Chapter 18: Journey Through the Middle Ages, Part 18

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Inside the sugar workshop, the workers were bustling with activity. Yet there were always breaks in the middle, during which the workshop provided some beverages as a kind of “worker benefit.” This was also the best time for everyone to boast and chat.

When mentioning “beverages” at this time, it was not about the later “three great drinks of the world”—coffee, tea, and cocoa.

Coffee originated in Africa and would take another three hundred years to arrive in Europe via the Middle East. Tea was a specialty of the Far East and only spread to Europe around the same time through the Dutch. Initially, it was extremely precious, reserved for royalty and high nobility. Cocoa, native to the Americas, came even later than tea and coffee in terms of introduction and popularity.

At this point, “beverages” primarily referred to various alcoholic drinks. Providing alcohol during workers’ breaks might seem irresponsible in later eras, but at this time it posed no significant problem. The alcohol content was generally very low, and the workshop carefully controlled the quantity and types distributed to prevent workers from drinking to the detriment of their duties.

Offering alcohol during breaks was not meant to invigorate the workers. In an agricultural society, work intensity and hours did not reach the level that necessitated stimulants to prevent accidents or boost efficiency, unlike in industrial times. Thus, giving alcohol was purely a “benefit.”

Moreover, withholding this benefit would make it difficult to motivate these serfs to work properly. Though they were serfs, their lives and work on the manor were governed by customary rights and obligations. Lords could violate these customs, but only if the benefits outweighed the increased management costs.

Even the most submissive serf would leap up if pricked with a needle. Just as peasant uprisings occurred in ancient China, medieval Europe experienced its share of revolts. Within manors, peasants would band together to assault the steward sent by the lord or even drive out ineffective managers—such occurrences were common.

Generally speaking, the greatest limitation for serfs compared to free peasants was the obligation to perform labor services. Like in ancient China, these labor duties could be more burdensome than taxes. Official records might show a tolerable number of labor days per year, but in practice, the actual time demanded was often far greater.

This led to regulations allowing serfs to pay money instead of laboring, and those who could afford it preferred to buy out their obligations. The hidden costs were simply too high.

However, in Western manors, labor services were often less harsh in practice than on paper. For example, though records might state three or four days of labor per week, full days of work were rare; usually, it was just half a day, with the rest of the time spent tending their own plots.

If this were not the case, their own plots would remain uncultivated.

There were times of full-day labor, such as during busy farming seasons, when the lord’s demesne needed urgent attention for sowing and harvesting. Yet since peasants’ own fields were also demanding during these times, they might slack off at the lord’s land to save energy for their own.

The interplay between manor management and serfs was crucial: on one hand, they needed to grant some benefits to boost motivation. The simplest approach was providing food or even a full meal—preferably hearty. At the same time, wage laborers came into play here; they had little land of their own and relied on earning wages during busy seasons.

Indeed, wage laborers were paid for their work; otherwise, they wouldn’t be called “wage laborers.” Lords gave them little or no land, so they owed few labor duties, and most work they did was compensated.

Thus, when wage laborers were brought to work in the sugar workshop, paying them and providing goods and benefits was appropriate. In an agricultural society, money was useful but people were not accustomed to valuing everything purely in monetary terms. On one hand, commodity circulation was inefficient, so sometimes giving goods was more effective than giving money. On the other hand, for manors producing their own goods, providing items and benefits was often less costly.

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For the wage laborers, this was actually more advantageous. Even if the value of goods and benefits was calculated at market price, it saved them the time and effort of traveling to the market. With that time and energy saved, they could earn wages working a half day.

“Dupont, tell us, what happened with those monks? And why didn’t you become a free citizen in town instead of coming here to be a serf?” one of the other laborers asked.

The man, who looked older than his actual age and whose mouth corners naturally drooped, giving him a stern appearance, was not unwilling to talk. When asked, he answered quietly.

“I used to work on the abbey’s manor in Ashaka. That place was no good—the monks taxed us thirty percent more than here, and the labor duties were stricter. Ha! Even though it was the abbey’s manor, religious holidays and Sundays were strictly observed, but actually...” Dupont shook his head and didn’t continue.

“The worst part was that we were overseen by a monk who only knew how to chant prayers. He understood nothing and insisted on managing agriculture his own way. He was arrogant and never listened to us.”

“Is that why you ran away?”

“Not exactly. Well, I could tolerate those things, but running away was risky. If caught within three days, the lord had the right to reclaim you. Being caught meant a hard time afterward.”

“One time, we all gathered to sing and dance, and somehow offended the monk. He punished those who participated.”

At this time, dancing and similar amusements were strongly frowned upon by the Church, which considered them dealings with the devil and sources of moral corruption. If anyone was caught doing such things and reported to the local church, participants would be in trouble. In practice, however, such matters were rarely reported, as people were generally reluctant to involve themselves.

Singing and dancing were common entertainments for peasants on the manor, whose lives were so hard and monotonous that these activities provided rare moments of joy. Only then could they momentarily forget daily hardships.

“I also went to those free towns, but I only know farming, so it was hard to live there.”

“That’s fine, Dupont. You’re doing well here on our manor, aren’t you? You farm so well; maybe in a few years, you could even run for headman!” a fellow worker comforted him.

Of course, this was encouragement. Although headmen were elected democratically, such small community elections often depended heavily on connections. Dupont, new to the Swan Manor, could not match those who had lived there for generations, with many relatives and wealthy farming families.

Still, the compliment about Dupont’s farming skills was no lie; he truly was a capable farmer.

Dupont grinned and said, “That’s unlikely... For now, I just want to earn more in the workshop. Rona’s parents promised me that if I work for them for two years, they’ll let Rona marry me—provided I have my own cottage.”

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Although wage laborers didn’t own land, they at least needed a cottage, preferably with a small vegetable garden nearby. Otherwise, life would be hard for a married couple. Building even a modest house required money. Dupont was ambitious and didn’t want to lag behind others; he was determined to build a house similar to Rona’s family’s.

This would be the most common type in Swan Manor: walls of stone, wood, and earth, with a thatched roof and neatly tended garden. As for animal sheds, those could come later.

“Rona? Oh, she’s a good girl. I remember her beer was excellent; she even sold it at the village market!” the workers laughed.

Swan Manor included several villages, with a population comparable to a small town, naturally supporting a market. This market was at the central Stonebridge Village, near the church, where most daily necessities could be bought or traded.

“Brother, you’ve got a great opportunity! Usually, new wage laborers can’t build a cottage in two years, but this year the manor has a sugar workshop. The wages there are higher than ordinary work, and taking care of sugar beets requires more effort than tending wheat!” someone analyzed for Dupont.

“In two years, you’ll definitely have your cottage!”

The sugar workshop’s wages indeed surpassed those of common manor tasks and even those of ordinary town laborers. This was to ensure wage laborers wouldn’t leak sugar production secrets for trivial gains. With such high pay came stricter management rules, which everyone accepted well.

At least for now, there was no labor-capital conflict in the sugar workshop. Before the outside world realized that Brudo could produce sugar itself, and that it was made in Swan Manor, the secret of sugar production was unlikely to be voluntarily disclosed.

Thus, under the intense work of the wage laborers, barrel after barrel of sugar was produced. It was then transported to the Troyes warehouse, where it was packed in square wooden boxes. Lime was stuffed between the seams of the boxes and barrels to prevent moisture—this added to transportation costs, but since sugar was a high-value commodity, buyers accepted the packaging.

Even these added costs were included in the price.

The goods were picked up from the Troyes warehouse by the previously contracted Peppati Company. After inspecting the quality, they purchased all the sugar at fourteen pennies per pound (including packaging costs), ordering as much as needed. Though the sugar produced at Swan Manor was high quality and could sell for two sous per pound at retail, that was retail price!

Louisa sold the sugar to Peppati Company, who then transported it to various markets. With each transfer, transportation costs increased, and the per-pound price rose accordingly. Selling to great nobles was one thing, but selling to distributors involved more hands before reaching retail.

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