom were called in a meeting to discuss the situation , lords with titles such as Barral of Baux, Count of Andria, Montescaglioso and Squillace, Lord of Berre, and Justicier of Sicily. Pierrè Sanseverino, the newly named Duke of Calabria and finally Charles Jean de Breseilve, count of Butera one of the most loyal subject of Charles .

Barral of Baux was the first to speak, trying to convince his liege to take a loan, which in itself would not be a bad idea

"Your Highness, we could take out a loan from Venice to fill up the royal coffers.Then we could slowly pay them in the years following the peace established after this last campaign"

"I would prefer to use other means , I don't like being in debt to anyone, especially venetians , it is not a good thing to be in debt since my foundation is still lacking."

"Well, we could tax the population more," Jean suggested as a possible answer, which was accepted by Charles since he had likely already thought of that

"We'll most likely do that; after all, we need money to launch our expedition to defeat the last of the Hohenstaufen house, I am sure the people shall understand .However, I am concerned that it will not be sufficient to cover our projected expenditure."

The three men became silent, unable to think of any means to expand the royal avenues; but, the last of the three men, Pierrè Sansaverino, soon voiced his opinion. His proposition, if heard by the church, would very certainly result in ex-communication, for what Pierrè proposed constituted an attack on the Roman Church.

The council enacted many unpopular measures that day , including raising taxes on the populace, making them pay double what they paid under the previous monarch; in addition, a new statute known as "Coactus foedo" was enacted.

A new scroll that would be read all over Naples and Sicily was written by the king :

*From now on till the day this law is taken down ,soldiers of our kingdom will be given special powers . During times of war, royal armies will be authorized to go to the nearest farms and lawfully seize half of all belongings and use them as payment for future taxes, with the authorization of the general and the king . This particular tax, however, cannot be levied on households that have a son serving or who have died or were wounded while serving in said royal army*

And if that wasn't enough, Charles had also reinstated an old, hated Norman statute known as "subvientio generalis."

The ''subventio generalis'' arose from the requirement imposed on fiefholders in the Kingdom of Sicily to render military service to the rulers. They may avoid this vexing obligation by paying a special fee known as adohamentum or adoha. Most barons and counts preferred to pay the fee, which became a tax; landowners collected the levy from their tenants; so in actuality, the adoha was to be paid by peasants rather than nobility.

All of these measures were profoundly unpopular with the people, but there was nothing they could do but accept them with rage and frustration.

Following these financial changes, Charles proceeded to Sicily with a 5,000-man army to drive out the local nobles in favor of French nobility.

Some attempted to rebel and put up opposition, but after they and their families were executed for heresy and treason, most opted not to oppose the unlawful conduct. This display of force helped to deter future rebellions and ensure the aristocrats' devotion to the French crown. Some nobility elected to flee the island and seek safety with relatives in neighboring areas, while others chose to remain and vow fealty to the new rulers. To avoid inciting revolt, only those with the highest titles were permitted to keep their positions.

In the short term, Charles' efforts to stabilize his kingdom's coffers were effective. He was aware, however, that the current state of calm was simply a stopgap solution and that the kingdom was still vulnerable to an attack by a foreign power , for the people would be jumping at a given opportunity to cut their oppressors' throats. He realized that if he wanted to keep his power and safeguard his country, he needed to strengthen and cement his position. This meant he had to do everything he could to make any potential uprising as difficult as possible and to make an invasion appear impossible. He was resolved to do everything in his power to prevent the fall of his newly acquired realm. After all he would be the laughing stock of all of Europe if he just lost his newly conquered kingdom.

Charles was fully aware that his financial changes would be profoundly unpopular, but he felt compelled to implement them in order to generate cash for the crown. He also knew he would face strong opposition from the people who would be affected by the reforms, but he was determined to carry them out since they were important to bolster his position in the kingdom. He knew it would be difficult, but he was willing to make the difficult choices for the sake of his objectives.

Apart from that Charles planned to do something that would greatly annoy the Pope in order to deposit gold coins in the royal treasury, but he felt compelled to do so because it was vital for the sake of the realm. He was aware that it would be a violation of the church's rules, but hoped that the pope would be understanding and that long-term planning would be more essential than this one incident. He resolved to persuade the Pope to consider the big picture and comprehend his reasons, and he hoped that the two could have a healthy relationship despite this one small transgression.

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